Director Of Business Development
Lead with purpose and step into a high-impact role as HGA's Director of Business Development - shaping the future through meaningful partnerships and bold strategies! We are seeking a strategic and collaborative Director of Business Development to lead HGA's regional and national business development teams in identifying and securing new opportunities across targeted sectors and high-growth geographic markets. This role is instrumental in advancing the firm's business development strategy, leveraging a deep understanding of relationship-driven sales for services with a high price point and long lead times, targeting B2B C-suite-level decision makers. More coach than player, the ideal candidate excels at mentoring and empowering others, helping team members grow, lead, and succeed. A successful candidate will be a natural leader who brings out the best in others through thoughtful guidance, accountability, and support while aligning with HGA's firm-wide strategy. This role requires an experienced capable leader and collaborator-someone who thrives in a matrixed environment, aligning efforts across marketing, business development, and practice leadership to ensure a unified approach to client development and market growth. In this role you will :
Strategic Planning & Market Positioning provides strategic direction and guidance to ensure the business development strategy is aligned with the firm's long-term growth goals; reviews and approves market analysis approaches and ensures insights are effectively used in annual planning and targeting efforts; oversees collaboration between business development team and practice / sector leaders to ensure business development plans are aligned, actionable, and resourced appropriately; monitors execution of annual BD plans, identifying risks or gaps and intervening to support course correction or realignment as needed; and reviews plans with a national lens, looking for areas of overlap or gaps as well as opportunities for cross-sector collaboration and leverage.
Client Relationship Management sets relationship development goals and expectations for BD team and ensures alignment with firm-wide client engagement strategies in partnership with sector and practice leaders; coaches and supports team members in building strategic client and industry relationships, particularly for high-value or priority clients; and provides coaching and guidance on key account strategy in partnership with CMO.
Pursuit Strategy & Capture Planning provides oversight for capture strategies and pursuit plans, especially for priority clients and high-impact opportunities; ensures consistency and alignment in messaging around the firm's capabilities, competitive differentiators, and project experience; provides high level input on proposal and interview win strategies for key pursuits; drives consistent adherence to go / no-go processes; holds team accountable for accurate and timely reporting on pipeline, pursuit lifecycle, and ROI of BD initiatives; and ensures that pursuit debriefs are done consistently and that learnings are captured, shared, and implemented across teams.
Internal Collaboration and Leadership leads and supports the professional development of business development team, including creating role descriptions, mentoring, coaching, and conducting performance evaluations; fosters a culture of collaboration, accountability, and proactive client service across practices and offices; ensures robust tracking and reporting systems are in place for business development activity, providing leadership with actionable insights; facilitates integration of business development efforts with marketing, branding, and thought leadership strategies; and champions cross-functional and cross-office collaboration, helping to break down silos and share client intelligence firmwide.
Financial Management oversees the alignment of business development plans with budgeting and resourcing at the regional and practice levels; approves and monitors marketing and BD budgets, including spend on conferences, travel, and pursuit-specific activities; and evaluates ROI on business development investments and adjusts resource allocation to maximize impact and support firm priorities.
Preferred attributes include : ability to critically analyze, synthesize and manage a complex array of strategic and tactical projects with multiple partners; ability to negotiate, make difficult decisions, influence others and manage change; ability to work effectively in a team and matrixed environment; comfortable with public speaking and thought leadership; comfortable working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment; demonstrated experience managing people & processes across a company of comparable scale; excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with all levels of team and clients; ability to forge trusting relationships within a diverse team of leaders, colleagues, and reports; exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills; experience working with technical teams and translating complex services into client value; expertise in team structure, career path / development, coaching and mentorship; proven track record of securing significant project wins and partnerships; strong organizational and project management skills with high attention to detail; and strong research, analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
You will need to have : Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or related field (Master's degree a plus) 10+ years of experience in business development, with at least 5 years in the A / E / C or other professional services industry 5+ years managing a team of business development professionals deep knowledge of the commercial real estate market, procurement processes, and client dynamics proficiency with CRM platforms (e.g., Deltek, Salesforce) and Microsoft Office Suite proficiency in MS Office Suite, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint preferred.
Director Of Development • Minneapolis, MN, US