Business Development Lead

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria is seeking a Business Development Lead to grow corporate partnerships, build a robust prospect pipeline, and craft strategic proposals that deliver value for both RBGV and its partners.

You will lead negotiations, develop compelling pitches, and work across internal teams to respond to partner needs, ensuring sustainable revenue growth and meaningful CSR outcomes.

Qualifications

• Proven experience developing and securing complex commercial partnerships, sponsorships or strategic B2B relationships.
• Track record of achieving revenue targets.
• Strong written, verbal and presentation skills for pitches and proposals.
• Experience negotiating and managing commercial contracts and partnership agreements.
• Knowledge of CSR, Shared Value and Impact Investment in Australia.

Responsibilities

• Developing and delivering a strategic corporate partnership pipeline aligned to revenue and engagement targets.
• Identifying and progressing new commercial opportunities (asset activation, sponsorship, Shared Value).
• Working with internal stakeholders to develop compelling projects and propositions for corporate partners.
• Developing high-quality proposals, pitch materials and cases for support communicating value and impact.
• Building and stewarding strong corporate relationships to secure, grow and renew partnerships.
• Providing strategic advice to senior leaders on partnerships, trends, and funding models.
• Leading partnership negotiations and supporting executives in engagement activities.
• Monitoring CSR priorities and partnership activity to identify opportunities and inform strategy.
• Contributing to planning, budgeting, reporting and risk management across partnership activities.

Skills

Commercial partnerships

Business development

Relationship management

Communication skills

Creative thinking

Commercial judgement

Contract negotiation

CSR & impact investing knowledge

B2B market knowledge

Job description

As Business Development Lead, you will grow RBGV's corporate partnerships by identifying new opportunities, building a strong prospect pipeline and developing strategic proposals and engagement strategies that create value for RBGV and its corporate partners.

Your key accountabilities include:

• Developing and delivering a strategic corporate partnership pipeline aligned to revenue and engagement targets
• Identifying and progressing new commercial opportunities, including asset activation, sponsorship, Social Impact Investment and Shared Value opportunities
• Working with internal stakeholders to develop compelling projects, programs and propositions that respond to corporate partner needs
• Developing high-quality proposals, pitch materials and cases for support that effectively communicate the value and impact of partnership opportunities
• Building and stewarding strong corporate relationships to secure, grow and renew partnerships
• Providing strategic advice to senior leaders on corporate partnerships, market trends, commercial opportunities and emerging funding models
• Leading partnership negotiations and supporting senior executives, Board members and subject matter experts in corporate engagement activities
• Monitoring corporate responsibility priorities, market trends and partnership activity to identify emerging opportunities and inform strategy
• Contributing to effective planning, budgeting, reporting and risk management across partnership activities

What You'll Bring

You are a commercially minded business development professional who can combine strategic thinking with creative opportunity development and strong relationship management. You know how to identify and cultivate prospects, build compelling partnership propositions and navigate complex stakeholder environments to deliver meaningful commercial outcomes.

You will demonstrate:

• Proven experience developing and securing complex commercial partnerships, sponsorships or strategic B2B relationships, with a demonstrated track record of achieving revenue targets
• Strong business development and relationship management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships with corporate and senior stakeholders
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills, with the ability to develop and deliver compelling pitches and partnership proposals
• A creative and innovative approach to developing new concepts, stories and opportunities that respond to partner needs and organisational priorities
• Strong commercial judgement and the ability to assess opportunities, navigate complexity and develop practical solutions
• Experience negotiating and managing commercial contracts, agreements and partnership arrangements
• Knowledge of the Australian corporate philanthropy landscape, including Corporate Social Responsibility, Shared Value and Impact Investment
• Experience in needs-based segmentation and product or proposition development within a corporate partnership or B2B environment

All other key selection criteria can be found in the position description which is located under the attachments heading on the Victorian Government Careers website