Associate Director Business Development
Accentuate Staffing is seeking an Associate Director of Business Development to join a national CRO organization. The Associate Director of Business Development supports revenue growth by developing and managing client relationships, qualifying new opportunities, building a sustainable sales pipeline, and leading RFP responses. This role focuses on developing foundational skills in ophthalmology-focused CRO solution selling while partnering closely with internal teams to deliver high-quality, client-centered solutions. This position is ideal for a motivated professional with CRO experience with the ability to travel up to 50%.
Responsibilities:
- Identify, qualify, and develop new business opportunities to support revenue growth
- Execute outbound prospecting and efficiently manage inbound leads
- Build and maintain a healthy, forward-looking opportunity pipeline
- Lead and support RFP and proposal responses, including bid defense preparation
- Conduct effective discovery conversations to understand client needs and objectives
- Build and nurture long-term relationships with sponsors, consultants, and key opinion leaders
- Develop and maintain a strong understanding of CRO services, clinical trial phases, and the drug development lifecycle
- Build or deepen expertise in ophthalmology clinical research and trial execution
- Partner with senior sales leadership, proposals, marketing, and operations teams to advance opportunities
- Guide internal stakeholders through complex situations, including bid defenses and change order discussions
- Help resolve disagreements related to scope, change orders, or operational execution
- Accurately track all activities, contacts, and opportunities within CRM systems
- Maintain discipline around sales processes, forecasting, and documentation
Requirements:
- Must have previous CRO experience
- 1–3 years of sales, business development, or customer-facing experience within a CRO
- Prior experience as a Project Specialist, Regulatory Specialist, Patient Recruitment Specialist, Project Manager, Clinical Trial Manager, or Ophthalmology Study Coordinator
- Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, business, or a related field required
- Ophthalmology clinical research experience preferred
- Ability to ask strong discovery questions and align CRO services to client needs
- Skilled in outbound outreach and rapid qualification of inbound leads
- Professional, clear, and effective verbal and written communication with external and internal stakeholders
- Strong team orientation with the ability to influence across functions
- Detail-oriented, organized, and consistent in CRM usage and opportunity management
- Coachable, curious, and eager to learn
- Self-motivated with strong follow-through
- Comfortable with outreach, networking, and relationship-building
- Organized, detail-oriented, and process-driven
- Demonstrates integrity, professionalism, and sound judgment
- Comfortable operating in uncertain environments and solving problems collaboratively
- Capable of leading and guiding internal teams through complex or ambiguous situations
