Manager, Business Development

Bain & Company; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 122,000 - 146,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) employer contribution

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

Bain & Company in Chicago is seeking a Manager, Business Development to lead partnerships and ecosystem strategies across the firm’s capabilities. You will own outcomes end-to-end from onboarding through commercial results, working with BD leadership and Practice teams to align priorities and drive joint offerings.

The role emphasizes negotiation, governance, stakeholder management, and clear external messaging, with a hybrid in-office model and global collaboration.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ work experience.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to operate in ambiguous situations and ramp up quickly.

Responsibilities

• Drive development and governance of partnership strategies and outcomes.
• Communicate metrics and results to stakeholders, lead governance activities.
• Codify case studies and materials to scale joint offerings.
• Collaborate to establish external messaging and joint marketing.
• Drive internal enablement and differentiation in partnerships.
• Manage day-to-day relationships across Bain and partner teams.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Analytical toolkit

Project management

Verbal and written communication

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Job description

We are proud to be consistently recognized as one of the world’s best places to work. We are currently the top ranked consulting firm on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list and have earned the #1 overall spot a record seven times. Extraordinary teams are at the heart of our business strategy, but these don’t happen by chance. They require intentional focus on bringing together a broad set of backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perspectives, and skills in a supportive and inclusive work environment. We hire people with exceptional talent and create an environment in which every individual can thrive professionally and personally.

WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH

The Business Development department leads Bain’s global partnership program, comprised of third-party firms that partner with case teams to deliver specialized services, technology, and expertise to clients. Our team provides dedicated support to the strategic partnerships that help us deliver breakthrough results for our clients by providing access to capabilities that complement our expertise. These partnerships are embedded into Bain capability products, and support solutions throughout our capability and industry practice areas. The BD team also provides tailored guidance to teams internally to ensure that all partnerships are managed consistently and at full potential across the firm collaborating with other departments like Legal, Marketing or Third Party Risk Management.

WHERE YOU’LL FIT WITHIN THE TEAM

The Manager, Business Development (BD) is a critical member of the BD team, responsible for managing ecosystem strategies and leading defined partnerships in collaboration with BD leadership and respective Practice and Product teams. Responsibility can cover the ecosystem and strategic partnerships of select capability solutions. Understanding the ‘general manager’ mindset will be essential for the Manager in order to navigate aspects of a successful portfolio of partnerships including owning partnership outcomes end-to-end from strategy and onboarding through commercial results: working with leadership to align short and long term ecosystem priorities, onboarding new partnerships, driving partnership negotiations, identifying high-impact activities, actively participating in commercial activity, supporting continuous process improvement, managing the day-to‑day relationships and achieving measurable results.

The Manager will demonstrate understanding of commercial enablement and negotiation, and specific industry and/or capability practice. Additionally, the Manager will possess strong interpersonal skills and will build relationships within Bain and with partnership stakeholders, collaborating directly with both. They must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, including facilitation skills to lead discussions, workshops or business reviews, and the ability to develop clear and compelling written materials. The Manager will actively foster a collaborative, inclusive team culture and represent Bain externally according to our professional standards.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Essential Functions:

Partnership management & governance – 30%

• Drive development and deployment of Partnership strategies and successful commercial outcomes based on understanding of commercial initiatives of both Bain and partner firm, as well as incentives, priorities, and culture of partner firm
• Craft and communicate agreed metrics, including Bain’s impact on partner firm goals, quantitative/qualitative results, etc. on all aspects of assigned partnerships to relevant stakeholders, drive governance for assigned partnerships including stakeholder mapping, business reviews, account planning, workshops, etc.
• Codify case studies, success stories, other materials for case teams, practice affiliates, and partner teams to deliver and scale joint offerings
• Collaborate with BD leadership, Bain marketing, Solution team, and partner firm to establish external messaging and joint marketing agenda, as applicable
• Collaborate with BD leadership and Solution team to drive innovation and differentiation in the context of partnership and joint offering
• Collaborate with BD leadership and Solution team to drive internal enablement efforts

