Manager, Business Development

About Us

At

We.

, we've spent decades at the intersection of technology and humanity, bridging the gap between what businesses create and how people experience those creations. We've learned that beneath even the most unruly situations — whether it's a global crisis, an emerging technology, or a sweeping organizational change—lies a simple human need. That need could be for trust, connection, safety, or a sense of purpose. But it’s always there. And it is only by uncovering these truths that we can make real, meaningful progress.

For the Manager, Business Development role, we are prioritizing candidates based in one of our office locations (Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; New York, NY) but will also consider highly qualified candidates for fully remote work in other U.S. locations.

About the Role

The Manager, Business Development will partner with other Business Development professionals in sourcing leads, doing research, and qualifying incoming opportunities. The role will lead prioritized RFPs/pitches and will leverage a suite of sales tracking and reporting tools in the areas of Consumer, Healthcare, and Technology sectors.

Responsibilities

• In partnership with We.
• ’s Business Development leadership, manage incoming new business opportunities including qualifying opportunities against the agency’s criteria.
• In addition to managing inbound opportunities, work with BD team members and sector leads on organic growth strategies and proactive pursuits by applying business development strategy, agency positioning and pursuit lifecycle management across multiple sectors and markets.
• Provide strategic sales counsel to internal clients and partner to lead or facilitate all aspects of progressing qualified opportunities through to completion, ensuring high quality deliverables and client satisfaction.
• Manage active prospects - through every stage of the sales cycle from initial qualification to RFI/RFP development to pitch presentation creation, follow up and supporting the team on the close - by setting priorities and expectations, problem solving, communicating ongoing status updates to the team and ensuring follow up is taking place along agreed upon timelines, while anticipating risks, addressing gaps and adapting approaches to meet pursuit goals.
• Partner with BD senior leaders to manage and coach pitch teams to finalize presentation content and ensure each member of the team is ‘room ready’ to deliver with poise, presence and confidence.
• Proactively recommend processes and materials that would benefit the agency and that don’t already exist as part of the Business Development infrastructure.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years business development experience in the communications/public relations industry required.
• Strong demonstrated project management skills.
• Strong presentation and consulting skills along with the ability to read, write and speak English

Preferred Qualifications

• PR or marketing experience preferred – ideally in an agency setting.
• Strong customer service orientation, including ability and willingness to pitch in on all aspects of the business process.
• Strong self-starter spirit; ability to respond to shifting priorities and work under deadlines in a fast-paced environment with ease and a sense of humor.
• A proven ability to communicate and collaborate across multiple teams and across all levels of the organization.