Business Development Leader - Yazdani Studio

Apply now The Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign has an exciting opportunity for a Business Development Leader based in Los Angeles. Look at the description below. If you think your skills and experience, make you a good match for this position, we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking for creative, curious, empathetic people to join our Living-Centered Design movement. Apply now ABOUT THE YAZDANI STUDIO The Yazdani Studio is a unique platform, separately branded but fully integrated within CannonDesign.  The Yazdani Studio is focused on process innovation to assist corporate and institutional clients to reinvent themselves, while delivering world-class signature design across all markets and geographies.  The Studio is not limited to serving only as an architectural design platform. It provides through its own resources the full scope of architecture and design services on many of its projects. The Studio proactively draws on the knowledge and talent of Subject Matter Experts throughout the firm and frequently collaborates with Client Leaders in other CannonDesign offices to deliver outstanding work. Its work comprises design of buildings, interiors, exhibits, and products. The Studio has grown significantly in the last five years, maintained high levels of profitability, increased its international stature, and advanced the firm’s Living-Centered design ethos. ABOUT THE ROLE Your role is focused on providing strategic and tactical business development leadership within the Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign to advance the Firm’s and the Studio’s client and partner engagement strategies, to grow the Studio’s top line with new and repeat clients, and to advance the Studio’s engagement with other CannonDesign offices. WHAT YOU WILL DO You will partner with the Studio’s Design Practice Director and other Studio Leaders to lead, collaborate with and support Client Leaders in positioning the Studio and the firm. You will develop client and partner relationships that identify and secure new opportunities in multiple markets and across geographies both domestically and internationally to grow the Studio’s top line. Importantly, you will be an ambassador of our brand, responsible for demonstrating how our Living-Centered Design approach and the Yazdani Studio’s process and culture can help clients and partners achieve enduring success. Expectations of success include: Top Line Growth: Provide leadership, guidance and support to Studio leadership and Client Leaders across the firm in the development of new business development opportunities with client partners to achieve top line targets, which will support a minimum 10% growth of the Studio year over year. Personally identify new qualified opportunities totalling a minimum of $10.0M in net fee per year. Prepositioning and Intelligence Gathering: Demonstrate effective pre-positioning and intelligence gathering activity that identifies key issues and potential differentiators in our client pursuits. Oversee a pipeline of qualified Class 6A and 6B opportunities that consistently equals or exceeds three times the annual net signed fee of the Studio, and positively impacts a “Lost Not Shortlisted” percentage at or below 20%. These opportunities will cut across all markets, and will not be limited geographically, but should target opportunities where the Yazdani Studio’s unique attributes contribute significantly to the value proposition.  Collaboration: Partner with the Studio’s Design Practice Director,, other Yazdani Studio leaders, the Office Practice Leader of the Los Angeles office, the firm’s Director of BMBD, Market and Service Line Leaders, and other Business Development Leaders in the progression of networking, intelligence gathering and pursuit strategies to advance the growth of our markets, practices and service lines within the Yazdani Studio and across the firm, where the Studio’s participation will enhance the firm’s probability of success. Best Practices: Work with Yazdani Studio leaders, the firm’s Market Leaders, Client Leaders and the BMBD Team in the development and implementation of best practices for client pursuit and retention strategies within the Studio and firm wide. Champion initiatives including the Strategic Pursuit Process, Omnichannel market approach, and the Industry Partner and Inclusive Partner Programs. Pursuit Management: Collaborate with the Studio’s leaders to develop pursuit strategies, evaluate teaming opportunities, participate in Go/No Go evaluation, and manage the proposal process.  On select pursuits, serve as the primary author of the Studio’s market proposal.  Serve as a strategist and coach to prepare Studio interview teams and assist to secure debriefs after the client has made its selection. Areas of Focus Business Development / Top Line Capture: In collaboration with the Studio’s Design Practice Director, firmwide Market Leaders, Client Leaders, and the Director of BMBD, you are responsible for leading and supporting business development activities and identifying new client leads/opportunities in the Studio and firm wide where the Studio will be an essential asset. You will work with Studio Leaders, Market and Client Leaders to identify target clients based upon value propositions and strategic initiatives. You will assist with research and intelligence gathering and use findings to inform the development and implementation of strategic pursuit plans to position the Studio and CannonDesign with these target clients. Business Planning / Marketing Budget: You will participate in the annual business planning process with the Studio’s Leadership Team, coordinating the plan with the other California offices and with the Firm’s strategic framework. You will ensure your office’s marketing budget is aligned with the business plan, and you will effectively monitor and manage the budget throughout the year. Networking: You are responsible for developing and advancing internal and external networks within our core markets and specialty markets, practices and service