Relationship Management – 30%

• Navigate the partner organization to identify and build new relationships, and develop / maintain relevant stakeholder maps
• Proactively suggest introductions between senior stakeholders at Bain & partner firm
• Manage day-to-day relationships for assigned partnerships, directly and through team members within Bain and partner firm teams, ensuring open communication with all parties
• Proactively identify potential conflicts between Bain and partner firm including non‑compete and exclusivity considerations, and effectively support applicable conflict management process, where applicable
• Work with champions and case teams to activate strategic partnerships commercially, including proposal support, affiliate enablement and pipeline conversion
• Drive alignment with Practice/Solution/Product leadership by understanding Practice‑specific priorities regarding partnerships
• Contribute to periodic ecosystem strategy reviews, including capability gap analysis and partnership opportunity identification and assessment in alignment with practice priorities
• Conduct onboarding of new partner firms to develop partnership vision, partnership value to our clients and joint delivery motion and go‑to‑market
• Drive knowledge transfer and best practice sharing to other capability practices at Bain, including contribution to partnership playbooks, toolkits and governance frameworks

Professional standards and risk management – 15%

• Ensure potential partner firms are in compliance with professional standards and risk management requirements; collaborate with Bain’s Third Party Risk Management team for onboarding new Partner firms
• Understand the commercial goals of new partnerships and any potential risk associated
• Work with Bain’s legal organization to navigate, support negotiations and finalization of standard legal agreements

Team & leadership - 10%

• Participate in creating an inclusive, positive, respectful environment
• Role model leadership and at‑cause behaviors
• Build a reputation as a trusted thought partner for Bain stakeholders and partner firm contacts
• Demonstrate the ability to influence stakeholder decision‑making where applicable

ABOUT YOU

Required:

• Minimum of 5 years’ work experience
• Solid strategic and analytical toolkit
• Excellent project management skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to build relationships with all levels throughout the organization
• Strong internal and external stakeholder management skills
• Strong presentation skills with a high degree of comfort speaking with internal and external executives Ability to operate in ambiguous situations and quickly ramp up expertise in new areas
• Flexibility to accommodate varying demands

Preferred:

• Experience navigating various internal stakeholder groups (client facing or internal business function)

WORK MODEL / TRAVE

This role follows a hybrid model, requiring in‑office presence at least 1‑2 days per week. This is a global role that could require early morning and/or late evening calls on occasion. May require occasional travel (5‑10%).

U.S. COMPENSATION INFORMATION

Compensation for this role includes base salary, annual discretionary performance bonus, 401(k) plan with an annual employer contribution based on years of service and Bain’s best in class benefits package (details listed below).

Some local governments in the United States require a good‑faith, reasonable salary range to be included in job postings for open roles. The estimated annualized compensation for this role is as follows:

• In Texas, the good‑faith, reasonable annualized full‑time salary range for this role is between $116,500 - $139,750
• In Boston, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Seattle, the good‑faith, reasonable annualized full‑time salary range for this role is between $127,500 - $153,000
• In Chicago, the good‑faith, reasonable annualized full‑time salary range for this role is between $121,750 – $146,250
• In Atlanta, the good‑faith, reasonable annualized full‑time salary range for this role is between $110,750 – $133,000
• In New York, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley, the good‑faith, reasonable annualized full‑time salary range for this role is between $110,750 – $133,000

* Annual discretionary performance bonus

* This role may also be eligible for other elements of discretionary compensation

* 4.5% 401(k) company contribution, which increases after 3 years of service and is 100% vested upon start date

Bain & Company’s comprehensive benefits and wellness program is designed to help employees achieve personal independence, protection and stability in the areas most important to you and your family.

• Bain pays 100% individual employee premiums for medical, dental and vision programs, offering one of the most comprehensive medical plans for employees without impacting your paycheck
• Generous paid time off, including parental leave, sick leave and paid holidays
• Fully vested 401(k) company contribution
• Paid Life and Long‑Term Disability insurance

For all other locations, the good‑faith, reasonable annualized full‑time salary range for this role is commensurate with competitive geographic market rates for this role and will vary based on several factors including, but not limited to experience, education, licensure/certifications, training and skill level.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.