Director, Business Development

Start Early is an energized, future-focused organization devoted to providing quality early learning and care across the country.

Our desire to close the opportunity gap and build more inclusive early learning experiences for our youngest learners guides everything we do. As a leader in early learning and care, we scale our deep expertise across program, policy, and research through partnerships across the country.

We are recruiting individuals who want to join us in this mission and share a commitment to our core values of appreciation & respect, empowerment, diversity, excellence, learning and communication.

Become part of our rewarding, mission-driven culture! We want our employees to feel empowered, motivated, energized, and passionate about the work they do!

Start Early Consulting supports public sector leaders and advocates to ensure that early childhood systems are high-quality, inclusive, sustainable, and meet the needs of diverse children and families. As the leader of business development, you will cultivate a deep and wide network of external relationships to connect ECE leaders to Start Early’s supports and services to advance systems change. This role will serve as the chief strategist for meeting Consulting’s annual revenue goals, lead cross-organizational teams in support of revenue and impact goals, and steward a robust pipeline of opportunities from start to finish using consultative sales and relationship-based strategies. Collaborating closely to set business development strategy and leading operations with Marketing, Finance, Compliance, executive leaders, and subject matter experts across the organization, the Director, Business Development is accountable for securing revenue for Start Early’s consulting services to strengthen state and community early childhood systems. ** This position can be remote or Chicago-based *

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Systems Strategy, you will:

• Responsible for securing fee-for-service revenue for consulting services, exceeding $1.5M / year. Using deep networks among early childhood public sector leaders and advocates, generate and respond to new business development opportunities to achieve revenue goals and maintain a healthy and robust pipeline. Lead process for client relationship management to generate renewals and support leadership in effectively managing a portfolio of consulting engagements. Partner with Leadership, Development, Marketing, and Consulting team on business development with private donors and prospects to scope and secure consulting engagements.
• Craft tailored outreach, pitches, and communication plans centering the needs of the client and in response to the current landscape, and to steward long-term relationships. Create scopes and budgets to meet client needs. Monitor, identify, and respond to public competitive requests for proposals (RFPs) with the team.
• Collaborate on the strategy and execution of policy thought leadership (content marketing) that will be relevant and timely for target audiences across early childhood sectors – child care, mixed delivery PreK, home visiting, children with disabilities, Early/Head Start, and workforce. Ensure thought leadership advances organizational goals around policy and systems change, as well as revenue goals. Leverage own early childhood expertise, stay abreast of trends and shifts in the market, and serve as key spokesperson for Start Early with public sector leaders, advocates, and funders across the country.
• Provide strategy and oversight on the implementation and improvement of business development-related processes, tools, and systems in collaboration with Finance, IT, Compliance, and Consulting. Track pipeline data, metrics, and progress to goal, resource allocation, contracts, marketing campaigns, scopes, budgets, and other data. Utilize Salesforce CRM and other systems to manage, report, and analyze data and track progress.
• Lead and/or contribute to cross-organizational initiatives, partner with SVP Systems Strategy to inform the organizational systems impact strategy, and lead division collaboration with Marketing, Development, the Front Office, Finance, and other divisions to support Start Early’s strategic objectives and guide organizational business development strategy.
• Partner with SVP and supervisors to ensure that the team and staff work plans drive the day-to-day work of the team. Support the learning and development of the full team and partner with the SVP to lead organizational and change management efforts. Manage the performance of assigned supervisees via reflective supervision and mentor other team members.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in business, education, policy, program administration or related field.
• Ten or more years of experience in non-profit, corporate and / or public sector, most within the early childhood sector. Experience may include: start-up, development and launch of new products, services and initiatives; leadership within a public sector agency, significant fundraising experience; consultative sales to public sector clients, experience with indirect resource management; change management; risk management; or budget management.
• Deep and wide network of relationships and connections to early childhood public sector leaders and/or advocates across the country.
• Nuanced and deep understanding of early childhood policy, systems, trends, and market across multiple programs or sectors such as child care, mixed delivery PreK, home visiting, Early/Head Start, workforce, Early Intervention, etc.
• Expert at strategizing, writing and winning public competitive requests for proposals (RFPs), writing scopes and budgets for fee-for-service clients and private philanthropy.
• Expert skills and demonstrated track record developing partnerships, stewarding relationships, negotiating, navigating conflict, or competing interests.
• Customer service orientation, with excellent interpersonal skills, ability to build and sustain relationships with clients, partners and funders.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to write clearly, speak to diverse audiences, listen and communicate effectively with clients, funders, and staff.
• High degree of comfort with iterating and learning in context; Willing to embrace risk, adjust thinking and plans to capitalize on new opportunities.
• Ability to lead diverse, cross-functional work teams of staff at different levels toward a common objective, and flexibly navigate and resolve conflicts that may arise.
• Proven ability to thrive, prioritize and advance work in a fast-paced, sometimes ambiguous environment with complex projects.
• Ability to travel up to 30% locally and nationally.

Base Annual Salary: $121,200 - $145,000

This is the expected base annual salary range as of the time of this posting. The base annual salary will be based on a wide range of factors, including skills, qualifications, experience, and business needs and limitations.

Our generous benefits plan includes:

Comprehensive Health Plans, Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, Holistic Wellness Program, Professional Development Program, 401k Contribution, Paid Volunteer Days, 6 months paid parental leave, and much more.

Start Early is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to our core values by creating an inclusive environment for all staff.