Director of Strategic Growth (Potential for Future Head of Growth)

Role: Director of Strategic Growth (Potential for Future Head of Growth)

Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Location: Based in Cleveland, Ohio area preferred - Hybrid, with in-office time (2-3 days) in Westlake for team collaboration and immersion

Company: Achieve Incentives & Meetings, a global strategic partner working with companies to use incentive travel and business events to drive performance, culture, and connection

Role Snapshot

• Focus: New business development and pipeline creation through strategic outbound relationship-building (top-of-funnel growth)
• Level: Growth leadership role with the opportunity to evolve into Head of Growth
• Target Audience: VP-level leaders in Growth, Marketing, HR, Sales, Events, and executive decision-makers overseeing meetings, incentive travel, employee engagement, and customer experience initiatives
• Target Company Size: $75M-$750M in revenue | 150-2,500 employees
• Goal: Build a high-quality pipeline, open the right doors, and convert qualified opportunities into profitable new revenue
• Comp: Base salary range of $100,000-$120,000 plus uncapped performance-based bonus tied to profitable new revenue growth

About Achieve

At Achieve, we partner with organizations that understand the power of experiences to drive real business results. For more than 70 years, we've designed incentive travel programs, team retreats and offsites, and global business events that strengthen culture, deepen relationships, and drive measurable performance. We help organizations use experiences as a tool to influence behavior, loyalty, and revenue.

We are proud to be a 2025 Smart Culture Award-winning company and a 2026 SITE Crystal Award winner for Most Impactful Effort Toward Corporate Social Responsibility as part of an incentive program.

We're entering a new phase of growth and are investing intentionally in relationships, strategy, and people who will help shape Achieve's future.

The Opportunity

This is a relationship-focused business development role centered on opening the right doors. You'll identify the right companies, connect with decision-makers, and turn those conversations into qualified opportunities that drive Achieve's growth. You'll be part of a team that designs and runs corporate meetings and incentive trips - programs companies use to recognize top performers, strengthen relationships, and drive measurable business results.

What You'll Do

Build Qualified Pipeline (Outbound Focus)

• Own the creation of new pipeline - this role is responsible for proactively generating new client opportunities, not managing inbound leads or existing accounts
• Identify and research target companies and decision-makers aligned with Achieve's ideal client profile
• Execute consistent, strategic outbound outreach to open conversations with the right people
• Lead discovery conversations to understand how companies approach meetings and incentive programs, uncover goals and challenges, and identify where Achieve can create real business impact
• Advance and qualify opportunities, then transition to the proposal team while staying actively involved through closing
• Maintain consistent, thoughtful follow-up and relationship development over time to move opportunities forward
• Partner with leadership to prioritize target industries, companies, and relationships, and continuously refine outreach based on what's working

Set Strategy & Drive Campaigns

• Work directly with Achieve's Vice President (strategy and leadership) and a dedicated Growth Administrator (execution and support) within a small, highly strategic growth team
• Shape growth strategy, define target markets, and build the outreach approach
• Lead campaign execution - including research, outbound efforts, and pipeline tracking
• Turn real conversations into insight, bringing market feedback back to refine positioning, messaging, and overall go-to-market approach
• Help shape how Achieve shows up in the market and communicates its value

Represent Achieve in the Market

• Build relationships with senior decision-makers, program owners across event, sales, marketing, and HR teams, and key industry partners
• Attend events and networking opportunities, with availability for occasional evening or after-hours functions
• This role requires travel within the U.S. and occasional international travel to support relationship building and industry engagement

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role is measured through the creation of qualified opportunities, their progression through the pipeline, and the new revenue generated over time.

• Consistently generate qualified opportunities that move through the pipeline and convert into new revenue
• Own outbound pipeline creation - building opportunities from scratch, not relying on inbound or existing relationships
• Build and nurture relationships over time, with the discipline and follow-up required to convert longer sales cycles
• Build and execute a focused target list and outreach strategy aligned with Achieve's ideal client profile
• Open meaningful conversations with the right decision-makers and turn those conversations into real opportunities
• Contribute to and help build a growth system that is structured, repeatable, and scalable - and improve it based on what's working
• Maintain a steady cadence of outreach and new conversations that leads to a healthy, forward-looking pipeline

Future Head of Growth Path

This role offers the opportunity to grow into a Head of Growth position over time. Progression is based on performance - specifically your ability to build pipeline, create qualified opportunities, and demonstrate leadership in shaping our growth efforts.

Who You Are

You are someone who naturally builds relationships and sees opportunities others miss. You're comfortable engaging with senior leaders, asking thoughtful questions, and connecting dots across business challenges and solutions. You bring experience in business development, partnerships, consulting, and/or growth strategy, and you care more about opening the right doors than chasing volume, and you're willing to do the consistent work it takes to make that happen.


You may be a strong fit if you:

• Have a track record of building pipeline or creating new opportunities
• Are persistent and comfortable with rejection - you don't take a "no" personally and know how to re-engage over time
• Can create momentum without a defined playbook and are energized by figuring things out
• Comfortable building pipeline from the ground up, not relying on an existing book of business
• Think strategically about how to access and influence decision makers
• Thrive in relationship-driven environments, especially with longer sales cycles
• Enjoy creating thoughtful outreach strategies rather than high-volume activity
• Understand this role isn't easy - and are motivated by the challenge of building something meaningful over time
• Are motivated by the opportunity to grow into leadership

Candidate Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; degree in business, marketing, communications, or a related field preferred
• Meaningful experience in business development, partnerships, consulting, fundraising, or similar roles, with a track record of building relationships and creating new opportunities (often 5+ years, but we care more about impact than tenure)
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Strong research and strategic thinking skills - ability to understand a company, leadership team, and where opportunities may exist
• Confidence and professionalism engaging with senior leaders
• Highly organized and able to manage outreach, follow-up, and relationship development over time
• Proficient in using CRM and outreach tools (such as HubSpot), with consistent and disciplined usage
• Ability and willingness to travel approximately 3-5 times per year; valid passport required (primarily U.S. travel with occasional international)
• Interest in business, leadership, events, hospitality, or travel industry is a plus
• Comfortable working in a relationship-driven, entrepreneurial environment where initiative and strategic thinking are valued

Benefits of the Role

• 25 days of paid time off (including vacation, holidays, volunteer time, and your birthday)
• Opportunities to travel and see your work come to life
• Retirement plan with employer match
• Medical coverage (with employer contribution)
• Paid parental leave
• Potential for uncapped performance-based bonus tied to profitable new revenue growth