Manager/Director of Business Development

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Swayable is a fast-growing, cloud data product that predicts public opinion and the impact of messages and advertising content on it. It is a 30-person team backed by top technology and social impact investors, including Y Combinator. Founded in 2018 by two physics PhDs, it is led by the former Executive Director for Digital Strategy at the New York Times. Clients include major consumer-facing brands (e.g. Amazon, Square, Paramount Pictures), researchers (e.g. MIT, Yale, Stanford), mission-aligned advocacy campaigns (e.g. Democratic Presidential candidates including Biden-Harris 2020), and governments (e.g. state authorities fighting COVID).

Joining Swayable means being on a team whose work changes the course of history. The technology we develop is at the leading edge of transforming some of the world’s most important campaign organizations and enterprises: combatting disinformation, protecting democracy, and supporting the sustainable growth of consumer-facing brands.

ROLE

Swayable is hiring a business development leader to fuel its continued rapid growth in the B2C enterprise sector by developing targeted, tailored partnership approaches for its next 1,000 large ($1M+) accounts.

Reporting into the VP of Revenue, the Business Development Lead will work closely with the CEO and Director of Client Solutions to drive growth of these large accounts by analyzing their specific needs, organizational structure and budgeting, establishing meaningful relationships with relevant personnel, and working with them to develop tailored solutions and to deploy our technology.

They will advance our go-to-market strategy, using smart strategy and targeted research to iterate and adapt rapidly as we learn from market feedback and as the team makes continual technical advances in the platform.

Starting with a small number of existing large accounts, they will develop Swayable’s playbook for winning, serving and retaining more. By developing the knowledge, structure, systems, culture and processes that the playbook represents, they will justify us deploying increasingly large amounts of capital to scale up the partnerships team and continue the company’s hypergrowth.

This role will be based in New York City, with some travel required. The company also has working hubs in SF, DC, LA and Portland OR, so there may be potential for location flexibility depending on the candidate’s situation and evolution of pandemic responses.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• 4+ years creating successful business development and strategic partnerships, including direct experience with Fortune/Global 500 businesses, especially major brands and brand advertising agencies

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; graduate degree a plusIn-depth knowledge of the consumer data, marketing, polling and/or advocacy campaign world, including demonstrated interest and perspectives on its evolution and ability to lead insightful strategy discussions with potential partners as well as the internal team

• Experience establishing and maintaining a network of senior executive relationships with customers, peers and stakeholders, becoming a trusted advisor

• Solid basic understanding of statistics/mathematics and confidence to fill any gaps

• Analyzing business models to go deep on the customer’s needs.

• Developing an array of partnership types, including prototyping approaches (such as new pricing models, experimental products, new feature bundles) as well as scaling up successful approaches

• Excelling as a self-starter in a fast-paced and fluid startup environment

• Communicating effectively with diverse business, technical, and executive audiences

• Identifying/sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, and managing customer partnership opportunities

Developing best practices to foster, manage, and track opportunities.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to think strategically and creatively, synthesizing a variety of qualitative and quantitative inputs while applying sound business judgment.

• Strong interpersonal skills and executive presence, with a proven ability to earn credibility across an organization from the C-level down.

• Adept at leading through influence, both internally and externally.

• Direct deal flow experience: efficiently managing workload across a pipeline of unique projects at various stages of completion.

• Understanding of consumer data technologies and their application to unlock meaningful business opportunities.

• Excellent oral and written skills to communicate complex issues and influence others internally and externally.

BENEFITS

• 100% Medical, Dental & Vision Plans: no employee contribution required

• Generous PTO: at or above top of market for tech firms

• Equity options: the value of which will exceed the total cash comp under success scenarios 401k, FSA, life insurance, disability insurance

• Strong support for professional development including stipends for courses and conferences, advancement and learning opportunities

• Mission-driven, high-performing company culture

• Salary commensurate with experience and the stage of our firm, with major upside for outsized success

Swayable is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to promote an organizational environment that values diversity and fosters growth. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other basis prohibited by law. The team especially encourages applicants from underrepresented backgrounds.