Manager, Demand Operations

Grant Thornton•Chicago, IL

About The Position

Grant Thornton is seeking a Manager, Demand Operations to manage inbound lead processes, execute targeted outbound prospecting, activate priority accounts, and accelerate early-stage pipeline. The role oversees demand from initial intake and qualification through personalized outreach, meeting generation, and transition to sales or delivery teams. It uses buyer signals, industry triggers, persona-aligned messaging, account research, and sales intelligence tools to identify and prioritize prospects, re-engage dormant relationships, and pursue whitespace opportunities. The Manager works with leaders, CREs, Marketing, and Sales Excellence to coordinate engagement and convert inbound interest and outbound activity into qualified, revenue-generating conversations. The position is accountable for lead-management governance, prospect activation, meeting generation, sales-motion enablement, CRM data quality, measurement, and continuous improvement. Success is measured by timely lead handling, qualified meetings, priority-account activation, pipeline conversion and progression, follow-up and handoff quality, SLA adherence, data accuracy, and improvements in outreach and conversion performance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or another relevant field, or equivalent experience.
Minimum 5–7+ years of experience in demand generation, inside sales, business development, sales development, or a related B2B role.
Demonstrated experience managing inbound lead processes and executing targeted outbound prospecting and account-activation motions.
Strong written communication skills, including the ability to develop concise, personalized outreach for inbound follow-up and outbound prospecting.
Strong verbal communication skills and ability to articulate value propositions and support discovery conversations across industries and buyer personas.
Experience using CRM systems, sales engagement platforms, and sales intelligence tools.
Strong project management, organization, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Ability to manage multiple inbound and outbound motions concurrently while maintaining disciplined follow-through.
Analytical mindset and ability to interpret buyer signals, performance metrics, and conversion patterns and translate them into action.

Nice To Haves

Professional services or solution-based marketing and sales experience.
Experience supporting account-based, priority-account, or whitespace activation programs.
Familiarity with marketing automation, lead-scoring models, qualification frameworks, and pipeline reporting.
Experience working across Marketing, Sales Excellence, Revenue Operations, and client-facing teams.

Responsibilities

Manage inbound leads end to end, including intake, qualification, prioritization, assignment, and progression in accordance with established service-level expectations.
Coordinate engagement among leaders, CREs, subject matter experts, and other stakeholders, including timely lead acceptance, preparation, participation, and follow-through.
Facilitate rapid client engagement by coordinating outreach, scheduling meetings, preparing briefing materials, and monitoring response and meeting timelines.
Maintain ownership of early-stage pipeline momentum until opportunities are transitioned to sales or delivery teams.
Maintain process governance and accurate, current CRM records, opportunity data, activity tracking, action items, and status updates.
Monitor lead-management SLAs, identify stalled opportunities, and escalate issues that may delay client engagement or pipeline progression.
Plan and execute outbound prospecting sequences to re-engage dormant accounts, activate colder prospects, and pursue whitespace segments.
Develop personalized outreach using buyer signals, industry triggers, persona-aligned messaging, engagement history, and account research.
Use sales intelligence, intent, and CRM platforms to identify target contacts, prioritize accounts, and optimize outreach timing.
Create and execute professional outreach through approved channels, including personalized email and LinkedIn messaging.
Test and refine targeting, sequencing, and messaging based on response patterns, conversion trends, and campaign performance.
Coordinate outbound activity with priority solutions, industries, accounts, and broader demand-generation programs.
Convert qualified inbound and outbound engagement into introductory calls, discovery sessions, and solution-oriented meetings with decision-makers and influencers.
Prepare structured pre-call briefs for subject matter experts and engagement leaders, covering buyer context, pain points, engagement history, qualification insights, and recommended next steps.
Coordinate meeting logistics and stakeholder participation; track outcomes, document action items, and ensure follow-up occurs within established SLAs.
Facilitate handoffs to sales or delivery teams with the qualification insights and engagement information needed to advance opportunities.
Partner with Sales and Sales Excellence to apply qualification criteria, use approved messaging, and enable coordinated sales motions.
Maintain complete and accurate CRM contact, account, lead, and opportunity records, including touchpoints, dispositions, qualification notes, buyer insights, and next steps.
Monitor inbound response times, outbound activity, sequence performance, connection rates, meeting generation, pipeline progression, and conversion outcomes.
Identify patterns and gaps in lead quality, account alignment, prospect engagement, routing, and conversion.
Use performance data and test-and-learn approaches to improve targeting, messaging, workflows, and lead-to-meeting conversion.
Partner with Sales Excellence and Revenue Operations to strengthen qualification practices, optimize workflows and dashboards, and improve campaign-to-sales feedback loops.
Perform other duties as assigned.