Senior Manager, Business Development

Bain & Company; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 203,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Parental leave

Flexible hybrid work

Wellness programs

Job summary

Bain & Company seeks a Senior Manager, Business Development to lead defined partnerships in collaboration with BD leadership and sponsor teams. You will manage day-to-day relationships, drive governance, and craft external messaging with alliance partners to deliver measurable results.

The role emphasizes a general manager mindset, capable of navigating complex partnerships, influencing stakeholders, and coaching team members while thriving in a fast-paced consulting environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of work experience.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
• Proven stakeholder management and negotiation abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to influence.
• Strategic and analytical mindset with problem-solving skills.
• Ability to operate in ambiguous environments and drive results.
• Effective project management and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead and govern partnerships to drive commercial outcomes and align incentives.
• Develop and communicate partnership metrics; manage governance artifacts.
• Create case studies and materials to scale offerings with alliance teams.
• Collaborate with BD leadership, Bain Marketing, practice/solution teams, and partners.
• Drive innovation and differentiation in partnerships with practice teams.
• Support internal enablement efforts across the organization.
• Navigate partner organizations and manage stakeholder maps.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Negotiation skills

Strategic thinking

Analytical toolkit

Leadership

Project management

Ambiguity navigation

Flexibility

Education

Bachelor's Degree

MBA or other advanced degree

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.

WHERE YOU'LL FIT WITHIN THE TEAM

The Senior Manager, Business Development (BD) is a critical member of the BD team, responsible for leading defined partnerships in collaboration with BD leadership and a sponsoring Practice or Product team. Responsibility can range from owning a portfolio of partnerships to a single multi-solutions partnership. Building a 'general manager' mindset will be essential for the Senior Manager in order to navigate all aspects of a successful partnership: managing the day-to-day relationships, helping to drive process improvement, working with leadership to align short and long term priorities, identifying high-impact activities, actively participating in/driving commercial activity, and achieving measurable results. The Senior Manager will demonstrate a growing expertise in sales management and negotiation, and an understanding of specific industry and/or capability practice. Additionally, the Senior Manager will possess strong interpersonal skills and will build relationships within Bain and with alliance stakeholders, collaborating directly with both. They must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, including facilitation skills to lead discussions and help drive alignment and decision-making, and the ability to develop clear and compelling written materials. As an emerging BD leader, the Senior Manager will bring energy and enthusiasm, a can-do attitude, and value ownership, flexibility, and collaboration. They will support BD leadership in fostering the growth and success of team members, and creating a positive team environment.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Essential Functions:

Partnership management & governance - 30%

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

Relationship Management - 30%

• Navigate the partner organization to identify and build new relationships, and develop and maintain relevant stakeholder maps
• Broker relationships and proactively suggest and, where applicable, facilitate introductions between senior stakeholders at Bain & partner firm
• Manage day-to-day relationships for assigned partnerships, directly and through team members within Bain and alliance teams, ensuring open communication with all parties
• Identify and flag potential conflicts between Bain and partner firm, and effectively support applicable conflict management process
• Collaborate with partnership champions / mission leaders and teams to drive commercial momentum
• Build alignment with Practice/Solution/Product leadership by understanding Practice-specific priorities
• Identify and support pipeline opportunities (including strategic pilots) to deploy partnerships

Professional standards and risk management - 15%

• Ensure potential partner firm is 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; identify ways to maximize likelihood of meeting commercial goals while mitigating risk
• Work with Bain's legal organization to navigate, negotiate, and finalize legal agreements, including those with standard and non-standard terms
• Drive thinking around innovative partnership agreement structures, including economic sharing

Team & leadership - 10%

• Develop, train and retain top talent in BD organization by driving an inclusive, positive, respectful environment, and play an active role in driving best in class NPS across team
• Role model leadership and at-cause behaviors
• Demonstrate strong thought leadership skills and be viewed as a trusted and sought after thought partner by Bain stakeholders and team members.
• Demonstrate the ability to influence stakeholder decision-making around all aspects of partnership activity

ABOUT YOU

Required:

• Bachelor's Degree
• Minimum of 7 years' work experience
• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to build relationships with all levels throughout the organization
• Strong stakeholder management skills, incl. internal and external senior leaders
• Strong communication, influence, and negotiation skills
• Strong strategic and analytical toolkit
• Ability to operate in ambiguous situations and quickly ramp up expertise in new areas
• Flexibility to accommodate varying and complex demands
• Excellent project management skills

Preferred:

• MBA or other advanced degree
• 2+ years of management consulting experience
• Experience navigating various internal stakeholder groups (client facing or internal business function)

WORK MODEL / TRAVEL

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 (~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 $141,750 - $170,000
• In Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, and DC the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $155,250 - $186,250
• In Chicago, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $148,500 - $178,250
• In Atlanta, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $135,000 - $162,000
• In New York, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $168,750 - $202,500

* 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

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.