Specialist, Business Development

National-Apartment-Association; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Hybrid schedule (2 days in I?

Competitive pay

Growth-focused, 'people first' culture

Generous PTO and sick leave

Health, vision, dental and infertility

11 NAA holidays + floating holiday

Job summary

National Apartment Association (NAA) in Arlington, VA seeks a Specialist, Business Development to deliver customer service, sales support, and administrative assistance for exhibit and sponsorship programs. You will serve as the main contact for exhibitors and sponsors, supporting onboarding, logistics, invoicing, and benefit fulfillment.

The role emphasizes relationship-building with industry partners, prospecting for sponsorship opportunities, maintaining accurate records, and coordinating

Qualifications

• 2–4 years of experience in customer service, sales support, business development, account coordination, or related field.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with ability to build positive relationships.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail handling multiple projects.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Responsibilities

• Provide customer service support for exhibitors, including email and phone inquiries.
• Assist exhibitors with show logistics, deadlines, policies and resources.
• Support exhibitor account management, invoicing, and payments tracking.
• Assist Senior Sales Account Manager with exhibit space sales and onboarding communications.
• Cross-sell advertising, partnership, and sponsorship opportunities to exhibitors.
• Provide on-site support for exhibitors and sponsors during events.

Skills

Customer service

Sales support

Relationship management

Organization

Tools

Salesforce

MS Office

Job description

Description

The Specialist, Business Development provides customer service, sales, and administrative support for NAA's exhibit and sponsorship programs. This role serves as a key point of contact for exhibitors and sponsors, supporting exhibitor services, sponsorship sales activities, prospecting efforts, and benefit fulfillment. Through ongoing interactions with industry suppliers, exhibitors, and sponsors, this position helps create positive customer experiences while supporting the growth and success of NAA's events and revenue-generating programs. Ideal for a highly organized and relationship-oriented professional, this role offers the opportunity to build valuable sales, customer service, and business development skills while working closely with industry-leading supplier partners.

Principal accountabilities:

Exhibitor Support

• Provide customer service support for exhibitors, including monitoring and responding to email and phone inquiries in a timely manner.
• Assist exhibitors in navigating show logistics, deadlines, policies and event resources to ensure a positive event experience.
• Support exhibitor account management activities, including invoice follow-up and payment tracking.
• Assist the Senior Sales Account Manager with exhibit space sales support, exhibitor onboarding and communications, and opportunities to cross-sell advertising, partnership and sponsorship opportunities to exhibitors.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with exhibitors through ongoing communication and support.
• Provide white-glove logistical support for key exhibitors, including management of conference registration lists and hotel room blocks.
• Provide onsite support for exhibitors and sponsors, including staffing the exhibit sales office and assisting with customer service and event operations as needed.

Sponsorship Sales

• Support NAA event sponsorship revenue through proactive prospecting, lead generation, and targeted sales outreach.
• Manage sponsorship inquiries and communications, including responding to inbound requests and coordinating follow-up activities.
• Support sponsors throughout the sponsorship lifecycle, including proposal development, contract preparation, and coordination of benefit fulfillment with internal teams
• Research and identify prospective sponsors to support future sales and partnership opportunities.
• Build and maintain relationships with exhibitors, sponsors and other industry suppliers to support future sponsorship and partnership growth.
• Maintain accurate sales records, pipeline activity, and prospect information.
• Collaborate with the Senior Sales Account Manager and Director, Partnerships on sponsorship sales initiatives and account development strategies.
• Manage sponsorship and partnership marketing plans in coordination with the Marketing team.Utilize relationships developed through exhibitor and sponsorship sales activities to identify prospective advertisers, sponsors, partners and other revenue opportunities for NAA.
• Perform other related duties as assigned

Requirements

• 2 - 4 years of experience in customer service, sales support, business development, account coordination, or a related field.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships with customers and colleagues.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to provide high-quality customer service and resolve issues with professionalism and resourcefulness.
• Highly self-motivated and able to work independently and take initiative.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Preferred:

• Experience in the multifamily housing industry and/or exhibit/association sales.
• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM

About NAA

The National Apartment Association (NAA) serves as the leading voice and preeminent resource through advocacy, education and collaboration on behalf of the rental housing industry. As a federation of 141 state, local and global affiliates, NAA encompasses more than 95,000 members representing over 12.5 million apartment homes globally. NAA believes that rental housing is a valuable partner in every community that emphasizes integrity, accountability, collaboration, community responsibility, inclusivity and innovation. To learn more, visit https://naahq.org

Benefits Overview

• Flexible Hybrid schedule (2 days in office)
• Competitive pay
• Growth focused, 'people first' company culture
• Generous PTO and sick leave
• Health, vision, dental and more including newly added infertility coverage!
• 11 NAA holidays + 1 floating holiday of your choice!

Physical Demands:

While performing the duties of the job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms. The employee may occasionally lift up to 20 pounds

Work Environment:

Work is regularly performed in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment.

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions