Business Development Leader

If you think your skills, experience and aspirations make you a good match for this position, we encourage you to apply.

In this role your time will be spent exclusively on business development activities that support the growth and impact of the office and the firm. These activities include supporting the pursuit of clients and project opportunities identified by other leaders in the office, personally identifying new clients and project opportunities, and external brand activities.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Top Line Growth: Provide leadership, guidance and support to Market and Client Leaders in the development of new business development opportunities with client partners to achieve top line targets, which will support a minimum 10% growth year over year. In addition to supporting opportunities identified by other leaders you will be personally responsible to identify qualified opportunities totalling $3.0M in net fee per year.
• Pre-positioning and Intelligence Gathering: Demonstrate effective pre-positioning and intelligence gathering activity that identifies key issues and potential differentiators in our client pursuits. Oversee a pipeline of qualified Class 6A and 6B opportunities that consistently equals or exceeds three times the annual net signed fee of the office, and positively impacts a "Lost Not Shortlisted" percentage at or below 20%.
• Collaboration: Partner with the Office Practice Leader, the Director of BMBD, Market and Service Line Leaders, and other Business Development Leaders in the progression of networking, intelligence gathering and pursuit strategies to advance the growth of our markets, practices and service lines within your office and the firm.
• Best Practices: Work with Market Leaders, Client Leaders and the BMBD Team in the development and implementation of best practices for client pursuit and retention strategies within your office and firm wide. Champion initiatives including the Strategic Pursuit Process, Omnichannel market approach, and the Industry Partner and Inclusive Partner Programs.

AREAS OF FOCUS

• Business Development / Top Line Capture: In collaboration with the Office Practice Leader, Market Leaders, Client Leaders and the Director of BMBD, you are responsible for leading and supporting business development activities and identifying new potential client leads/opportunities in your office and firm wide. You will work with Market and Client Leaders to identify new target clients based upon value propositions and strategic initiatives. You will assist with research and intelligence gathering, and use findings to inform the development and implementation of strategic pursuit plans to position CannonDesign with these target clients.
• Business Planning / Marketing Budget: You will participate in the annual business planning process with your Office Leadership Team. You will ensure your office's marketing budget is aligned with the business plan, and you will effectively monitor and manage the budget.
• Networking: You are responsible for developing and advancing internal and external networks within our core markets, practices and service lines. Internal networking activities include partnering and collaborating with other Business Development Leaders and others in the firm to strengthen and build upon existing client relationships. External networking activities include attendance at networking events and conferences, developing local/regional client and AEC industry relationships, as well as developing/maintaining a diverse regional partner network.
• Client Engagement Meetings: In partnership with the Office Practice Leader, you will lead client engagement meetings in your office. At a minimum, you will bring together Market and Client Leaders bi-weekly to advance marketing and business development activities around target clients and new opportunities.
• Pipeline Management: You will maintain active watch on pipeline and have a deep understanding of pipeline; you will be a Salesforce user and evangelist. You will drive Salesforce use by others in client-facing roles to keep information accurate, assess performance and develop actionable insights to stay on plan.
• Pursuit, Proposal and Interview Activities: In collaboration with Client Leaders, the BMBD Team and others, you will provide strategic input in all phases of our client engagement process and activities. This includes developing effective capture plans, ensuring prepositioning activities are completed prior to receipt of RFQs/RFPs, and assisting in the development of the pursuit approach and implementation of client intelligence in proposals and interviews.
• Brand: In partnership with the Office Practice Leader, you will strengthen CannonDesign's brand in the marketplace and become a champion of Living-Centered Design. You will bring our firm's purpose—to help people continuously flourish—to life in every touchpoint you have with clients and partners, including in the pursuit and prepositioning materials we create.
• Mentoring: Working with the Office Practice Leader and Director of BMBD, you will provide leadership and mentoring to Client Leaders and Emerging Client Leaders in the areas of marketing and business development: client relationship-building, networking, pursuit strategy and implementation, proposal writing and interviewing.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• A minimum of 10 years of related work experience in marketing / business development roles required. Preferably in the a/e/c/ industry.
• Proven experience in the development and implementation of marketing business plans.
• A degree in marketing or related field preferred. Additional education and/or certifications / training a plus.
• Proven track record of the ability to develop significant relationships that increase our opportunity pipeline is essential.
• Business acumen and ability to develop, influence and execute strategy is required.
• Strong ability to communicate authentically and respectfully required.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PPT) required.
• Experience with CRM Platforms, such as Salesforce, a plus.
• Some travel required.

ABOUT OUR FIRM

CannonDesign is a design practice where strategy, experience, architecture, engineering, and social impact converge. We don't just dream up solutions — we create and bring them to life in ways to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our clients and society. At the heart of everything we do is Living-Centered Design, a bold commitment to using our talents to not just improve the world but to truly reshape it for the better.

ABOUT WORKING HERE

• We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about.
• We are committed to ensuring our practice is equitable for all employees, representative of the communities around us – and focused on the future of design. We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts through our DEI Council, Employee Resource Groups and other community advocacy initiatives.
• We're about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we're ready for you.

The salary range for this position is $117,000 to $146,200 annually. This salary range is the range we believe is the anticipated range of possible base compensation at the timing of the posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the anticipated salary range for the position. Employees may be eligible for discretionary bonuses. We offer a full benefit package including medical, dental and vision coverage and flexible spending account options and voluntary insurances. We have paid time off, flex-time summer hours, remote work options and a 401k plan and employee perk programs.