I. Who We Are

Student Freedom Initiative, Inc. (SFI) is a nonprofit corporation formed under the laws of the State of Delaware and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes. Our vision is to address the wealth gap through the lens of education. Our corresponding mission is to provide freedom in professional and life choices for students attending Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) by increasing their social and economic mobility using a student-centric, evidence-based, holistic, and collaborative approach. The MSIs we support include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges & Universities (TCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other MSIs.

II. The Role

We are looking for a Director, Business Development for the Student Freedom Initiative (SFI). In this role, the successful candidate will have overall responsibility for collaborating with implementation partners and other vendors necessary to define business opportunities which address SFI-partner Minority Serving Institution (MSI) needs, requirements, pain points and aspirations. This role includes strategy development through lifecycle project management activities and coordination with internal SFI staff to ensure the appropriate oversight and reporting of progress for approved business opportunities. While the current business opportunities include live entertainment on / near campuses and other locations, it is envisioned that the successful candidate will conduct the necessary research to identify other self-sustaining business opportunities (e.g., living spaces, work force development), consistent with the SFI vision, mission, priorities, and existing organizational roles and responsibilities.

Reporting to the President and CEO, the successful candidate will collaborate with the SFI senior leadership team (Chief Administrative Officer, Legal, Business Operations, MSI Engagement, Marketing & Communications, and Fundraising & Development, and Institutional Transformation) and the equivalent stakeholders at SFI-Partner MSIs and communities to develop and implement joint project plans to ensure the efficient and effective execution of approved initiatives. The successful candidate will fulfill the role, consistent with SFI's core values and be required to travel and work from SFI headquarters a minimum of once per quarter, for a maximum of four days.

To do well in this role the successful candidate must be a self-starter, detail-oriented, analytical, and possess strong organization, project management, written and oral communication skills. Success in this role requires detailed and timely communication, adherence to SFI's core values, high risk tolerance, and consistent superior performance.

III. What You Will Do

Serving as Director, Business Development, you will:

1. Support strategic planning activities.
2. Identify opportunities that meet needs, pain points, and aspirations of partner MSIs.
3. Perform cost-benefit analysis / risk-return trade-offs for potential new business opportunities.
4. Develop and maintain plans and objectives to achieve new potential business opportunities.
5. Present proposals to the executive leadership team for potential new business opportunities.
6. Assist the executive leadership team in developing the resource allocation plans for approved new business opportunities.
7. Support strategic planning and annual budgets planning activities for approved and funded new potential business opportunities.
8. Collaborate with leadership team members and contracted resources in the development of strategies and plans.
9. Willingness to travel up to twenty percent (20%) of time to meet with potential funding sources and support other program-wide activities.

IV. What You Will Bring:

1. Minimum of a bachelor's degree, advanced degree preferred.
2. A minimum of 12 years of business development experience.
3. A minimum of 5 years of strategic planning experience, working with executive leadership.
4. Proven experience in a senior leadership role, with a demonstrated track record of driving operational excellence.
5. Demonstrated strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, coupled with the ability to make effective decisions in a fast-paced environment.
6. Demonstrated project management skills, with a keen sense of urgency, adaptability, flexibility and resourcefulness.
7. Excellent leadership and team management abilities, with a focus on fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.
8. Sound financial acumen and experience in budgeting, financial planning, and cost management.
9. Excellent communication interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels in providing and receiving constructive feedback.
10. Strong analytical skills, with the ability to derive insights from data, identify trends, and make data-driven recommendations.
11. Knowledge of and implementation of industry best practices and emerging trends in operations management.
12. Sound judgement and ability to treat sensitive/confidential information appropriately.
13. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and other standard office automation and management software (e.g., Salesforce, PowerBI).
14. Understanding and support of the organization vision, mission, MSIs and their faculty, staff, students and alumni.
15. Ability and willingness to travel approximately 25% of the time.

V. What Core Competencies You Should Possess

1. Strategic Thinking
2. Collaboration
3. Team Building
4. Detail-Oriented
5. Flexibility / Agility
6. Interpersonal Skills
7. Personal Effectiveness
8. Project Management
9. Results / Outcome Driven
10. Multi-cultural / multi-disciplinary environment
11. Comfort With Ambiguity
12. Discretion
13. Protect Extremely Sensitive Information & Relationships