- Business and Operations Support
- Business Development Manager
- NOCs #41403, #60010
Business Development Manager
Business development managers help their companies reach new heights. They can make something out of nothing. They find new business opportunities, new markets, new partnerships, new ways to reach existing markets, or new product or service offerings that will help business grow.
In the oil and natural gas industry, companies produce and sell a variety of products ranging from unrefined crude oil and gas to refined or end products, like propane, and refined products, like gasoline. Each of these products has unique development, marketing, transportation and pricing considerations. Business development managers are leaders who analyze markets and use their understanding of the business and product offerings to explore and develop opportunities to optimize profit for the company.
Business development managers recognize and create business opportunities. They are responsible for the establishment of organizational policies and procedures in relation to sales and strategic planning related to products and services. In large organizations in the exploration and production sub-sector, they often lead commercial activities through each stage of a project and are responsible for deliverables such as business optimization, mergers and acquisitions and organic growth opportunities. They also help identify issues that may derail business development opportunities and create strategies to mitigate these challenges.
In smaller organizations, particularly in the oil and natural gas services industry, business development managers are often responsible for generating sales of products or services to new clients as well as to maintain and grow existing client business.
I'm interested in a career in
- Sub-sector Exploration and production, Oil and gas services, Oil sands, Pipelines
- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Average Salary $73,000 to $138,000
- Education Post-secondary degree
In this occupation activities may include:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with existing and prospective customers and/or partners to identify, develop, and commercially implement new opportunities.
- Identifying, developing and/or evaluating marketing strategy based on knowledge of the company’s objectives and products.
- Negotiating contracts with clients, vendors or distributors.
- Working collaboratively and maintaining communication channels with engineering, operations, legal, sales and other business units to develop comprehensive, integrated sales and strategic plans relating to products and services being offered by the organization.
- Directing the hiring, training or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff.
Education
- Typically a university degree in economics, commerce, finance, business administration, marketing or related fields is preferred. However, this is a role where experience in the industry is of greater importance than a specific degree.
Certifications
- Certifications required depend on the size of the organization, area in which the individual is operating, their educational background, and their level of work experience. In some circumstances certification as a certified economic developer (Ec.D.) or certification as a Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) may be required.
- Certified Economic Developer (Ec.D.)
- Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP)
Additional Requirements
- Often a minimum of ten years experience in developing business opportunities for liquid hydrocarbons (oil, natural gas, butane, propane) or in the petrochemicals industry is required
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas include:
- Travel required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
You have very strong communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills. You are also a strong project manager and are able to research, analyze data and negotiate.
- Customer and personal service
- Economics and accounting
- Human resources
- Understanding risk
- Sales and marketing
- Public speaking
- Writing, technical writing and document production
- Building a successful team
- Cost benefit analysis
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Collaborative
- Sub-sector Carbon capture, utilization and storage, Emissions reduction
- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary degree
- Skills Upgrading Minor
-
Refocus
A business development manager in oil and natural gas making a career change to the CCUS or emissions reduction sub-sectors of cleantech may expect to complete some upskilling to make a successful transition. Developing proposal-writing, marketing, business acumen and fundraising capabilities may be necessary, as raising capital is one of the top barriers for cleantech innovators. Workers may need to increase understanding of infrastructure and processes in relation to industrial plants and oil and natural gas development. There may be a shift in work culture to those characteristics typical of start-up tech companies.
In addition to the activities below, other activities in the cleantech sector may include:
- Writing proposals and business development plans. (CCUS | emissions reduction)
- Sourcing funders for projects. (CCUS | emissions reduction)
- Operating customer relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce. (CCUS | emissions reduction)
In this occupation activities may include:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with existing and prospective customers and/or partners to identify, develop, and commercially implement new opportunities.
- Identifying, developing and/or evaluating marketing strategy based on knowledge of the company’s objectives and products.
- Negotiating contracts with clients, vendors or distributors.
- Working collaboratively and maintaining communication channels with engineering, operations, legal, sales and other business units to develop comprehensive, integrated sales and strategic plans relating to products and services being offered by the organization.
- Directing the hiring, training or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff.
Education
- Typically a university degree in economics, commerce, finance, business administration, marketing or related fields is preferred. However, this is a role where experience in the industry is of greater importance than a specific degree.
Certifications
- Certifications required depend on the size of the organization, area in which the individual is operating, their educational background, and their level of work experience. In some circumstances certification as a certified economic developer (Ec.D.) or certification as a Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) may be required.
