Senior Business Developer Healthy Work Innovation

Want to make your mark on our time? Come work as a Senior Business Developer Healthy Work Innovation at TNO in Leiden!

About this position

At TNO Health & Work, we develop innovations that contribute to a healthy and productive labour market. How can we ensure that people continue to live and work in a healthy, productive, and safe way in a world that is changing at lightning speed? How can we ensure that chemical substances, materials, and products are designed and used in ways that are both safe and sustainable, protecting the health and safety of workers and society as a whole?

We focus on major societal challenges, including existing and emerging health risks that threaten the employability and productivity of the workforce. These challenges include exposure to chemical substances, unsafe working conditions, excessive workloads, and the resulting structural absenteeism and long-term workforce dropout. Our vision is clear: a highly employable workforce is essential for a healthy and prosperous society, as well as for strengthening the productivity and innovative capacity of the Netherlands. That is why we are committed to promoting optimal working conditions that make work productive, healthy, and safe. At the same time, we reduce emerging risks that contribute to absenteeism and workforce dropout. We also develop human-centred, labour-saving technologies that enable more work to be carried out in the Netherlands with fewer people — while maintaining job satisfaction and quality of work.

To accelerate the large-scale adoption of these innovations, we are looking for a commercially driven Business Developer Healthy Work Innovation who can identify opportunities in the market and translate them into concrete projects, long-term programme collaborations, technology implementation initiatives, and licensing opportunities.

What will be your role?

As a Business Developer Healthy Work Innovation, you will drive the commercialisation, implementation, and scaling of TNO expertise and innovations in healthy and safe work, Safe-and-Sustainable by Design (SSbD), sustainable employability, AI applications, and technological innovation. You connect market needs with TNO expertise, ensuring innovations are successfully applied and scaled across industries. You play a key role in connecting TNO with partners throughout the value chain — from raw material producers and designers to policymakers and industrial end users. A key part of your role is the valorisation of TNO knowledge, tools, methodologies, and interventions. You will work with innovations such as:

• ArboInzicht and monitoring programmes.
• Safety Culture Evolution Framework (SCEF).
• Technology Impact Methodology.
• Validation of physically demanding roles (RVU).
• Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) Expertise Centre.
• AI technologies for risk prediction.

To summarize, your core responsibilities are:

Commercial market development

• Identify innovation needs within companies, sectors, and public organisations.
• Develop collaboration opportunities in healthy and safe work, SSbD, and sustainable employability.
• Translate market demands into commercial opportunities for TNO.
• Monitor developments in chemical safety, REACH, CLP, CSRD, ESPR, and European SSbD regulations.

Valorisation and implementation

• Commercialise TNO knowledge, methodologies, interventions, and data-driven solutions.
• Develop new propositions, partnerships, and funding applications.
• Deliver implementations and secure contracts.

Scaling and ecosystems

• Build ecosystems and public-private partnerships for large-scale innovation deployment.

Data-driven innovation and IP

• Position TNO solutions for monitoring and analysing work and health, including AI applications for prediction and prevention.
• Develop scalable business models, including licensing, subscriptions, data services, and strategic partnerships.
• Commercialise TNO knowledge, IT models, and intellectual property.

What we expect from you

• Experience in business development and commercial market development, for example within consultancy, innovation, or technology-driven environments.
• A strong understanding of customer needs and market opportunities, combined with the ability to translate complex content and innovations into concrete propositions, business opportunities, and partnerships.
• Demonstrated experience in — and enthusiasm for — developing propositions, collaborations, assignments, and commercial deals.
• An entrepreneurial mindset: you recognise opportunities, take initiative, drive progress, and know how to mobilise projects and teams.
• Preferably an existing network within the fields of healthy and safe work, Safe-and-Sustainable by Design (SSbD), sustainable employability, AI applications, and technological innovation in Healthy Work — or the ability to build such a network quickly.
• Strong networking and communication skills; you move comfortably between industry, government, researchers, and value chain partners.
• A proactive, entrepreneurial, and results-driven attitude with a strong external focus.
• Excellent storytelling and pitching skills, combined with natural persuasive abilities.

What you'll get in return

Challenging and varied work with a real impact. And plenty of opportunities as, at TNO, you are in charge of shaping your career. We offer a gross monthly salary between € 7.000,- and € 9.000,- (based on your knowledge and experience), 8% holiday pay, a 13th month bonus of 8.33% and a flex budget (5.58% + € 180). In addition, you will be given every opportunity to develop yourself.

TNO offers optional employee benefits, enabling you to tailor your benefits package to match your personal situation. You may also expect:

• An extremely professional, innovative working environment where colleagues are leading experts in their field.
• The opportunity to attend courses, workshops and conferences, and to receive training and coaching based on your needs.
• 33 days annual leave plus a flexible holiday that can be used on a cultural, religious, or otherwise important day of your choosing (on a full-time basis).
• Flexible working hours, the possibility to work parttime (32 or 36 hours) and the possibility of working from home.
• A good pension scheme.

TNO as an employer

Our people are at the heart of TNO. Their curiosity, expertise and entrepreneurial mindset make it possible to deliver high-impact research and innovations that contribute to society’s sustainable wellbeing and prosperity. That is why we invest in an inspiring working environment where colleagues can excel, have autonomy and continue to grow.

Your talent and ambition have every opportunity to flourish at TNO. You work with experts (both within and beyond TNO), have access to advanced technology and the freedom to explore, experiment and innovate. Our strength lies in independence, reliability and collaboration. We are driven to push boundaries. By working with businesses and government, and by connecting different perspectives, we strengthen our innovative capability and create responsible, meaningful results.

At TNO, we believe this is our time to help society, government and business move forward faster. Together with driven colleagues, you turn knowledge into concrete innovations or ventures that truly make a difference by combining the power of science and entrepreneurship. And in doing so, you make your mark on our time.