Business Development Manager

About the job

Precision is an integrated strategy and communications firm advising companies and organizations at the intersection of policy, reputation, and public opinion. The firm combines senior bipartisan political and communications talent with proprietary data and AI platforms to develop and run integrated campaigns that help clients seize opportunities and solve their biggest challenges. Precision’s integrated model spans strategic communications, corporate advisory, public affairs, reputation management, crisis and litigation support, data and analytics, paid media, and creative. The firm is backed by a bipartisan, 50-State Network following its acquisition of Firehouse Strategies. ABRY Partners is a strategic investor in Precision.

The Business Development Manager will drive the mechanics of new business growth at Precision — managing the pipeline, leading proposal development, and coordinating pitches from first contact through close. This role partners closely with the Marketing Manager (who owns brand storytelling and content) and reports to the BD & Marketing Director (who sets overall strategy), filling the execution layer in between - turning strategy and brand assets into won business. The ideal candidate is highly organized, an excellent writer and project manager, and energized by helping a growing business thrive. This position can be based in either Washington, D.C. or New York, NY.

What You Will Do:

Pipeline & Prospecting

• Identify, qualify, and prioritize new business opportunities across target industries and client segments in partnership with the Chief Growth Officer (CGO) and other senior leaders.
• Build and manage a healthy pipeline through outbound prospecting, referrals, and inbound lead qualification.
• Maintain and continuously improve the BD CRM (e.g., Folk), ensuring accurate tracking of opportunities, activity, and forecasts.
• Develop and nurture relationships with prospective clients and industry partners.
• Represent Precision at industry events and networking functions.

Proposal Writing, Coordination & Management

• Own the end-to-end proposal process: RFP/RFI intake, requirement analysis, and timeline development.
• Write, edit, and manage client-ready proposals, capabilities statements, and pitch materials — partnering with the Marketing Manager on brand collateral and messaging, and with subject matter experts on content.
• Coordinate cross-functional input from account leads and senior leadership to keep proposals accurate, on-brand, and on deadline.
• Maintain a proposal library, templates, and boilerplate content for efficiency and consistency.
• Manage proposal workback schedules and milestones.
• Lead post-submission debriefs and win/loss analyses to refine approach over time.

Pitch & Deal Support

• Help prepare and, where appropriate, co-lead pitch meetings and presentations.
• Support the Director and CGO in developing scopes of work and pricing.
• Coordinate BD-specific events and prospect-facing activations, working with the Marketing Manager on execution support where needed.

Marketing Collaboration

• Surface BD intelligence to the Marketing Manager — recurring prospect questions/objections, competitive/loss intel, and sector-specific traction — to inform content topics and positioning.
• Lead competitive research initiatives to directly shape go-to-market strategy and positioning
• Flag closed deals and notable wins as case study and award-submission candidates for the Marketing Manager to produce.
• Own proposal-specific versions of collateral (case studies, service descriptions, one-pagers used in active pitches) and sync regularly with the Marketing Manager to keep them consistent with master brand versions.
• Own guest list/targeting strategy for prospect-facing events while the Marketing Manager owns production and brand experience.

Reporting & Process

• Maintain accurate, current pipeline and proposal reporting for the Director and leadership.
• Support the Director's process-improvement initiatives (e.g., AI proposal tools, CRM optimization) by operationalizing new tools day-to-day.
• Monitor market and competitor activity to inform BD strategy.

What We Are Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 5+ years of combined experience in business development and marketing, ideally within a marketing, PR, communications, or creative agency environment
• Demonstrated experience managing and writing winning proposals, including agency RFP/RFI responses
• Hands-on marketing experience, including content development and campaign management
• Strong understanding of the agency pitch and proposal process
• Excellent writing, editing, and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple proposals and marketing initiatives simultaneously under deadline pressure
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills, with the ability to work closely and collaboratively with Directors, Partners, and Executives
• Experience with CRM platforms and marketing tools (e.g., email platforms, social schedulers, analytics dashboards) and emerging AI-enabled productivity tools
• Highly organized self-starter who can manage competing priorities and work cross-functionally
• Strategic, creative thinking to bring fresh ideas and a point of view on how to differentiate the agency's brand
• Existing industry relationships highly preferred

What We Offer

• Competitive salaries
• Annual bonus opportunity
• Flexible hybrid remote/in office plan
• Retirement plan with automatic 3% safe-harbor contribution from Precision
• Healthcare coverage - medical, dental, and vision with 90% of costs covered by Precision
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and floating holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Professional development stipend

The annual salary range for this position is $125,000 - $175,000. Actual compensation and starting salaries are determined by various factors, including the candidate's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and internal equity. Once at Precision Strategies, movement through pay bands is based on performance. Base annual salary is just one component of Precision’s total compensation approach.

We currently work in a hybrid model and require staff to work in the office 50% of working days each month.