Director of Business Development

Overview 

Youth Communication (YC) is seeking a Director of Business Development, a new position, to sell our secondary school social and emotional learning (SEL) education programs and services to schools, districts, government agencies, and community-based youth programs. This staff member will be responsible for building deep and broad relationships with school leaders and other decision-makers. The position requires knowledge of (and the ability to discover) school and agency funding streams and curriculum adoption timelines. It also requires the ability to build relationships with decision-makers at the school, agency, and district levels.  

Given the complex and hands-on nature of the curriculum adoption process, this job will require frequent meetings with principals and district staff in New York City. Occasional regional and national travel may also be required as the business grows. S/he will also work closely with our Executive Director, our Senior Director of Strategy and Growth and our external relations and education teams to identify potential school partners and funding sources, determine their needs and how YC’s programs and services can meet them, and enlist them in supporting or purchasing YC programs. 

This role is an opportunity for someone who is energetic, entrepreneurial, highly self-directed, and hands-on, with a proven track record of securing customers and closing sales, and who is passionate about our mission. 

In January 2020, Youth Communication launched a strategic plan to significantly grow our SEL education programs in NYC schools by 2024. This role is a crucial element of that plan. The disruption of COVID-19 and the closing of in-person schooling resulted in a pause in the implementation of the plan. During the past year we scaled back our sales and partnerships, while converting our eight core programs and our professional development to remote learning. Thus, when we resume full-sales sales efforts for the 2021-22 school year, we will be able to offer in-person and remote training and programs, which will enhance our opportunities in NYC and beyond. The Director of Business Development must be agile and ready to adapt to these new opportunities for growth. 

This role will initially be a remote position, but in the coming months we anticipate it will require significant in-person work, based out of our Times Square offices.  

About Youth Communication 

 YC elevates the power of youth voices to improve the lives of young people who are typically furthest from opportunity, including youth of color, youth living in poverty, youth experiencing housing instability, and youth in foster care. We do this by providing powerful, teen-written stories and professional development that help educators and youth workers connect with teens and build their social, emotional skills and reading fluency.  

 Our professional development and curricula are based on true stories written by teens in YC’s intensive writing program. These stories make YC’s professional development programs and services unique in the field and exceptionally engaging for teens.  

 Youth Communication currently has a $1.7M+ operating budget, with 85% funded through philanthropic support and 15% through earned income from our PD services. By 2024, we aim to have a $2.3M budget, with $1M earned from selling our educational services. The Director of Business Development will be responsible for helping us reach this goal.  

 The right candidate for this job will be both highly collaborative and self-directed. We are looking for a teammate who is motivated by the thrill of winning sales and by the satisfaction of selling products and services that will help to disrupt systems of oppression and contribute to a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society.  

Responsibilities 

 Sales (60%) 

• Identify and cultivate new customers among schools, CBOs, and government agencies for YC’s professional development services and products.  
• Conduct regular outreach to potential partners, decision-makers, and influencers, as well as local sources of philanthropic support.  
• Communicate with and cultivate existing customers for repeat sales and upselling. 
• Help to identify and cultivate third-party payers, such as foundations or intermediary organizations, that see the value in our and programs and services. 
• Meet or exceed annual revenue goals. 
• Ensure high levels of customer satisfaction through excellent sales service. 
• Track sales goals on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis in Salesforce. 
• Work with YC’s administrative staff to secure payment commitments, manage invoicing, and follow up on overdue payments. 

Program Collaboration (25%) 

• Collaborate with YC program directors to: 
• ensure that program services are aligned with sales and organizational goals; 
• identify new customer needs for which we can develop new programs and services that support our strategic direction. 
• Assess reports from program evaluations and customer testimonials and integrate them into sales efforts. 
• Work with the education team to ensure that grant-funded partnerships meet anticipated deliverables, and that data is collected for reporting purposes.   

Marketing Collaboration (15%) 

• Represent YC to the public in meetings and speaking engagements, marketing our revenue-generating services. 
• Organize and lead in-person events to showcase YC programs. 
• Work collaboratively and creatively with YC’s marketing and communication staff to create and disseminate messages that convey the value of our programs and services— via YC’s websites, social media, brochures, and other collateral materials. 

Qualifications 

• Passionate about YC’s mission to elevate the power of youth voice to improve the lives of underserved youth in New York City and beyond. Able to communicate that passion to school-based staff, district leaders, community-based organization decision-makers, city agency leaders, etc.  
• Sales and marketing experience and track record of closing sales and/or securing revenue and the ability to represent the organization to a wide range of stakeholders and constituencies. 
• Knowledge of the NYC and national educational and youth development landscape. 
• Knowledge of youth development and education foundation landscape. 
• Familiarity with the complex challenges that educators face in their work to support marginalized teens. 
• Service-minded, supportive, and demonstrates care and empathy for students and teachers. 
• Adaptive, flexible, and highly focused, demonstrating a readiness to support organizational growth. 
• Strong public speaking and presentation skills. 
• Comfortable with software systems for managing contacts, projects, and revenue-generation activities. (Youth Communication uses Google Suite, Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom.) 
• Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in education and experience. 
• 3-5 years of educational sales or similar experience leading communities of educators and/or equivalent experience working in public education and/or youth development in NYC.