Business Development Director, Corporate (Americas)

Business Development Director, Corporate (Americas)
LOCATION: Washington, D.C.
SALARY: $95,000 + commission
Inside Higher Ed provides the latest news, analysis and solutions for the entire higher education community. Inside Higher Ed is owned by Times Higher Education (THE), the world’s most authoritative source of data, analysis and information on higher education, with five decades’ experience dedicated to the field.

Our mission is to provide forward-looking insights and services to the entire higher education community, empowering individuals and organizations to excel and transform learners’ lives.

About the role

The Business Development Director, Corporate (Americas) is responsible for winning high-value and high-volume net-new corporate business across the Americas. The role focuses on identifying, developing and closing new corporate partnerships across THE’s portfolio, building relationships with organisations seeking to engage with and support the higher education sector.

This is a senior individual-contributor sales role with a strong focus on new client acquisition. The Business Development Director owns new corporate opportunities from prospecting and initial engagement through to close, before transitioning successful accounts to Account Management for delivery, retention and future growth.

Key responsibilities

Market strategy & expansion

· Develop new business strategies across priority corporate sectors and markets within the Americas, contributing to go-to-market planning and sales strategy.

· Identify emerging opportunities, high-potential prospects and underserved corporate segments.

· Maintain competitive intelligence and run win/loss reviews on closed opportunities, sharing insights with Product and Marketing.

New business sales

· Identify and pursue a high volume of net-new corporate opportunities while developing larger strategic opportunities with significant commercial potential.

· Build relationships with senior decision-makers across priority corporate sectors.

· Lead complex sales involving multiple stakeholders, products and commercial requirements.

· Structure high-value commercial agreements and partnerships across THE’s portfolio.

Partnerships

· Develop strategic corporate partnerships that support THE’s commercial growth objectives.

Deal process & handover

· Qualify new opportunities within 2 business days of first contact and log discovery in the CRM.

· Route bespoke or high-value deals through the Deal Desk for approval, bringing delivery specialists into pre-sale where needed.

· Mark deals Closed-Won and log contract value and dates within 24 hours of contract, then hand over to Account Management with a strong brief.

Experience and skills background

· Significant experience in business development or enterprise sales within a data, information or SaaS business.

· A proven record of consistently winning net-new accounts and closing high-value, multi-stakeholder deals.

· Experience selling to corporate organisations, with an understanding of complex commercial decision-making and procurement.

· Experience building strategic commercial partnerships.

· Credible with senior marketing, commercial and executive stakeholders.

· Grounded in a formal sales methodology and qualification framework(s); confident Salesforce user with disciplined forecasting.

· Experience across the Americas market; willingness to travel domestically and internationally.