Business Development Lead - Merit America : Job Details

The Organization: Merit America

The American economy is broken. Today 53 million working adults–nearly half of the U.S. workforce–do not earn a living wage. And these talented workers have few options to advance: college is too long and expensive, full-time bootcamp programs don't offer enough flexibility, and online courses don't have the structure or support to translate learning into a new career. The result? Talented workers, disproportionately people of color and women, get stuck in low-wage roles with no way to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Merit America is a national nonprofit that creates pathways to family-sustaining careers for Americans stuck in low-wage work. Our fast, flexible solutions are built for working adults: We start by analyzing tens of millions of job postings to identify in-demand, high-paying tech careers and then work with industry-recognized partners to train for these roles with part-time programs that combine flexible online learning with best-in-class coaching. Finally, we support our learners in their job search, helping them connect with a broad constellation of local and national employers such as JPMorgan Chase and Infosys to land higher-earning, family-sustaining jobs, driving an average wage gain of $24k three months or more after completing the program. Merit America is on a mission to build a scalable pathway for workers to join the middle class through merit, not money. We're on track to generate $1B in wage gains by 2025.

About the Role:

The primary mission of the Business Development Lead (BDL) is to foster a fertile sales ecosystem by orchestrating a robust pipeline of opportunities, nurturing strategic partnership opportunities, and ensuring that our Business Development team has the right tools and systems in place to excel. The BDL will manage the team responsible for closing partnership deals across three categories—each of which is critical to our growth and ability to serve learners at scale: Upskilling Partnerships, Learner Acquisition Partnerships, and Placement partnerships.

This role encompasses leadership of the Business Development (Biz Dev) team, sales enablement, and strategic partnership development.

The BDL is an exempt role and will report to the Managing Director, Partnerships, and works primarily with the Business Development team at Merit America.

What You'll be Doing:

The responsibilities of the BDL will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Team Leadership and Development: 25%

• Manage, coach, and mentor the Biz Dev team, instilling best practices for sourcing, engaging, and qualifying opportunities.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration within the team.
• Actively manage the team to hit and exceed their individual sales goals.

Sales: 30%

• Be directly responsible for carrying and hitting ambitious targets for closing upskilling partnerships while supporting business development managers to hit learner acquisition and placement targets.
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential opportunities based on Merit America's strategic growth objectives.
• Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of Upskilling partnership opportunities.
• Generate and articulate a compelling vision for potential partners.
• Define and negotiate key terms of partnerships–from small local pilots to large national engagements–ensuring that any agreements align with Merit America's objectives.
• Work closely with legal counsel and other internal teams to finalize partnership agreements.
• Collaborate with marketing and communications colleagues to promote our partnerships through earned media, speaking engagements, and collaborations.

Sales Enablement: 15%

• Manage creation and maintenance of sales collateral and toolkit, enabling the sales team to communicate our value proposition effectively.
• Monitor and analyze sales performance metrics and dashboards to identify areas of improvement and optimize sales processes.

Data Management and Reporting: 15%

• Ensure accurate and organized data in Salesforce for all prospects, contacts, and partnerships.
• Establish key performance metrics, monitor them rigorously, and provide regular insights to the senior management team.

Process and System Design: 15%

• Play a crucial role in designing and implementing the systems and processes to develop Merit America's Biz Dev function and ensure a steady employer pipeline.

What Makes a Successful Candidate:

We recognize that individuals from marginalized backgrounds, including women, people of color, and those with disabilities, are often less likely to apply when they don't meet 100% of the job qualifications. Don't let that be the reason you miss out on this opportunity! We want to emphasize that your unique skills, experiences, and perspectives are valuable, and we encourage you to apply if you can demonstrate many of the skills and competencies. Below are the skills that are relevant for thriving in this role:

Must Haves:

• Experience selling to organizations and track record of closing deals.
• Proficiency with marketing automation platforms (e.g., Hubspot) and sales engagement tools (e.g., Salesforce, SalesLoft/Outreach, Zoominfo, Gong, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator).
• Exceptional negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated history of successful business development, including closing deals, forging partnerships, and driving growth.
• Experience managing a Business Development or Sales team.
• Motivation to come up with innovative solutions and new partnership models.
• Committed to Merit America's mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers, break the poverty cycle, and create upward mobility for low-wage workers.
• Demonstrated history of embodying our values, which inform our work and drive our organization's culture.
• Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for our collective work in making a positive impact on the community we support, true to our value of Win & Lose Together.
• Committed to continuous learning and growth in understanding and addressing issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
• Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces and values individual differences, aligned with our core value of inclusivity.

Nice to Have:

• Experience in talent acquisition or staffing industry.
• Management experience in B2B sales, especially with enterprise companies.

Other Logistics:

• This position is full-time: 4 days/week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week).
• Travel requirement: 20-25% (depending on seasonality).
• Location: Remote.
• Salary: $125,000 - $140,000.

We take care of our employees by providing the following perks and benefits:

• 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week).
• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage).
• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account.
• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account.
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit.
• Education reimbursement & personal development stipend.
• Short and long-term disability.
• Unlimited vacation (after a 90-day introductory period).
• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after 1 year of employment).
• 11 federally recognized holidays.
• 1 week office closure in July (week of July 4th).
• 2 week holiday office closure in December/January.
• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit contribution.
• Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources.
• Discount perks at work program.
• Phone/technology stipend.
• Home office setup stipend.

Remote Work & Sponsorship:

Candidates must reside within the 50 states or District of Columbia and have full authorization to work in the 50 U.S. states & the District of Columbia (international work abroad, including the U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and other islands are excluded). In addition, Merit America doesn't offer employment visa sponsorship.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Building an inclusive, high-performing team that is diverse across lines of personal identity is integral to our success and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

This means we do not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

We actively strive and evolve to develop and maintain workspaces that are fully inclusive. We encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.

E-Verify Statement:

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the I-9 Form.