Client Development Director 

ESI Design, an NBBJ Studio, transforms places into experiences that drive excitement and create a unique invitation for personal interaction and empathy. We experiment and collaborate to develop new ideas for high-profile, visionary clients. We are a community that design, develop and construct large-scale, novel ideas. As a studio within the highly regarded NBBJ Design firm, we are uniquely positioned within the experience industry.  

ESI Design’s approach to experience design combines the physical, digital and behavioral to create memorable moments. We believe the most compelling experiences are born from interdisciplinary collaboration. As a result, our eclectic team and user-first approach allows us to provide a range of experience solutions and a depth of service that’s unique in the world of design. We create custom experiences that are made for every individual client’s needs. 

The Role at a Glance

The Client Development Director will be based in NBBJ | ESI Design's New York office and will report to the Operations Leader. This individual is the studio's ambassador in the market and will spend a significant amount of their time out of the office: on the road, in person with clients, connectors, and industry leaders, building the relationships that grow the business and identifying the project pursuits that follow. They will work closely with leaders in studio operations/project management and creative disciplines to bring the right people into those conversations. The role advises the Market Leaders, Marketing Manager and potential partners with client and market insight. Marketing and writing colleagues own the creation of prospect collateral. The role will be primarily prospect-facing (meeting and nurturing relationships in person) and strategic (targeting and researching new leads and pursuits), with advisory input on positioning and design competitions.

A key aspect of this role will be showing up in person to keep ESI in the minds of the experiential industry as well as the greater design world. This means having your finger on the pulse of the latest conferences, meetups, mixers etc, and deciding where we need to be, then showing up to meet prospects, connectors, and peers. You will work directly with the Director of Communications to align on the communications activities and investments that support this presence.

You are part of the ESI team. NBBJ has a full marketing team that will support this role with proposal writing resources, communications teams, and the support and partnership of the studio leadership.

In Your New Role, you will:

Work with the studio’s operation and creative leadership team to align relationship-building and pursuit activity with top-line revenue goals 

Execute the studio’s growth strategy roadmap aimed at continually developing strong relationships within the industry and through those relationships, identifying and securing work from new clients

It is your mission to continually cultivate new relationships across the ecosystem that align with the strategic growth plan.  

Spend a good portion of your time in person with clients, prospects, and connectors, at their offices, project sites, and industry gatherings 

In collaboration with studio leadership, identify target markets, clients and lead lists for potential clients, connectors and project prospects 

Build and maintain relationships with c-suite and decision-maker level contacts, and with the connectors who lead to larger relationship growth among the people tied to target projects 

Proactively research, identify, and qualify new clients, markets, and project opportunities 

Meet with potential clients to establish a relationship and introduce the appropriate creative/market leaders

Abilitiy to access and connect with senior level decision makers

Involvement upstream in identifying pre-positioning opportunities to elevate ESI reputation, market visibility and thought leadership.  

Collaborate with firmwide Communications Team and XD subject matter experts to expand ESI’s presence within the industry with regular attendance at industry events and speaking engagements at conferences

When networking, be able to persuasively articulate the value of experiential design and demonstrate to prospects how ESI adds value and helps them meet business goals  

Monitor and analyze client trends and relevant news to maintain a competitive edge and enhance service offerings.

Develop year-end analysis of business development successes and failures to evolve year-over-year strategic plans

Leverage ‘best practice’ tools such as win/loss debriefs, surveys, Pipedrive and CRM data analysis, and other methods to understand market trends, identify opportunities, and track success metrics

Advise on key value points to be included in marketing materials, proposal and communications working with the marketing teams and studio leadership to release. 

The annual base pay range for this role is anticipated to be between $130,000-$150,000. Actual compensation for successful candidates will be carefully determined based on a number of factors, including their skills, qualifications and experience. NBBJ is an Equal Opportunity Employer. M/F Disabled and Vet EEO/AA Employer.