Business Development Lead

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. These talented workers have few options to advance: college is too long and expensive, full-time boot camp 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. Since our founding in 2018, we’ve generated a projected $1 billion in near-term wage gains for our learners. 

About the Role: 

Partnerships are one of the most critical elements of Merit America’s growth plan for the next several years. Building the strategy and growing the program is a top priority for the organization. The Business Development Lead will have the white space to shape, build, and grow a new function that will ensure Merit America can reach learners across the country, changing lives for the better. 

The primary mission of the Business Development Lead (BDL) is to foster a fertile sales ecosystem by orchestrating a robust pipeline of opportunities, closing strategic partnerships, and helping to build a world class Business Development function from the ground up. The BDL will be responsible for working closely with the MD, Partnerships to close enterprise partnership deals across our existing verticals while also exploring and experimenting with new partnership models and verticals. 

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:

Strategy 25%: Identification and Program Creation:

• Work closely with the MD, Partnerships to develop the overall strategy for Enterprise partnerships at Merit America, identifying target sectors, prioritization, and approach.
• Dynamically adjust partnership strategy to match our organizational growth and goals.
• Partner with the MD, Partnerships and marketing team to develop collateral and messaging for potential partners.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners in operations and product to bring 'first of their kind' partnerships to life. 
• Regularly communicate partnership priorities and plans to relevant stakeholders.
• Collaborate with other business development team members to identify opportunities to cross-sell and drive maximum value from the partnership. 

Sales: 30%

• Be directly responsible for carrying and hitting ambitious targets for closing partnerships while supporting business development managers to hit their targets
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential opportunities based on Merit America's strategic growth objectives
• Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of  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 :  $137,500 with an incentive of up to a $20k annual bonus to be paid quarterly upon meeting the established goals. 

Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation.  We have a market-based compensation approach, which means we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates.

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.

Still excited about our work?  You can learn more about our work in this video we made with our founding partner, Google.

Fair Chance Ordinance

Applicants who have arrest or conviction records and are in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County will be considered in accordance with the state’s fair chance ordinance law. Employment under the ordinance includes part-time work, seasonal work, contract work, contingent work, work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or employment agency.

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.