Vacant job

Company Description

As IKEA's own furniture manufacturer, our role is to offer a unique advantage for IKEA as the world leader in home furnishing. IKEA Industry has more than 30 production units across 18 sites in 7 countries: Poland, Slovakia, Portugal, Sweden, Lithuania, China, and Hungary. Our operations include forestry, sawmills, boards, component, and furniture production. About 15,000 co-workers work at IKEA Industry. The IKEA culture and values shape everything we do. Not only do IKEA values bring us together, they also help us to do business successfully.

Within IKEA Industry Manufacturing Development, we lead and support new products, new materials, and business development activities, including furniture and board technology. Together with our IKEA colleagues, we lead and develop business development within IKEA Industry units, as well as offering support and services such as product development for IKEA Suppliers, automation & robotics, and the development of manufacturing concepts benefiting IKEA today and tomorrow.

We are looking for a Business Development Leader to lead and support business development by developing business cases as well as participating in the realization of projects to support Manufacturing Areas and units in their success. You will report to the Manufacturing Development Manager at IKEA Industry and be located in Malmö, Hyllie.

Job Description

In this position, you will actively work to ensure that each unit has a clear plant role, lead plant role-related projects, and find new opportunities where capacity and production resources are utilized in the best possible way, securing both availability and quality. You will support long-term range and volume plans.

A part of the assignment is to initiate and lead identified pre-studies and pre-projects linked to long-term development, as well as to participate in the realization of such projects, ensuring that expected benefits are in line with the plant role, business plan, Industry plan, and strategies. This also includes being responsible for creating and presenting business cases and reports that identify business benefits, impacts, consequences, and risks, as well as ensuring fact-based analysis and delivering directional support to relevant decision forums.

The above areas are intended to support Manufacturing Area Managers in coaching and challenging the units regarding business development topics, with the overall ambition to create a successful and high-performing organization.

One of the success factors in this assignment is to build professional, trustful, efficient, and long-term relationships with stakeholders across IKEA organizations as well as with relevant external partners, based on a shared business model, trust, and transparency.

Qualifications

About You

You are passionate about improving business in a dynamic manufacturing setting, and through your extensive experience, you master the craft of turning business opportunities into tangible results. You are as comfortable communicating a vision as you are with operational execution.

You have excellent collaboration and communication skills and understand that change is driven through people. Your passion for growing both business and people is clearly visible through your development projects. You are motivated to work in a diverse and global organization.

As a person, you are curious, fact-based, and comfortable in the unknown. You challenge the status quo with professional integrity and an outside-in perspective.

Your drive comes from making a true business impact, and you make the people around you grow.

To be successful in this role, the following knowledge, skills, and experiences would be valuable:

• Extensive experience working with business development in manufacturing and broad knowledge of the area.
• Very strong knowledge of the IKEA Business Plan process and strategic direction.
• Strong knowledge of business processes, understanding of the IKEA value chain, and the IKEA process landscape.
• Proven experience in project management.
• Formal advanced qualification in engineering and economics.
• Strong business drive and result-oriented.
• Desire to find new opportunities and make things happen by engaging and motivating people.
• A passion to develop both business and people.
• Positive attitude, self-starting, persistent, and motivated by taking on challenges.
• Excellent communication skills in English (spoken and written).

Preferred

• Experience from manufacturing and/or process industry. Understanding of manufacturing processes and operational excellence methods.
• Knowledge and understanding of the IKEA value chain and IKEA culture & values.

Additional Information

Could this be your next opportunity? We would love to hear from you – please apply as soon as possible, and no later than June 19, 2026.

If you have any questions regarding the position, please contact P&C Leader, Kornelia Krygier.

We are looking forward to your application!