Business Development Director

Full Time
Oakland, CA, USA
7 months ago
What to know

Help us win new dream clients by collaborating with our industry-leading creative, strategy, and technical teams. In this role, you will have the rare opportunity to work with a client base that spans across corporate, nonprofit, and political sectors. We are seeking a Business Development Director to join our team and partner with office leadership to grow our business. If you want to be proud of your clients, then this might be the position for you.

The company

Blue State is a purpose-driven agency. We partner with leading causes, brands, and campaigns and create real change. From Google and UNICEF to Amnesty International and Oxfam, we transform how brands and causes raise money, influence policy, build platforms, and grow communities of supporters. Led by the most creative and analytical minds from the political, nonprofit, and brand worlds, Blue State is a part of WPP Digital and has 150+ employees in the US and London.

A day in the life
  • Manage proposal and pitch process
  • Sell Blue State offerings and services to brands, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations
  • Develop and present new creative concepts to prospective clients in collaboration with experts from our creative, strategic, technical and account management teams
  • Communicate Blue State's value proposition to prospective clients in a manner appropriate for the target audience of C Suite executive and/or nonprofit leadership
  • Develop contracts and scopes of work in collaboration with internal teams to help set pricing, client goals, and program objectives
  • Negotiate pricing and scope of work with prospect
  • Build, manage and continually develop a sales pipeline to achieve new business targets
  • Originate and develop new leads in targeted verticals through traditional and creative approaches to outbound sales
  • Attend conferences, promote Blue State collateral, and collaborate with the marketing team to generate awareness of Blue State
  • Qualify and manage inbound leads
  • Regularly report to office leadership and executive leadership on pipeline development
  • Manage pipeline through Salesforce
The team

The Business Development Team drives Blue State's growth. We are the face of Blue State to prospective clients. We help prospects see opportunities more clearly and we helpBlue State understand the challenges our prospects face. We find solutions to complex business challenges. And we work with our colleagues to persuasively articulate creative, strategic, and technical ideas to executives and practitioners alike.

What we offer
  • Unlimited time-off (inclusive of sick, personal, and vacation days)
  • $1,000 annually in professional development funds
  • Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Inclusive family planning coverage, including fertility, surrogacy, and adoption benefits
  • Flexible and health savings accounts
  • 401K & employer match
  • Generous paid holiday schedule
  • 12-week fully-paid parental leave for all parents-to-be
  • Short-term and long-term disability insurance
  • Pre-tax commuter benefits
  • Remote work flexibility

We approach in-office working with a hybrid model. On-site presence is welcome for US staff who are within commuting distance of the NY or DC office. Managers retain discretion to require in-person attendance for folks on their discipline or client teams as necessary, including for those whose roles require them to be in person. To enter our US offices or attend Blue State events, staff and visitors must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including with a booster shot when eligible. Exceptions for protected grounds will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The salary range for this position is $95,000-$115,000; compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Some things we're looking for
  • 7+ years of experience in business development or account management within an agency, public relations, or communications firm, or directly comparable experience working inside a corporation or institution
  • Extensive direct experience working within the nonprofit, or corporate vertical, either inside a relevant corporation or institution, or as a vendor or service provider
  • Proven track record of managing and building relationships with new clients or the ability to retain and grow existing clients
  • A proven track record of delivering consistent revenue growth
  • History of consultative sales with large average deal size strongly preferred
  • Exceptional communication skills and ability to write quickly
  • Entrepreneurial, self-motivated mentality; driven at all times to meet and exceed goals
  • Ability to work with all levels within the team and across the organization
  • Excellent in-person presentation skills, relationship building and experience in contract negotiation
  • Comfortable with high volume of client interaction both in person and through phone and email
  • Impeccable ethical standards and professional presence

At Blue State, diversity is a necessity, not a nice-to-have. We encourage those from underrepresented communities — women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, those with disabilities and people at all the intersections in between — to apply. Even if you don’t think your current skill set checks every box, but this role seems to align with your strengths, we want to hear from you.

Blue State is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible application and interview process. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, please contact us at recruiting@bluestate.co with the subject line: Accommodation Request to get started.

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