Director, Sales & Business Development Operations– Life Sciences

Barry-Wehmiller•Philadelphia, PA

17h•Onsite

About The Position

BW Design Group is a fully integrated architecture, engineering, construction, system integration, and consulting firm dedicated to helping clients achieve their critical goals from Strategy to Commercialization. The firm combines deep domain expertise in manufacturing with an approach built to serve the dynamic needs of clients in the food & beverage, life sciences, industrial, and advanced technology industries. Barry-Wehmiller, the parent company, is a diversified global supplier with nearly 12,000 team members, committed to using business to build a better world. The Director will join one of 45 US offices as part of a team of over 1500 professionals shaping the future of manufacturing, regulated industries, and advanced technologies. This role is within the Life Sciences sector, serving pharmaceutical, biotech, and advanced therapeutics organizations, working closely with senior leaders and technical specialists across Architecture, Engineering, Process, and Construction practices. The Director serves as both an operational leader and strategic partner to the Life Sciences Market Commercial Team leadership, ensuring processes, tools, and teams support aggressive growth targets while maintaining quality, compliance, and brand excellence. This strategic leadership role is responsible for building and managing world-class sales operations and business development capabilities to enable competitive advantage and revenue growth, overseeing proposal management, sales process governance, team leadership, and operational excellence across all pursuit activities from opportunity planning through contract award. The Director will enable, coordinate, and operationalize the business development engine for the Life Sciences sector, focusing on systems, workflows, meeting coordination, and pursuit operations rather than direct client account ownership.

Requirements

15 years of experience in business development operations, pursuit coordination, project support, or related experience within the AEC or Life Sciences sectors
Understanding of Life Sciences facilities, GMP environments, or capital project lifecycles
Strong organizational and communication skills, including the ability to prepare executive-ready materials
Demonstrated success supporting senior leaders through scheduling, project coordination, or pursuit support
Proficiency with CRM systems and Microsoft Office tools
Willingness to travel for major meetings, industry events, and internal engagements

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, architecture, business, communications, construction, or a related field
Professional credentials such as PE, RA, PMP, or other certifications

Responsibilities

Support execution of national Life Sciences growth strategies through structured coordination and planning
Build and optimize sales operations function including team structure, resource planning, account management tools, capture plan templates, and technology stack (CRM system - OMS); implement transformation initiatives and continuous improvement programs to drive operational excellence
Develop comprehensive sales operations metrics and reporting frameworks; track proposal win rates, pursuit metrics, cycle time, quality measures, and operational efficiency
Champion opportunity planning and capture planning processes for all significant pursuits; facilitate strategic planning workshops and early engagement sessions to develop differentiated value propositions and aligned win strategies
Manage pipeline organization, pursuit logistics, and cross-functional team coordination ensuring strategic alignment and resource optimization; establish governance checkpoints and review gates
Drive integration of win strategies and key themes throughout all pursuit deliverables; support business development and sales teams in client/competitor/market research and positioning strategies
Partner with Finance on pursuit budgeting, resource forecasting, and financial performance tracking; ensure transparency and alignment on business development investments and returns
Maintain CRM accuracy, reporting cadence, and BD activity tracking to ensure transparency and consistency
Manage pipeline organization, pursuit logistics, capture-planning coordination, and cross-functional team alignment
Track regulatory, therapeutic, and technology trends and share updates to support strategic decision-making
Coordinate development of sector insights, value propositions, messaging, and thought-leadership content
Assist with conference planning, event coordination, and industry association participation
Build and maintain strong collaborative relationships with Central Marketing, Market Sector Leadership, Client Relationship Developers, Regional leadership, and operational Support mentoring and coordination within the BD team to strengthen a culture of preparedness and follow-through
Make an impact day-to-day by ensuring leaders are fully supported, well-informed, and positioned for successful client interactions