Business Development Specialist - Taste Agent

Business Development Specialist - Taste Agent

6-Month Contract role, 20 hours/week

Hybrid, Chicago-based

About Taste Agent

Taste Agent is a platform revolutionizing how restaurants connect with social media influencers, trading comped meals for high-quality content and valuable exposure. We're an early-stage Chicago-based startup, moving beyond MVP testing to scale our reach and impact in the food and creator industries. Our team thrives on collaboration, creative problem-solving, and a shared passion for redefining restaurant marketing.

About the Role

We’re seeking a strategic and motivated Business Development Specialist to join our team on a part-time, 6-month contract basis. While sales support is essential, this is not a traditional sales role. This position requires a strategic thinker who can think holistically about our business challenges as a restaurant-content creator marketplace, build meaningful relationships with restaurant operators, and contribute to our strategic vision.

As a key player at Taste Agent, you'll collaborate closely with leadership to grow our network of restaurant partners, help refine our approach to sales, and shape the future of our platform. You’ll also play a key role in sharing recruitment successes and insights to inform team strategy and decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Restaurant Recruitment: Identify, engage, and onboard new restaurant partners, focusing on those that align with Taste Agent’s mission and value proposition
• Strategic Relationship Building: Build partnerships with restaurant operators by understanding their needs, offering tailored solutions, and demonstrating the value of working with Taste Agent
• Sales Strategy Development: Collaborate on strategic approaches to recruitment and retention, helping to shape our broader sales and business development roadmap
• Market Insights: Communicate insights from conversations with partners to inform product updates, value propositions, and overall business strategy
• Operational Excellence: Maintain accurate records of outreach, bookings, and partner engagement in our CRM (HubSpot)
• Proactive Communication: Regularly update and collaborate with Taste Agent’s Customer Success team to share recruitment successes, challenges, and learnings, ensuring alignment across the team
• Event Participation: Attend monthly in-person content creator events (intimate dinners with 10-12 content creator guests) to foster relationships, build community, and represent Taste Agent
• Innovation Contribution: Think critically about the problem we’re solving and bring forward new ideas to enhance the Taste Agent platform and its offerings

What We’re Looking For in a Candidate

• Strategic Perspective: Beyond just closing deals, you bring a big-picture mindset and can identify opportunities to enhance the business
• Experience with Restaurants & Content Creation: A background in working with restaurants, social media, or content marketing is a strong plus
• Strong Relationship Skills: You’re a natural at building rapport, listening to client needs, and turning relationships into long-term partnerships
• Adaptability: You thrive in a startup environment, rolling up your sleeves to take on tasks beyond your job description when needed
• Goal-Oriented: You’re self-motivated, with a proven ability to meet goals and deadlines in a dynamic and evolving environment
• Tech-Savvy: Familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., HubSpot) and basic marketing tools is a plus
• Community Engagement: Comfortable and confident representing the brand at intimate events, facilitating connections, and gathering feedback from creators and partners
• Collaborative: Able to effectively communicate recruitment wins and insights to team members, helping shape strategic planning and cross-functional initiatives

What Success Looks Like in This Role

• Onboarding 35 new restaurant partners within six months
• Strengthening Taste Agent’s presence and reputation within the Chicago restaurant and creator communities
• Proactively sharing recruitment insights to support team alignment and product strategy
• Helping refine and streamline our business development and sales processes

Commitment

• 20 hours per week for six months, including occasional evening in-person engagements for monthly creator events
• Potential for extension or expansion based on performance and company needs

Why Join Taste Agent?

• This is an opportunity to be part of an innovative startup shaping the future of restaurant marketing. Your contributions will directly impact our growth and success, and you’ll gain hands-on experience in strategic business development while working with a passionate, driven team.