Senior Director, Business Development - FIRST Inspires

Does the thought of preparing kids to solve the world’s greatest problems excite and empower you? Do you want to be with an organization where your knowledge and skills will help increase school engagement and student success, and extend our global reach? Do you want to be on a team that crafts opportunities and provides life changing experiences for students?

These opportunities are as strong and dynamic as ever, as FIRST^® creates the people who will change the world – today and tomorrow!

What We Offer
We promise a fast-paced, exciting, and rewarding environment where you will be part of a team that cares about each other and thrives on each other’s successes. You’ll feel good about the future of the world after doing hard work with the talented people at FIRST^® and will have a front row seat to our life changing programs.

Our extensive benefits package is highly competitive and includes:

• Healthcare Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Life & AD&D Insurance 
• Supplemental life insurance
• Voluntary accident and legal plans
• Income Protection Insurances (STD & LTD)
• Flexible Work Schedule
• Hybrid Work Model
• 160 PTO hours for FT employees 
• 14 paid holidays per calendar year (one is a floating holiday)
  • Paid July 4th Week Holiday Closure 
• 40 hours paid sick leave per calendar year
• One paid volunteer day per anniversary year
• Maternity and Parental Leave
• 401K Retirement Savings Plan (with employer match)
• Medical and dependent pre-tax flex plans
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

The salary range for this position is $136,950 - $159,775. New hires typically start within this range based on their qualifications, experience, and considerations of internal equity.

Who You Are
As the Senior Director of Business Development, you will lead the domestic sales organization for FIRST^®, setting strategic direction and driving initiatives to meet and exceed annual revenue and youth participation targets. Your role will involve overseeing a regional business development team, cultivating relationships with key partners, and spearheading innovative strategies to expand the reach and impact of FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) programs.

This role has the ability to be a remote working arrangement for the right candidate.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

What You Will Do
With Gracious Professionalism^® you will lead a team of professionals, ensuring that everyone is provided with growth and learning opportunities. Additionally, you will:

• Develop and Implement Distribution Strategy: Align strategies for youth participation and growth with organizational goals and market opportunities.
• Lead and Mentor the Business Development Team: Foster a high-performance culture, managing and developing sales territory leads to expand FIRST’s reach and impact.
• Drive Growth and Target Achievement: Ensure sustainable program growth while tracking performance metrics and analyzing data.
• Identify New Business Opportunities: Work with marketing and program teams to capitalize on market trends and emerging opportunities.
• Build and Maintain Key Partnerships: Cultivate relationships with partners to ensure customer satisfaction and retention.
• Optimize Business Development Operations: Enhance CRM management, sales reporting, and forecasting processes.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Partner with Programs, Development, Marketing, and Finance to support program changes, marketing campaigns, and distribution strategies.
• Develop and Manage the Business Development Budget: Oversee financial resources ensuring efficient resource allocation while staying within financial constraints.

What We Expect
A Business Development professional with a proven track record of achieving or exceeding sales targets in a fast-paced, competitive environment who is also an exceptional people manager. We are also seeking candidates with the following knowledge, skills, and experience:

• Typically requires a BS/BA in related discipline and generally requires at least 10 years’ directly related experience, including at least 3 years of supervisory or management experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with excellent presentation abilities for both in-person and remote audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills.
• Strong analytical skills and experience with sales data and forecasting tools (e.g., CRM- Salesforce).
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic and evolving industry, adapting strategies to meet changing market conditions.
• Self-motivated worker with excellent organizational skills and ability to handle multiple tasks.
• Comfortable working in a remote team environment.
• Experience with or exposure to FIRST programs preferred.
• Experience selling products in the K-12 education space preferred.
• Experience in technology or education is highly desirable.
• Experience in state and federal funding cycle for educational settings is highly desired.
• Flexibility to travel 20 - 30%.

Commitment to FIRST® Core Values

Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
Impact:  We apply what we learn to improve our world.
Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!

Thriving on our core values, celebrating the uniqueness of our employees and committed to inclusion. Proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

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