About the role:
The Director of Business Development & Partnerships will play a key role in expanding SPC’s reach and impactforstudents. This person willidentifyand develop strategic partnerships, lead proposals and RFPs, and guide partner relationships from start to long-term success. They will collaborate closely with sales, marketing, and stakeholders, oversee CRM effectiveness, and lead and mentor the Business Development and Partnerships team to deliver results that matter. In this role, every partnership you build contributes directly to helping students save, access more opportunities, and enjoy the full SPC experience.

Here's how you will impact SPC:
Strategic Planning and Execution:

• Demonstrate strong business acumen to translate analytical insights into actionable recommendations aligning with business objectives

• Plan, execute, and review tactics to improve the lead-to-sale conversion funnel

• Create and execute strategy for lead generation while scaling sales targets

• Identifynew partners or partner groups who wouldbenefitfrom available solutions

• Build and nurture business relationships with partners to positivelyimpactgrowth

Team Leadership and Development:

• Mentor and guide team members in cultivating and capturing opportunities, including RFPs, prospecting, pitching, and client relationship management

• Proactivelyparticipatein brainstorms to generate original, inspiring ideas meeting company objectives

• Scale, nurture, andoptimizepartnerships beyond launch,identifyingopportunities to grow partnership value

• Provide market value pricing to ensure profitability and success

Communication and Collaboration:

• Create messaging and positioning from a partner point of view to position the company as the best solution

• Develop prospect and customer-facing materials, assets, and communications

• Keep up to date with industry trends and provide well-researched information to the sales team

• Collaborate with sales, marketing, product, and operations teams toidentifyopportunities and address gaps in the company offering

• Conduct competitor analysis to mitigate risks and ensure competitiveness in the market

Performance Management:

• Manage KPIs on all aspects of Business Development & Partnerships andtake appropriate measuresto achieve expected outcomes

• Recommendnew solutionsto address any gaps in the company offering

• Ensure value-added solutions are profitable to the business and contribute to overall success

• Manage our CRM system, including platforms like HubSpot, to ensure effectiveness across the team

• Oversee theutilizationof these tools and provide guidance on best practices and strategies

• Maximize efficiency and productivity through effective CRM management

• Tracking offinancial targets as well as monitoring invoices and contracts.

The soft skills you bring to the team:

• Coaching:Encouraging and guiding employees in order to make their performance more effective and to enhance their self-perception and problem-solving skills.

• Customer Focus:Professional experience building successful new business and partnerships strategies with a strong focus on clear tangible results and funnel growth

• Creativity and Innovation:Seek new and better ways of doing things, think strategically about the business and uncover new revenue sources

• Business Orientation:Identifynew market opportunities for SPC as well as high-potential, and developing partners

• Negotiating:Obtain maximum results from meetings in whichinterestsconflict both in terms of content andmaintaininggood relations. Adapt to ever-changing client needs and expectations.

What you contribute to the team:

• Bachelor's orMaster's degree in Business or Marketing

• Minimum of 3 years of experience at adirectorlevel in sales and business development

• Proventrack recordin a fast-paced, agile-oriented company, with bonus points for experience in Start-Ups, Retail Environments, Loyalty Programs, or high-growth eCommerce (3 years preferred)

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for selling ideas and driving them to fruition

• Exposure to cross-functional teams including Product, Marketing, Product, Operations, and Brand

• Proficiencyin CRM management and sales team target maintenance (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot)

• Advanced Excel skills and willingness to learn reporting and project management tools like Basecamp and ClickUp

• Demonstrated success in negotiating, signing on, and managing relationships with external stakeholders, partners, and vendors

• Highly curious and skilled at generating and transforming ideas into actionable tests

• Motivated by challenging targets and eager to tackle both large projects and smaller tasks to drive business growth