Business Development Director - Energy & Natural Resources

Baker Tilly•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Business Development Director at Baker Tilly is a senior-level, strategic role focused on accelerating growth across the firm’s Tax, Assurance, and Consulting practices. This leader is directly responsible for identifying and developing new business opportunities within the Energy & Natural Resources (ENR) sector in an assigned territory, while building, managing, and expanding strong client relationships. The Director serves as a key member of the ENR Industry Practice leadership team, partnering with practice leaders to shape and execute go-to-market strategies and drive industry-focused growth initiatives. This includes collaborating across service lines to develop innovative, value-driven solutions that support organizations across oil & gas, power & utilities, renewable energy, energy infrastructure, industrial manufacturing, transportation, and related infrastructure markets – with a growing emphasis on energy transition, grid and infrastructure modernization, and sustainability initiatives accelerated by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This position requires a strong understanding of market dynamics, operational transformation, capital and infrastructure investment, regulatory considerations, and emerging technologies impacting the ENR sector, and is critical to enhancing Baker Tilly’s market position and delivering differentiated value to clients.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university required
15+ years of experience in Energy, Power & Utilities, Renewable Energy, Infrastructure, Industrial Manufacturing, or related industries, or in professional services supporting these sectors (e.g., accounting, law, management consulting, engineering or infrastructure advisory), required
Demonstrate an understanding of energy market dynamics, capital investment trends, and regulatory developments impacting utilities, renewable energy, and infrastructure modernization initiatives
Demonstrate strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and thought leadership skills
Strong understanding of emerging technologies and their business applications.
Ability to work under a defined and planned directive with minimal direct day to day supervision for implementation
Strong written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree preferred

Responsibilities

Understand key industry service offerings and confidently communicate their application across the Energy ecosystem—including oil & gas, power & utilities, renewable energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, transportation, and industrial markets—to a diverse group of stakeholders
Demonstrate an understanding of energy infrastructure, utility modernization, decarbonization initiatives, and renewable energy investment trends and their impact on client operations and growth strategies
Monitor and communicate emerging trends related to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), energy transition initiatives, grid modernization, renewable energy investment, and infrastructure funding to identify and develop new business opportunities
Lead the deployment of sales techniques and strategies to integrate services and resources across all lines of service and geographies
Possess a broad understanding of macroeconomic, regulatory, and market trends impacting the ENR sector, including renewable energy, utilities, infrastructure investment, and industrial transformation
Have a conversational understanding of the firm’s significant service offerings beyond ENR that intersect with our team's expertise, enabling the utilization of the firm's strategy to deliver and enhance value in an integrated and mutually reinforcing marketplace.
Build, maintain, and expand relationships across the ENR ecosystem, including industry operators, infrastructure stakeholders, investors, regulators, and strategic partners
Perform regular, aggressive, and prompt follow up on all Firm-generated leads assigned from campaigns, or ad hoc requests from practice leadership.
Maintain a clear understanding of who your team wishes to target for business development purposes – and why.
Track and analyze emerging ENR industry trends and innovations to identify potential opportunities within the industry.
Regularly inform practice leadership of changing market dynamics and other factors influencing accounts of strategic importance
Maintain strict compliance with CRM (Salesforce) requirements by consistently documenting opportunity notes and all related activities, and keeping an accurate, up-to-date pipeline of qualified opportunities in accordance with firm protocols
Attain closed business revenue goals associated with both new accounts and existing client accounts (as appropriate), to ensure a profitable return to Firm each fiscal year.
Participate as a key team member on all relevant market development meetings and other in-house discussions.
Create, sustain, and grow relationships with new and existing clients through regular, open communication; ensure performance standards and client satisfaction are consistently met, and proactively communicate and troubleshoot issues as they arise
Maintain deep knowledge of core service offerings and effectively position their application within target markets to influence decision-makers
Collaborate with other BD leaders and practice leaders for an integrated Go-to-Market (GTM) approach
Perform account planning and key account research to optimize business development efforts and account penetration.
Perform primary out-reach efforts, coordinate with marketing personnel on campaigns including prospect calls, emails, and other mechanisms to secure appointments with COI individuals.