Client Development Director

NBBJ•New York, NY

9h•Onsite

About The Position

ESI Design, an NBBJ studio, creates custom experiences that combine physical, digital, and behavioral design. The Client Development Director will be based in NBBJ | ESI Design’s New York office and report to the Operations Leader. The director serves as the studio’s market ambassador, spending significant time meeting clients, prospects, connectors, and industry leaders in person to build relationships and identify project pursuits. The role works closely with studio operations, project management, creative leaders, firmwide communications, and marketing colleagues to support business growth. It is primarily prospect-facing and strategic, with advisory input on positioning and design competitions. The position focuses on executing the studio’s growth strategy, cultivating senior-level relationships, researching and qualifying opportunities, increasing ESI’s industry presence, and advising on client and market insight. Marketing and writing colleagues produce prospect collateral, while NBBJ’s marketing and communications teams provide proposal-writing and communications support.

Requirements

Ability to access and connect with senior-level decision makers.

Responsibilities

Work with studio operations and creative leadership to align relationship-building and pursuit activity with top-line revenue goals.
Execute the studio’s growth strategy roadmap by developing industry relationships and identifying and securing work from new clients.
Cultivate relationships across the ecosystem in alignment with the strategic growth plan.
Meet in person with clients, prospects, and connectors at offices, project sites, and industry gatherings.
Collaborate with studio leadership to identify target markets, clients, lead lists, connectors, and project prospects.
Build and maintain relationships with C-suite and other decision-maker contacts, as well as connectors who can support broader relationship growth.
Research, identify, and qualify new clients, markets, and project opportunities.
Meet potential clients, establish relationships, and introduce appropriate creative and market leaders.
Identify pre-positioning opportunities that elevate ESI’s reputation, market visibility, and thought leadership.
Collaborate with the firmwide Communications Team and subject matter experts to expand ESI’s industry presence through event attendance and conference speaking engagements.
Persuasively explain the value of experiential design and how ESI can help prospects meet business goals.
Monitor and analyze client trends and relevant news to maintain a competitive edge and enhance service offerings.
Develop a year-end analysis of business development successes and failures to inform future strategic plans.
Use win/loss debriefs, surveys, Pipedrive and CRM data analysis, and other methods to understand market trends, identify opportunities, and track success metrics.
Advise marketing teams and studio leadership on key value points for marketing materials, proposals, and communications.
Coordinate with the Director of Communications on communications activities and investments that support ESI’s market presence.