Business Development Director

Position: Business Development Director

Reports to: Vice President Impact & Accountability  

OPPORTUNITY PROFILE

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC INCLUSION

The Center for Economic Inclusion is the nation's first organization dedicated exclusively to advancing inclusive growth to achieve regional shared prosperity. The Center was created in 2017 to strengthen the Minneapolis-St. Paul region’s leadership, civic infrastructure, and collective capacity to disrupt systems and influence market forces to catalyze shared prosperity and an inclusive economy. Our work has grown to meet the needs of businesses and agencies across the country committed to closing racial employment, income, and wealth gaps by dismantling institutional racism, and fueling inclusive and equitable regional economic growth. We are committed to these four objectives in relentless pursuit of an economy that works for everyone:

• Create broad, measurable shared accountability for creating an inclusive and equitable economy among decision & policy makers
• Equip public and private sector employers and policy makers with solutions to disrupt and dismantle systemic racism and institutionalize equitable policies for scale
• Partner to enable the regional and place-based infrastructure of racial and economic opportunity
• Foster operational excellence and a high-performance culture

HOW WE WORK

At the Center, we take pride in bringing our values to life and “walking the talk.”  We are a diverse team in many ways, and we believe our diversity of thought makes us stronger and our work more innovative and responsive to the communities we serve.  We strive to maintain a collaborative work environment that also stimulates individual autonomy and accountability for performance goals and excellence. We invest in great talent, and nurture it and we believe in the power of career pathways within the Center. We look for these values in the talented individuals who join our team, and we strive to cultivate an environment that harnesses the collective power of these values, traits, and the expertise that each team member brings in pursuit of our mission.

• Anti-Racism
• Inclusivity
• Shared Power, Shared Leadership, and Shared Accountability
• High -performance & High-engagement
• Self-motivation
• Nimble Action
• Collaboration
• Adaptive learning

POSITION SUMMARY

The Business Development Director will join our Impact & Accountability team to lead efforts to expand our racial equity and inclusive economic growth and competitiveness consultancy for public and private sector employers. This experienced business development and marketing leader will partner with consultants, finance, and marketing leaders throughout the Center to position and market the Center to deliver responsive and relevant consulting services to support the racial equity, inclusion, and economic growth goals of public and private sector employers. The Director of Business Development is responsible for planning, development, and execution of business development processes from opportunity cultivation and identification through proposal development and contract award.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leading for Results

• Develop and manage a comprehensive and responsive business development strategy to meet the Centers’ employer inclusivity and inclusive growth annual impact and revenue generation goals in partnership with department leaders, finance, and peers
• Source, market, interview, engage, and present current and prospective clients to consulting teams
• Develop trusting, results oriented relationships with prospective and current clients built on principles of racial equity and inclusion to fulfill the mission of the Center
• Manage business development through Account planning, pipeline origination, qualification and greenlighting to proposal development and submission
  • Develop and manage process for CEI staff and ambassadors to effectively engage contacts in responsive service delivery
• Partner with Marketing to develop effective external marketing strategy, and to equip CEI leaders to market all engagement channels to prospective and current clients, partners, and investors, creating a responsive environment for maximized impact
• Coordinate with Communications and Marketing department to effectively market a suite of services and professionals to new and emerging markets
• Analyze the competitive landscape; Identify and pursue opportunities for partnership and navigate opportunities to hone our discipline

Executing for Results

• Translate prospective client needs into compelling client scope of work, budget, resource allocation, strategy, and proposal development in partnership with Director of Employer Inclusivity and Director of Inclusive Growth
• Develop and maintain C-Suite and cross-functional leadership relationships across our target demographics in public and private sector employers throughout Minnesota and targeted states to deepen our impact
• Research potential RFP’s, clients, and prospective opportunities
• Responsible for consistently meeting and exceeding goals in collaboration with the department
• Deliver business development opportunities in alignment with the vision, mission, and goals of the Center, communicating the breadth and depth of Center services, programs, and capabilities
• Partner with and lead the Business Development team to evaluate potential market opportunities and the competitive landscape to maximize revenue generation, effective market penetration, and deliver responsive consultancy services and products
• Partner with Business Development team, consultants, and marketing to continually develop and execute compelling narrative and client attraction and retention tools and tactics to fulfill strategy
• Identify opportunities for deeper market penetration and pursue opportunities in partnership with cross-functional leadership team
• Join professional networking organizations, participate actively in community organizations, networks and associations and events to effectively cultivate business opportunities
• Develop relationships with a network of sub-contractors to strengthen market position and capabilities

Organizational Culture, Management and Coordination

• Supervise a team of staff and consultants to fulfill the goals of the strategic partnerships division
• Demonstrate a commitment to racial equity, inclusion and belonging
• Under the leadership of the Vice President, develop and manage annual budgets, work plans and strategies, and interim reports
• Lead and collaborate with team members and consultants and foster an environment that aligns with the Center’s values and performance imperatives
• Contribute to the creation and stewardship of organizational culture and ethos, both internally and externally. Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality
• Develop and submit timely, substantive internal and external reports, including financial, operating and program reporting
  • Develop substantive and meaningful reports of past and current pipeline using Salesforce to inform forecasting and strategy

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to the mission of the Center for Economic Inclusion
• Minimum of 7 years’ B2B solution development and service delivery experience preferred, experience in a start-up environment highly desired but not required
• Ability to communicate with leaders in multiple sectors, professions, and socioeconomic levels
• Ability to lead the direction of the sales process of inclusive growth and employer inclusivity products and services 
• Demonstrated commitment to exceptional client service
• Creative problem-solving ability and a consultancy mindset
• Experienced goal setting, managing, and addressing challenges identified by clients
• Subject matter expert and demonstrated commitment to on-going learning on core business issues
• Financial acumen; Ability to budget, allocate human capital resources and develop projections for pipeline management, greenlighting, and allocations
• Able to follow, critically evaluate, and improve upon current processes
• Excellent business writing skills 
• Proven ability to make presentations to various audiences
• Good judgment in completing tasks and in seeking guidance when needed
• Ability to recognize issues and identify solutions
• Strong skills in the areas of interpersonal communication, analysis, critical thinking, attention to detail, and multi-tasking

The Center for Economic Inclusion is an Equal Opportunity employer. We offer an inclusive, engaging, dynamic, and rewarding workplace; a competitive total compensation package; and an opportunity to contribute to one of the most meaningful issues of our regions’ future.

Compensation: The salary range for this position is $115,000-$122,000 and is complemented by a full suite of benefits including health, dental, vision, life, STD, and LTD insurance; mobile phone, wellness, and transportation benefits; paid time off and retirement savings match. A salary commensurate with experience will be offered to complement these to the successful candidate’s experience.

To apply for this job, submit a cover letter, resume and 3 professional references to jobs@centerforeconomicinclusion.org by October 26, 2021. The subject line should state “Business Development Director”.  Incomplete applications will not be considered. No calls please. Candidates whose profiles align with our need will be contacted.