Strategy & Business Developer 

With over 40 million products, bol serves nearly 14 million customers in the Netherlands and Belgium. To strengthen its leading position, the company relies on strategic decision making. The Strategy & Business Developer drives this effort by initiating, accelerating, and embedding key strategic projects across the organization, combining visionary thinking with pragmatic execution. 

About bol

Bol has transformed from a traditional webshop into a leading open retail tech platform, a journey driven by continuous innovation and strategic choices. As the largest online retail platform in the Netherlands and Belgium, bol serves millions of consumers with a selection of over 42 million products. These offerings are a mix of items sold directly by bol and those provided by the more than 47,000 business partners who use the platform to reach their customers. Together, they embody bol’s ethos as “de winkel van ons allemaal” (the shop for all of us).

In the fast-changing retail tech landscape, standing still is not an option. Bol views it as “reading a book backwards.” Maintaining its leadership position requires not just keeping pace but staying ahead. This means consistently delivering on promises to customers while expanding the platform’s reach and relevance. At bol, the customer is at the heart of every decision, inspiring relentless improvement and innovation.

A culture of curiosity and collaboration 
Bol’s culture is fueled by curiosity, open-mindedness, and a willingness to learn from new perspectives and data-driven experiments. Collaboration is key, with employees working together as more than the sum of their parts. This mindset drives bol to explore new frontiers, both in the near and distant future, ensuring sustained growth in an increasingly competitive market.

Vacancy: Strategy & Business Developer

The rapidly evolving e-commerce sector offers bol endless possibilities to make life easier for customers. From modest improvements to bold, ambitious propositions, the potential is vast. However, with limited resources, making the right strategic choices is essential. That’s where the Strategy & Business Developer plays a crucial role, shaping and driving the company’s long-term success.

Key responsibilities of the role include defining bol’s overarching long-term strategy and identifying opportunities and risks, considering their strategic and financial implications, as well as their impact on customers and partners. The Strategy & Business Developer monitors and shares insights into external trends and developments, crafts business cases to evaluate the value of new, innovative ideas, and ensures stakeholder alignment across all levels of the organization.

As part of the Strategy & Business Development team, the Strategy & Business Developer spearheads the initiation, execution, and acceleration of strategic cross-functional projects across all levels of the organization. Tackling challenges and opportunities that span every domain, the Strategy & Business Development team (consisting of 12 ambitious colleagues) has delivered impactful initiatives, such as defining a brand proposition that the company can use to attract and retain high-quality brands. Additionally, this role explores new business models for customers, often collaborating with senior management.

Hallmark projects
A few examples of hallmark projects led by the team include the creation of the Select loyalty program, logistics services for partners, and integrating PostNL shipping benefits for bol’s partner network. Each of these initiatives has added strategic value and significantly accelerated bol’s growth. Whether it’s introducing innovative business models or exploring new propositions, the Strategy & Business Developer seeks to capitalize on significant opportunities that can elevate the organization, collaborating closely with various teams and departments across bol. The Strategy & Business Developer reports directly to the two Heads of Strategy & Business Development.

“From conceptualizing new business models to operational execution, this role is all about driving bol’s strategic agenda. This calls for an ambitious professional with a consulting toolkit – someone who can craft a concept from scratch and has the determination and execution power to bring it to life. It’s a challenging role that provides the opportunity to collaborate across all domains within bol.” – Carmel Kloosterhuis, Head of Strategy & Business Development

Turning impactful ideas into reality requires a high degree of ownership, autonomous thinking, and strategic expertise. In a fast-paced environment where organizational and market developments evolve rapidly, quick decision-making is essential. At bol, not every decision can be fully calculated, which means addressing obstacles often comes with a degree of uncertainty. With a strategic outlook, sharp analytical skills, and decisive execution power, the Strategy & Business Developer is an energetic driving force behind every project. This pivotal role plays a key part in bol’s continued success as a market leader in the dynamic retail tech landscape.

Interested?

Bol is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, please contact Frederique Duynstee at frederique.duynstee@topofminds.com