- Certified Economic Developer (Ec.D.)
- Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP)
Additional Requirements
- Often a minimum of ten years experience in developing business opportunities for liquid hydrocarbons (oil, natural gas, butane, propane) or in the petrochemicals industry is required
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to cleantech include:
- Shiftwork/variable work hours (CCUS | emissions reduction)
- Travel required (CCUS | emissions reduction)
- Primarily indoor/office work (CCUS | emissions reduction)
- Lower-risk tolerant culture (CCUS | emissions reduction)
- Safety-sensitive environment (CCUS | emissions reduction)
- Transition to a similar level (CCUS | emissions reduction)
- Urban location (CCUS | emissions reduction)
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas include:
- Travel required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
You have very strong communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills. You are also a strong project manager and are able to research, analyze data and negotiate.
- Customer and personal service
- Economics and accounting
- Human resources
- Understanding risk
- Sales and marketing
- Public speaking
- Writing, technical writing and document production
- Building a successful team
- Cost benefit analysis
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Collaborative
- Sub-sector Engineering, design and procurement
- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary degree
- Skills Upgrading Minor
-
Refocus
A business development manager in oil and natural gas making a career change to the engineering, design and procurement life cycle phase of industrial construction and maintenance in energy may need to complete some minor upskilling for a successful transition. Increasing business acumen to create value for the business and customer, as well as experience with major capital projects as well as a construction background may be required.
In addition to the activities below, other activities in industrial construction and maintenance in energy may include:
- Operating customer relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce. (engineering, design and procurement)
In this occupation activities may include:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with existing and prospective customers and/or partners to identify, develop, and commercially implement new opportunities.
- Identifying, developing and/or evaluating marketing strategy based on knowledge of the company’s objectives and products.
- Negotiating contracts with clients, vendors or distributors.
- Working collaboratively and maintaining communication channels with engineering, operations, legal, sales and other business units to develop comprehensive, integrated sales and strategic plans relating to products and services being offered by the organization.
- Directing the hiring, training or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff.
Education
- Typically a university degree in economics, commerce, finance, business administration, marketing or related fields is preferred. However, this is a role where experience in the industry is of greater importance than a specific degree.
Certifications
- Certifications required depend on the size of the organization, area in which the individual is operating, their educational background, and their level of work experience. In some circumstances certification as a certified economic developer (Ec.D.) or certification as a Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) may be required.
- Certified Economic Developer (Ec.D.)
- Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP)
Additional Requirements
- Often a minimum of ten years experience in developing business opportunities for liquid hydrocarbons (oil, natural gas, butane, propane) or in the petrochemicals industry is required
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to industrial construction and maintenance include:
- Shiftwork/variable work hours (engineering, design and procurement)
- Travel required (engineering, design and procurement)
- Primarily indoor/office work (engineering, design and procurement)
- Lower-risk tolerant culture (engineering, design and procurement)
- Safety-sensitive environment (engineering, design and procurement)
- Transition to a similar level (engineering, design and procurement)
- Urban location (engineering, design and procurement)
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas include:
- Travel required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
You have very strong communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills. You are also a strong project manager and are able to research, analyze data and negotiate.
- Customer and personal service
- Economics and accounting
- Human resources
- Understanding risk
- Sales and marketing
- Public speaking
- Writing, technical writing and document production
- Building a successful team
- Cost benefit analysis
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Collaborative
- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary degree
- Skills Upgrading Major
-
Reboot
A business development manager in oil and natural gas making a career change to digitization and automation in energy may need to upskill significantly for a successful transition. An understanding of oil and natural gas technical, processing and operations knowledge, and industry’s regulatory and business environment is of value. Workers may need to understand the relationship between processes and equipment and be able to identify problems in order to frame technologies as solutions. Most oil and natural gas workers will need to develop skills related to software development, data science, and DataOps. There may be a shift in work culture to those characteristics typical of start-up tech companies.
In addition to the activities below, other activities in digitization and automation may include:
- Writing proposals and business development plans.
- Sourcing funders for projects.
- Operating customer relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce.
In this occupation activities may include:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with existing and prospective customers and/or partners to identify, develop, and commercially implement new opportunities.
- Identifying, developing and/or evaluating marketing strategy based on knowledge of the company’s objectives and products.
- Negotiating contracts with clients, vendors or distributors.
- Working collaboratively and maintaining communication channels with engineering, operations, legal, sales and other business units to develop comprehensive, integrated sales and strategic plans relating to products and services being offered by the organization.