lines; you are expected to identify new opportunities and preposition target opportunities to expand the Studio’s client base and increase top line success. Internal networking activities include partnering and collaborating with other Business Development Leaders and others in the firm to strengthen and build upon existing client relationships. External networking activities include developing local/regional client and AEC industry relationships, as well as developing/maintaining a diverse regional partner network. You will regularly attend networking opportunities and events and represent the firm at designated professional conferences. It is also expected that you will join and participate in appropriate professional organizations such as DBIA, SMPS, CREW, ULI and others, as well as recommending organizations to Client Leaders for participation, to advance our presence and position in areas of focus and with target clients. Client Engagement Meetings: In partnership with the Studio’s Design Practiec Director, you will lead client engagement meetings in your office. At a minimum, you will bring together the Studio’s Leadership Team, and other leaders, as appropriate, bi-weekly to advance marketing and business development activities around target clients and new opportunities. Pipeline Management: You will maintain an active watch on pipeline and have a deep understanding of pipeline; you will be a Salesforce user and evangelist. You will drive Salesforce use by others in client-facing roles to keep information accurate, assess performance and develop actionable insights to stay on plan. Pursuit, Proposal, and Interview Activities: In collaboration with the Studio’s Design Practice Director, other Studio Leaders, Client Leaders, the BMBD Team and others, you will provide strategic input in all phases of our client engagement process and activities. This includes: Working with the Studio’s Design Practice Director and Client Leaders to develop and maintain effective capture plans for the Studio’s top pursuits. Ensuring prepositioning activities are developed and completed in advance of RFQs/RFPs, according to an agreed upon plan. Assisting in the development of the pursuit approach and implementation of client intelligence in proposals and marketing materials, including serving as the primary author in select proposals. Participating in the development and implementation of PR and communication strategies as part of prepositioning plans. Supporting the Marketing Team with proposal delivery via Red Team Review and QA/QC. Participating with the Studio’s Design Practice Director, Client Leaders and others in the development of interview presentations, providing the client’s perspective from intelligence gathered through networking and research activities. Participating in interview preparation, coaching the team on content, flow and delivery. In some instances, you may also need to participate in the interview itself. Influence and drive team and client debrief activity following pursuits; work with Client Leaders to prepare for and participate in debriefs, and ensure learnings are captured and communicated to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. Brand: In partnership with the Studio’s Design Practice Director, other Studio Leaders and the BMBD Team, you will strengthen the Yazdani Studio’s and CannonDesign’s brand in the marketplace and become a champion of Living-Centered Design and an advocate for the Studio’s unique process driven strategies. You will bring our firm’s purpose—to help people continuously flourish—to life in every touchpoint you have with clients and partners, including in the pursuit and prepositioning materials we create. Mentoring: Working with the Studio’s Design Practice Director, other Studio Leaders and the firm’s Director of BMBD, you will provide leadership and mentoring to Client Leaders and Emerging Client Leaders in the areas of marketing and business development: client relationship-building, networking, pursuit strategy and implementation, proposal writing and interviewing. ABOUT YOUR QUALIFICATIONS A minimum of 15 years of related work experience in marketing/business development roles required. Proven experience in the development and implementation of marketing business plans for high profile design brands Related experience working in marketing/business development roles for the a/e/c industry preferred. A degree in marketing or a related field preferred. Additional education and/or certifications/training a plus. Ability to develop significant relationships that increase our opportunity pipeline. Proven track record preferred. Business acumen and ability to develop, influence and execute strategy. Communicates authentically and respectfully. Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PPT) Experience with CRM platforms, such as Salesforce, a plus. Some travel may be required. ABOUT WORKING HERE We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about. We are committed to ensuring our practice is equitable for all employees, representative of the communities around us – and focused on the future of design. We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts through the leadership of our DEI Council, Employee Resource Groups and other community advocacy initiatives. We’re about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we’re ready for you. As a condition of employment, all employees are expected to complete mandatory training, including compliance training, within required timeframes and adhere to our internal policies and our Code of Conduct. CannonDesign recognizes the value of diversity in our workforce. We are committed to equal opportunity. We consider all qualified employment applicants without regard to race, religion, color, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, partnership status, protected veteran status, disability, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. Individuals who hold legal work authorization applicable to employment at CannonDesign in the United States will be considered without regard to citizenship/alienage.   Apply now