Senior Director, Growth & Business Development

Ruder Finn is looking for a collaborative, commercially minded Senior Director, Growth & Business Development to help strengthen the firm’s growth engine. This person will play a key role in identifying and pursuing the right opportunities, building a strong pipeline, and bringing together the best of Ruder Finn to tell a compelling, differentiated story to prospective clients.Working closely with senior leaders and teams across the firm, the Senior Director will manage strategic prospecting and RFI, RFP and pitch efforts from opportunity through presentation. They’ll help shape pursuit strategies, connect the right people and capabilities, and build relationships that create new opportunities for the agency. The Senior Director will also partner with leaders across the firm to develop and drive proactive outreach strategies, helping identify new opportunities, strengthen relationships and create meaningful connections with prospective clients.Key ResponsibilitiesManage RFI, RFP and pitch efforts from opportunity assessment through submission and presentation.Help shape pursuit strategies, teams, timelines and differentiated points of view.Partner with senior and practice leaders to develop compelling responses, presentations and pitch experiences.Bring pitch teams together, coordinating collaboration, rehearsals and follow-through.Drive strategic prospecting and help build, qualify and advance a healthy pipeline.Develop priority prospect lists, account strategies and thoughtful engagement plans.Identify new areas for growth, industry white space and opportunities to deepen relationships.Build connections across practices, geographies and external partners to unlock opportunities.Support senior leaders with relationship mapping, outreach, meeting preparation and follow-up.Provide clear visibility into active pursuits, pipeline activity, market opportunities and next steps.Connect growth priorities with thought leadership, executive visibility, RF.com and broader marketing efforts.Desired QualificationsAt least 7 years of experience in business development, agency growth, strategic partnerships, consulting, marketing communications or a related field.Strong experience managing RFI, RFP and pitch processes.A track record of building relationships, contributing to new business growth and moving opportunities forward.Excellent strategic thinking, writing, presentation and project management skills.Confidence partnering with senior executives and leaders across different disciplines.Strong judgment, organization and follow-through, with the ability to keep multiple opportunities moving at once.A collaborative, low-ego approach and comfort working across a fast-moving, matrixed organization.The anticipated salary range for this position, at the time of posting, is $100,000 - $140,000. The salary of the applicant selected for this role will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, education, internal equity, geography, relevant years of experience, certifications, skills, abilities of the selected applicant, and other job-related qualifications. In addition, a range of medical, dental, vision, disability, 401(k) matching, paid time off, and/or other benefits also are available by the company.Ruder Finn provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Ruder Finn will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Ruder Finn believes that diversity and inclusion among our employees is critical to our success as a global company, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.SummaryLocation: US Chicago ILType: Full time