Role purpose
The Head of Business Development & Commercial Excellence leads the Business Development & Commercial Excellence agenda for Business Banking. The role translates strategic priorities into integrated commercial plans, go-to-market execution, sales enablement, customer-experience improvements and sustained performance management across segments, products and distribution channels.
As the strategic voice of Business Banking towards the independent-agent network, the role creates the commercial steering framework, insights, governance and enablement required for independent agents to deliver against shared Business Banking ambitions, while respecting their entrepreneurial model and channel-specific dynamics.
Key accountabilities
1. Strategy, growth and portfolio development
- Define and continuously refine the Business Banking development strategy, translating strategic ambitions into a prioritized commercial roadmap.
- Identify growth opportunities through customer insights, competitive intelligence, NPS, product usage, market developments and emerging propositions.
- Orchestrate integrated commercial plans and go-to-market strategies with Sales, Tribes, Product, Digital Sales & Adoption, Marketing and Data & Analytics.
- Bring clear strategic choices, trade-offs and recommendations to Business Banking governance and ensure disciplined follow-through.
2. Commercial excellence and execution
- Own and embed the Commercial Excellence framework across statutory sales channels and the independent-agent network.
- Establish consistent commercial rhythms, standards and ways of working, from opportunity identification and targeting to execution, follow-up and corrective action.
- Sponsor strategic workshops and translate outcomes into concrete initiatives, accountabilities and measurable business impact.
- Promote cross-segment and cross-product best practices that improve customer relevance, commercial effectiveness and execution quality.
3. Commercial steering of the independent-agent network
- Act as the Business Banking strategic counterpart for the leadership of the independent-agent network and represent Business Banking in relevant channel governance.
- Provide agents and network leadership with actionable performance insights, client-potential views, campaign priorities and clear steering signals.
- Enable execution through fit-for-channel propositions, playbooks, dashboards, training, coaching and structured feedback loops.
- Monitor outcomes and barriers, facilitate timely decisions across stakeholders, and initiate corrective actions where performance or execution deviates from plan.
4. Sales enablement and capability building
- Provide functional direction to sales-enablement communities and ensure strong alignment with Sales Management and Business Developers.
- Shape sales targets and performance expectations with Business Banking leadership and reinforce accountability for delivery.
- Sponsor training, coaching and capability-building programs that strengthen commercial conversations, proposition adoption and execution discipline.
- Ensure sales teams and independent agents receive timely, practical and relevant commercial support.
5. Customer experience and proposition impact
- Champion the voice of the customer in strategic decisions and throughout proposition and requirement development.
- Connect feedback from customers, statutory sales teams and independent agents with Tribes and Product teams to improve propositions, journeys and servicing.
- Ensure commercial initiatives contribute to customer relevance, accessibility, satisfaction and sustainable value creation.
6. Performance management, data and governance
- Define the commercial performance framework, including targets, leading indicators, dashboards and management routines.
- Prioritize insight and dashboard development with Business Insights & Data Analytics, ensuring metrics support decisions and commercial action.
- Monitor sales performance, product usage, campaign results and execution quality across channels; escalate issues and drive remediation.
- Provide concise, decision-oriented reporting to Business Banking governance bodies and senior stakeholders.
7. Team and stakeholder leadership
- Lead, coach and develop the Business Development & Commercial Excellence team, creating clarity of purpose, ownership and collaboration.
- Build a high-performance culture that combines strategic thinking, customer focus, data-driven decision-making and operational agility.
- Align senior stakeholders across Business Banking Sales, Easy, Guided, Relationship, the independent-agent network, Finance, Tribes, Marketing and Analytics.
Expected outcomes
- Strategic clarity: A focused, evidence-based commercial roadmap with explicit priorities and ownership.
- Execution strength: Consistent commercial routines and faster conversion of plans into measurable action.
- Channel enablement: Independent agents equipped with relevant targets, insights, tools and support.
- Performance transparency: Reliable dashboards and governance that enable timely steering and course correction.
- Customer impact: Commercial decisions grounded in customer needs, feedback and proposition value
- Team impact: An empowered team recognized as a strategic partner and execution catalyst for Business Banking.
Role purpose
The Head of Business Development & Commercial Excellence leads the Business Development & Commercial Excellence agenda for Business Banking. The role translates strategic priorities into integrated commercial plans, go-to-market execution, sales enablement, customer-experience improvements and sustained performance management across segments, products and distribution channels.
As the strategic voice of Business Banking towards the independent-agent network, the role creates the commercial steering framework, insights, governance and enablement required for independent agents to deliver against shared Business Banking ambitions, while respecting their entrepreneurial model and channel-specific dynamics.
Key accountabilities
1. Strategy, growth and portfolio development
- Define and continuously refine the Business Banking development strategy, translating strategic ambitions into a prioritized commercial roadmap.
- Identify growth opportunities through customer insights, competitive intelligence, NPS, product usage, market developments and emerging propositions.
- Orchestrate integrated commercial plans and go-to-market strategies with Sales, Tribes, Product, Digital Sales & Adoption, Marketing and Data & Analytics.
