The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit research and education organization supported by its members. Founded in 1936, the institute now has over 40,000 members worldwide representing the entire spectrum of land use and real estate development disciplines, working in private enterprise and public service. As the preeminent, multidisciplinary real estate forum, ULI facilitates the open exchange of ideas, information and experience among local, national and international industry leaders and policy makers dedicated to creating better places. The mission of the Urban Land Institute is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Members say that ULI is a trusted idea place where leaders come to grow professionally and personally through sharing, mentoring, and problem solving. With pride, ULI members commit to the best in land use policy and practice.
ULI is committed to building mutually beneficial relationships with major corporations through high-value programs, events, and content. Reporting to the Vice President (VP) of Business Development, the Director, Business Development is responsible for all elements of corporate fundraising while also assisting in the alignment of core initiatives and ULI’s corporate supporters. Broadly, ULI is focused on identifying and unlocking opportunities to broaden and deepen corporate partner engagement. The Director will offer comprehensive account management for a set of prospective corporate partners, negotiating, fulfilling, and supporting long-term engagements. The Director will also play a primary role in working with the content team at ULI to build relationships with funding partners for content-related work, such as publications and reports. The Director will be highly collaborative, have good communication, presentation, sales skills, and excel at business development. In addition, the Director will be well organized and an effective problem solver, with the ability to interact with others with grace and ease under pressure.
Responsibilities Include:
- Contribute to a team revenue goal in support of corporate membership, major meeting sponsorship, global advertising, and more, both in packages for corporate partners and independently through ad hoc sales.
- Own an individual annual seven-figure revenue generation goal across a suite of partnership offerings.
- Collaborate with other ULI teams globally, including Client Services, Corporate Strategy, Integrated Marketing, Governance, Centers & Initiatives, and other content teams.
- Establish relationships with a broad prospect network, as well as cultivate existing relationships to increase investment with the organization.
- Create and execute a global, multichannel advertising strategy via publishing products, major events, digital marketing channels, etc., in partnership with the Vice President, Business Development.
- Establish strategies for the evolution and structure of potential activations for corporate prospects and advertisers, and sponsors.
- Develop and update pitch materials, templates, and resources such as PowerPoint decks, one-pagers, case studies, proposals, etc., for new business outreach, collaborating across teams to gather relevant program updates, assets, and appropriate brand messaging.
- Become well-versed and keep updated on the organization’s goals, work, and activities, and become adept at communicating program and organizational goals and work to prospects.
- Identify and attend conferences, meetings, and other forums for strategically positioning ULI for corporate prospect visibility.
- Help manage the internal vetting and approval process of new prospects on behalf of the Corporate Partnerships team.
- Research marketing, CSR/ESG, and industry trends to inform strategic approach and appropriate integration into pitch materials.
- Travel to several conferences each year to call on prospects in person.
- Provide excellent client relations.
Ideal Candidate:
The ideal candidate is an experienced, results-driven professional with a proven track record of securing business development meetings and closing deals. This individual is a masterful communicator and presenter to executive-level stakeholders, highly responsive, and collaborative across internal teams. Exceptionally organized, proactive, research-focused, innovative, and technologically proficient, they are deeply committed to ULI’s mission and fostering mutually beneficial corporate partnerships.
Qualifications:
- Significant experience in business development or inside sales with a successful track record in print and digital advertising.
- Ability to travel overnight to conferences 2-4x annually.
- Excellent customer service skills.
- Professional, personable, and articulate.
- Comfortable with technology such as ad management software and the use of databases.
- Excellent skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Above average business writing skills.
- Works well in a team environment and independently.
- Collaborative and fun!
- Good communication and presentation skills.
- Well organized and an effective problem solver, with the ability to interact with others with grace and ease under pressure.
- Professional, goal-driven, customer service-oriented, and comfortable communicating with executive-level members.
DRiWaterstone is proud to lead this search on behalf of Urban Land Institute.