- Directing the hiring, training or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff.
Education
- Typically a university degree in economics, commerce, finance, business administration, marketing or related fields is preferred. However, this is a role where experience in the industry is of greater importance than a specific degree.
Certifications
- Certifications required depend on the size of the organization, area in which the individual is operating, their educational background, and their level of work experience. In some circumstances certification as a certified economic developer (Ec.D.) or certification as a Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) may be required.
- Certified Economic Developer (Ec.D.)
- Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP)
Additional Requirements
- Often a minimum of ten years experience in developing business opportunities for liquid hydrocarbons (oil, natural gas, butane, propane) or in the petrochemicals industry is required
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to digitization and automation include:
- Shiftwork/variable work hours
- Travel required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Agile/flexible approach to work
- Transition to a similar level
- Urban location
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas include:
- Travel required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
You have very strong communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills. You are also a strong project manager and are able to research, analyze data and negotiate.
- Customer and personal service
- Economics and accounting
- Human resources
- Understanding risk
- Sales and marketing
- Public speaking
- Writing, technical writing and document production
- Building a successful team
- Cost benefit analysis
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Collaborative
- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary degree
- Skills Upgrading Minor
-
Refocus
A business development manger working in oil and natural gas may need to complete some minor upskilling for a successful transition to LNG facility operation. A strong understanding of infrastructure and processes related to industrial plants and oil and natural gas development will be required. Workers may need to increase business acumen to create value for the business and customer, and learn to navigate a strict regulatory environment.
In addition to the activities below, other activities in LNG facility operation may include:
- Operating customer relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce.
In this occupation activities may include:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with existing and prospective customers and/or partners to identify, develop, and commercially implement new opportunities.
- Identifying, developing and/or evaluating marketing strategy based on knowledge of the company’s objectives and products.
- Negotiating contracts with clients, vendors or distributors.
- Working collaboratively and maintaining communication channels with engineering, operations, legal, sales and other business units to develop comprehensive, integrated sales and strategic plans relating to products and services being offered by the organization.
- Directing the hiring, training or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff.
Education
- Typically a university degree in economics, commerce, finance, business administration, marketing or related fields is preferred. However, this is a role where experience in the industry is of greater importance than a specific degree.
Certifications
- Certifications required depend on the size of the organization, area in which the individual is operating, their educational background, and their level of work experience. In some circumstances certification as a certified economic developer (Ec.D.) or certification as a Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) may be required.
- Certified Economic Developer (Ec.D.)
- Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP)
Additional Requirements
- Often a minimum of ten years experience in developing business opportunities for liquid hydrocarbons (oil, natural gas, butane, propane) or in the petrochemicals industry is required
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to LNG include:
- Travel required
- Potential for relocation
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Lower-risk tolerant culture
- Safety-sensitive environment
- Transition to a similar level
- Career development fostered/supported
- Urban location
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas include:
- Travel required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
You have very strong communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills. You are also a strong project manager and are able to research, analyze data and negotiate.
- Customer and personal service
- Economics and accounting
- Human resources
- Understanding risk
- Sales and marketing
- Public speaking
- Writing, technical writing and document production
- Building a successful team
- Cost benefit analysis
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Collaborative
- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary degree
- Skills Upgrading Minor
-
Refocus
A business development manger working in oil and natural gas may need to complete some minor upskilling for a successful transition to petrochemicals and refining. A strong understanding of infrastructure and processes related to industrial plants and oil and natural gas development will be required. Workers may need to increase business acumen to create value for the business and customer, and learn to navigate a strict regulatory environment.
In addition to the activities below, other activities in petrochemicals and refining may include:
- Operating customer relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce.
In this occupation activities may include:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with existing and prospective customers and/or partners to identify, develop, and commercially implement new opportunities.
- Identifying, developing and/or evaluating marketing strategy based on knowledge of the company’s objectives and products.
- Negotiating contracts with clients, vendors or distributors.
- Working collaboratively and maintaining communication channels with engineering, operations, legal, sales and other business units to develop comprehensive, integrated sales and strategic plans relating to products and services being offered by the organization.
- Directing the hiring, training or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff.
Education
- Typically a university degree in economics, commerce, finance, business administration, marketing or related fields is preferred. However, this is a role where experience in the industry is of greater importance than a specific degree.
Certifications
- Certifications required depend on the size of the organization, area in which the individual is operating, their educational background, and their level of work experience. In some circumstances certification as a certified economic developer (Ec.D.) or certification as a Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) may be required.