- Bring clear strategic choices, trade-offs and recommendations to Business Banking governance and ensure disciplined follow-through.
2. Commercial excellence and execution
- Own and embed the Commercial Excellence framework across statutory sales channels and the independent-agent network.
- Establish consistent commercial rhythms, standards and ways of working, from opportunity identification and targeting to execution, follow-up and corrective action.
- Sponsor strategic workshops and translate outcomes into concrete initiatives, accountabilities and measurable business impact.
- Promote cross-segment and cross-product best practices that improve customer relevance, commercial effectiveness and execution quality.
3. Commercial steering of the independent-agent network
- Act as the Business Banking strategic counterpart for the leadership of the independent-agent network and represent Business Banking in relevant channel governance.
- Provide agents and network leadership with actionable performance insights, client-potential views, campaign priorities and clear steering signals.
- Enable execution through fit-for-channel propositions, playbooks, dashboards, training, coaching and structured feedback loops.
- Monitor outcomes and barriers, facilitate timely decisions across stakeholders, and initiate corrective actions where performance or execution deviates from plan.
4. Sales enablement and capability building
- Provide functional direction to sales-enablement communities and ensure strong alignment with Sales Management and Business Developers.
- Shape sales targets and performance expectations with Business Banking leadership and reinforce accountability for delivery.
- Sponsor training, coaching and capability-building programs that strengthen commercial conversations, proposition adoption and execution discipline.
- Ensure sales teams and independent agents receive timely, practical and relevant commercial support.
5. Customer experience and proposition impact
- Champion the voice of the customer in strategic decisions and throughout proposition and requirement development.
- Connect feedback from customers, statutory sales teams and independent agents with Tribes and Product teams to improve propositions, journeys and servicing.
- Ensure commercial initiatives contribute to customer relevance, accessibility, satisfaction and sustainable value creation.
6. Performance management, data and governance
- Define the commercial performance framework, including targets, leading indicators, dashboards and management routines.
- Prioritize insight and dashboard development with Business Insights & Data Analytics, ensuring metrics support decisions and commercial action.
- Monitor sales performance, product usage, campaign results and execution quality across channels; escalate issues and drive remediation.
- Provide concise, decision-oriented reporting to Business Banking governance bodies and senior stakeholders.
7. Team and stakeholder leadership
- Lead, coach and develop the Business Development & Commercial Excellence team, creating clarity of purpose, ownership and collaboration.
- Build a high-performance culture that combines strategic thinking, customer focus, data-driven decision-making and operational agility.
- Align senior stakeholders across Business Banking Sales, Easy, Guided, Relationship, the independent-agent network, Finance, Tribes, Marketing and Analytics.
Expected outcomes
- Strategic clarity: A focused, evidence-based commercial roadmap with explicit priorities and ownership.
- Execution strength: Consistent commercial routines and faster conversion of plans into measurable action.
- Channel enablement: Independent agents equipped with relevant targets, insights, tools and support.
- Performance transparency: Reliable dashboards and governance that enable timely steering and course correction.
- Customer impact: Commercial decisions grounded in customer needs, feedback and proposition value
- Team impact: An empowered team recognized as a strategic partner and execution catalyst for Business Banking.
Experience and Qualifications
The ideal candidate combines deep banking expertise with strong commercial leadership and strategic vision. They have a proven ability to translate strategy into execution, drive growth through multiple distribution channels, and influence senior stakeholders while building high-performing teams. Experience within Business Banking is considered essential, with an established track record of delivering commercial results in a banking environment.
Furthermore you bring:
- 15+ years of experience in the banking sector, with substantial experience in Business Banking, Commercial Banking, SME Banking, or a comparable financial services environment.
- 8-10 years of senior leadership experience in Commercial Excellence, Business Development, Sales Leadership, Commercial Strategy, or Revenue Growth functions within a banking or financial services organization.
- Master's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Commercial Engineering, or a related field. An MBA is considered a strong advantage.
- Fluent in English. Proficiency in Dutch and French is strongly preferred.
- Strong understanding of the Business Banking landscape, including customer needs, distribution models, customer journeys, lending products, deposits, payments, and digital solutions.
- Experience working with intermediary, broker, franchise, agency, or independent distribution networks is highly desirable.
Rewards and benefits
We want to make sure that it’s possible for you to strike the right balance between your career and your private life. Find out more about our employment conditions.
The benefits of working with us at ING include:
- An attractive gross salary, depending on your job category and professional experience.
- Flex Budget
- 20 statutory holidays, plus an additional 9–11 days of annual leave, 1 regional public holiday, and 4 bank holidays
- Profit Sharing
- Reimbursement of your train or bus pass
- Telephone subscription and internet allowance
- Pension Plan
- Hybrid working
About us
Curious about how ING empowers people and businesses to move forward? Discover what we do and what we can offer you.
Questions or want to apply directly?
Should you have any questions, please contact the recruiter attached to the advertisement. Want to apply directly? Please upload your CV and motivation letter by clicking the ‘Apply’ button. We are looking forward to meeting you!
