Director of Business Development & Strategy

Director of Business Development & Strategy
Location: Chicago, IL
Reports To: CEO
Employment Type: Full-Time, Exempt

About the Role 

This is our senior growth position. You'll own revenue, open new markets, and build partnerships with Fortune 500 and association clients. Multi-million-dollar pipeline. C-suite relationships. Experiences that create behavioral change and drive ROI.

It's the confluence of business development, client strategy, and creative design. You'll work directly with our CEO and clients. No committees. No red tape.

Why Trident

We're growing 20%+ year-over-year, and we’ve been named one of Bloomberg's "World's Greatest Companies." We combine enterprise-level clients with boutique structure, meaning fast, iterative movements and visible impact.

Forget navigating politics and waiting on approvals like in the big-box agencies. Here, you’re more than an employee number; you work directly with leadership, influence decisions, and see your ideas come to life. Every win you create shapes the agency's trajectory and accelerates your career.

Chicago-based with real support, flexibility, and accountability. High expectations, high impact.

If you're a strategic, relationship-driven business developer who thrives in fast-moving environments, this is your opportunity to make a lasting mark with an agency focused on growth.

What You’ll Do
Business Development & Growth

• Identify, pursue, and win new business opportunities that expand Trident’s portfolio.
• Build lasting client relationships, uncovering upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
• Lead proposals and pitches that position Trident as the partner of choice for high-impact events.
• Partner with the CEO and senior operations leaders on pricing models and financial strategy.
• Manage pipeline, forecast revenue, and deliver growth targets.

Client Strategy & Partnership

• Serve as the senior strategic advisor and main point of contact for key accounts.
• Facilitate discovery and design sessions to define objectives, success metrics, and desired outcomes.
• Negotiate contracts, pricing, and scopes in collaboration with senior operations leaders.
• Provide proactive counsel that builds trust and deepens client partnerships.

Event Strategy & Design

• Translate client objectives into event strategies that deliver ROI and measurable change.
• Apply frameworks like the Event Design Canvas (EDC) and Design Thinking to craft innovative experiences.
• Collaborate with internal teams to bring strategic concepts to life through execution.
• Measure results and leverage post-event insights to expand accounts.

Agency Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead internal strategy sessions to align cross-functional teams.
• Contribute to evolving agency methodologies, offerings, and market positioning.
• Mentor team members on strategic selling and client engagement.

What We’re Looking For

• 7+ years in business development, client strategy, experiential marketing, or event leadership.
• Proven success driving revenue growth and building senior-level client partnerships.
• Ability to connect client needs with creative event strategies that achieve business results.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
• Familiarity with event design methodologies (e.g., EDC, Design Thinking)
• Experience with financial modeling, pricing strategies, and contract negotiation.
• Proficiency with CRM and project tools (Zoho CRM, Asana, or similar).

What Success Looks Like

• Exceeding revenue and new business goals.
• Growing and retaining high-value client accounts.
• Delivering events that achieve defined business and behavioral outcomes.
• Influencing agency innovation, culture, and profitability.

Compensation
We offer a competitive base salary plus uncapped bonus opportunities tied to revenue growth and client success. Total on-target earnings (OTE) are structured to reward high performance and scale with revenue growth. Robust benefits include comprehensive health coverage, matched retirement plan participation, and PTO.

Base: $110K – $150K, depending on experience
On-Target Earnings (OTE): $230K – $300K (base + bonus)
Structure: Uncapped bonus tied to client revenue/gross profit, with tiered incentives for over-achievement, pursuant to Trident Experiential Sales Bonus Plan.

👉 Apply today if you’re ready to grow revenue, lead strategy, and redefine how events create change.