- Certified Economic Developer (Ec.D.)
- Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP)
Additional Requirements
- Often a minimum of ten years experience in developing business opportunities for liquid hydrocarbons (oil, natural gas, butane, propane) or in the petrochemicals industry is required
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to petrochemicals and refining include:
- Shiftwork/variable work hours
- Travel required
- Potential for relocation
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Lower-risk tolerant culture
- Safety-sensitive environment
- Transition to a similar level
- Career development fostered/supported
- Urban location
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas include:
- Travel required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
You have very strong communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills. You are also a strong project manager and are able to research, analyze data and negotiate.
- Customer and personal service
- Economics and accounting
- Human resources
- Understanding risk
- Sales and marketing
- Public speaking
- Writing, technical writing and document production
- Building a successful team
- Cost benefit analysis
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Collaborative
- Sub-sector Geothermal, Solar, Wind
- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary degree
- Skills Upgrading Minor
-
Refocus
A business development manager working in oil and natural gas may need to complete some minor upskilling to work in the geothermal sub-sector of renewables. More significant upskilling may be required to work in the solar or wind sub-sectors. Experience in the respective renewables sub-sectors may be required, along with an understanding of unique regulatory requirements. A strong understanding of infrastructure and processes in relation to leveraging natural resource assets including oil and natural gas development for power generation may be needed for each sub-sector. Workers may need to increase business acumen to create value for the business and customer. There may be a shift in work culture to those characteristics typical of start-up tech companies. The average salary range for this role in geothermal is similar to that of oil and natural gas, however, workers may expect the salary range in solar and wind to be lower than the oil and natural gas average.
In addition to the activities below, other activities in renewables may include:
- Writing proposals and business development plans. (geothermal | solar | wind)
- Sourcing funders for projects. (geothermal | solar | wind)
- Operating customer relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce. (geothermal | solar | wind)
In this occupation activities may include:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with existing and prospective customers and/or partners to identify, develop, and commercially implement new opportunities.
- Identifying, developing and/or evaluating marketing strategy based on knowledge of the company’s objectives and products.
- Negotiating contracts with clients, vendors or distributors.
- Working collaboratively and maintaining communication channels with engineering, operations, legal, sales and other business units to develop comprehensive, integrated sales and strategic plans relating to products and services being offered by the organization.
- Directing the hiring, training or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff.
Education
- Typically a university degree in economics, commerce, finance, business administration, marketing or related fields is preferred. However, this is a role where experience in the industry is of greater importance than a specific degree.
Certifications
- Certifications required depend on the size of the organization, area in which the individual is operating, their educational background, and their level of work experience. In some circumstances certification as a certified economic developer (Ec.D.) or certification as a Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) may be required.
- Certified Economic Developer (Ec.D.)
- Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP)
Additional Requirements
- Often a minimum of ten years experience in developing business opportunities for liquid hydrocarbons (oil, natural gas, butane, propane) or in the petrochemicals industry is required
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to renewables include:
- Shiftwork/variable work hours (geothermal | solar | wind)
- Travel required (geothermal | solar | wind)
- Primarily indoor/office work (geothermal | wind)
- Agile/flexible approach to work (solar | wind)
- Lower-risk tolerant culture (geothermal)
- Safety-sensitive environment (geothermal)
- Transition to a similar level (geothermal)
- Transition to a lower level (solar | wind)
- Urban location (geothermal | solar | wind)
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas include:
- Travel required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
You have very strong communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills. You are also a strong project manager and are able to research, analyze data and negotiate.
- Customer and personal service
- Economics and accounting
- Human resources
- Understanding risk
- Sales and marketing
- Public speaking
- Writing, technical writing and document production
- Building a successful team
- Cost benefit analysis
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Collaborative
The renewables sector is further divided into sub-sectors:
Geothermal
- Transferability: Refocus
- Skills upgrade: Minor
- Average salary range: Equal to oil and gas
Solar
- Transferability: Reboot
- Skills upgrade: Major
- Average salary range: Less than oil and gas
Wind
- Transferability: Reboot
- Skills upgrade: Major
- Average salary range: Less than oil and gas
What does this mean for workers?
Workers will find that the ease of a career change from oil and natural gas into renewables may vary by sub-sector. There could be differences in the need to upskill, gain knowledge and experience, expected salary range and varying work environments. Further research on the sector or consultation with a career advisor may be required.
