Director of Business Development, Economic Development ($85,000 – $95,000)

Position: Director of Business Development, Economic Development

Reports to: Vice President of Economic Development

FLSA Status: Exempt

Employment Status: Full-Time

Salary Range: $85,000 – $95,000 annually. Final compensation will be based on
qualifications and experience.

Position Scope

The Director of Business Development leads business attraction and new-to-market investment efforts for the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC across the Colorado Springs metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The Director is responsible for building and managing a high-quality prospect pipeline, leading complex business attraction projects, strengthening relationships with site selectors and corporate decision-makers, and converting market opportunities into investment in the region. This is a senior individual-contributor and program-leadership role with substantial autonomy. The Director works directly with the Vice President of Economic Development to shape and execute business attraction strategy, represent the region in competitive projects, and ensure prospects receive sophisticated, responsive, and coordinated support from first contact through final location decision. The Director is expected to operate independently, exercise strong independent judgment, lead cross-functional project teams, and serve as a trusted external representative of the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC and the Pikes Peak region.

Key Responsibilities

Business Attraction Strategy & Pipeline Leadership

• Partner with the Vice President of Economic Development to develop and execute business attraction strategies aligned with regional target industries, competitiveness priorities, and organizational goals.
• Build, manage, and advance a qualified pipeline of domestic and international business attraction and investment prospects.
• Identify high-value markets, companies, intermediaries, and relationship channels that can generate new investment opportunities for the region.
• Develop measurable outreach, travel, lead-generation, conversion, and relationship management plans and evaluate results.

Complex Prospect & Project Leadership

• Serve as a primary point of contact for significant business attraction prospects and siteselection projects.
• Lead complex RFIs, RFPs, site-selection responses, executive briefings, presentations, and prospect follow-up, coordinating internal and external contributors as needed.
• Develop project strategy in partnership with the Vice President, including positioning, competitive messaging, site and infrastructure responses, workforce information, incentives, and partner engagement.
• Lead prospect visits, site tours, executive meetings, and project-related presentations.
• Maintain discretion and sound judgment with highly confidential corporate, investment, real estate, utility, incentive, and location information.

Site Selector, Corporate & Market Development

• Develop and maintain high-value relationships with site selectors, corporate executives, consultants, brokers, developers, economic development partners, and other sources of business attraction opportunities.
• Represent the region at industry conferences, trade shows, sales missions, site-selector engagements, familiarization tours, and targeted market visits.
• Design and execute proactive outreach to companies in target industries nationally and internationally.
• Use market intelligence, project feedback, and external relationships to identify emerging opportunities and inform regional business attraction strategy.

Regional Competitiveness & Partner Leadership

• Lead coordination with the City of Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado Springs Utilities, regional municipalities, state partners, workforce and education institutions, brokers, property owners, and other stakeholders supporting active projects.
• Coordinate regional responses related to sites, buildings, infrastructure, utilities, workforce, incentives, permitting, and other location factors.
• Lead business-attraction engagement with the Titans of Economic Development Council and help equip investors and community partners to serve as effective ambassadors for the region.
• Surface recurring project barriers, competitive gaps, and market feedback to organizational leadership and appropriate regional partners.

Program Management, Metrics & Knowledge

• Establish disciplined processes for prospect tracking, pipeline management, follow-up, project documentation, proposal development, and knowledge retention.
• Maintain and oversee accurate CRM records and reporting for business attraction activity and outcomes.
• Analyze pipeline performance, outreach results, project feedback, and market trends and provide actionable insights to the Vice President and organizational leadership.
• Ensure business attraction collateral, proposal resources, market information, site data, and related content remain current and effective.

Leadership & Organizational Contribution

• Provide subject-matter leadership, guidance, and coaching to Manager-level or other staff supporting business attraction projects, when applicable.
• Set clear project expectations, assign or coordinate workstreams, and ensure deliverables meet the standards required for competitive site-selection projects.
• Prepare the Chief Executive Officer, Vice President, board members, investors, and community leaders for business attraction meetings, travel, presentations, and prospect engagements.
• Collaborate across Chamber & EDC departments on strategic initiatives, regional pitches, industry programs, communications, and organizational priorities.

What Success Looks Like

• The organization maintains a healthy, qualified business attraction pipeline with disciplined follow-up and measurable progress.
• Major prospects experience a coordinated, professional, and highly responsive regional recruitment process.
• RFPs, proposals, executive presentations, and project strategies are competitive, accurate, and persuasive.
• Site selectors, corporate prospects, and regional partners view the Director as a credible and trusted economic development professional.
• Business attraction travel and outreach produce meaningful relationships, qualified leads, project activity, and market intelligence.
• The Director can independently lead significant projects and represent the organization without requiring day-to-day direction from the Vice President.
• Project feedback and market intelligence are translated into actionable recommendations that improve regional competitiveness.

Required Qualifications

• Five (5) or more years of progressively responsible professional experience in economic development, business attraction, business development, corporate location strategy, site selection, commercial real estate, corporate sales, or a closely related field preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, economics, marketing, public administration, economic development, or a related field preferred; equivalent education may be considered.
• Demonstrated experience independently managing complex projects, executive relationships, competing priorities, and sensitive information.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including demonstrated ability to prepare and deliver executive-level presentations, proposals, reports, and business cases.
• Strong relationship-building skills and confidence working with corporate executives, site selectors, elected and appointed officials, public-sector partners, brokers, developers, and community leaders.
• Strong strategic judgment and the ability to assess opportunities, identify risks, develop recommendations, and move projects forward in ambiguous or fast-moving environments.
• Ability to lead through influence across organizations and coordinate contributors who may not report directly to the position.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office or comparable business software and experience using CRM/database systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience leading business attraction or corporate recruitment projects within an economic development organization.
• Established relationships within the site-selection, corporate real estate, economic development, or business investment community.
• Working knowledge of economic development incentives, infrastructure, utilities, workforce, real estate, permitting, and other factors influencing corporate location decisions. Experience with Salesforce or a similar CRM platform.
• Experience planning and executing domestic or international sales missions, trade shows, familiarization tours, or site-selector outreach.
• Professional economic development training or certification or demonstrated commitment to continued development in the field.

Benefits

The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Benefits are subject to applicable plan documents, eligibility requirements, and organizational policies, and may include:

• Paid time off: 120 hours of PTO annually.
• Paid holidays: 10 paid holidays throughout the year, plus one floating holiday.
• Paid sick leave: 80 hours of paid sick leave annually.
• Health insurance: The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC currently covers 90% of the employee health insurance premium and 50% of dependent coverage.
• Dental and vision insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan and 401(k) matching, subject to plan eligibility requirements.
• Employee assistance program.
• Flexible Spending Account.
• Health Savings Account.
• Life insurance and accidental death coverage, subject to applicable plan terms.
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
• Free underground parking in downtown Colorado Springs.
• Access to an onsite fitness center.
• Performance-based bonus program, subject to eligibility, organizational approval, and applicable plan or program terms.

Work Schedule and Location

This position is primarily performed onsite at the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC office in Colorado Springs, Colorado and in support of Innovate Pike Peak locations. Standard work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required to support meetings, events, board activities, and other business needs. Regular regional and out-of-market travel is expected for prospect meetings, conferences, trade shows, sales missions, site-selector engagement, and other business development activity.

Work Environment and Physical Demands

The work environment is primarily a professional office setting. The employee regularly uses computers, telephones, and other standard office equipment and frequently interacts with employees, board members, elected officials, members, vendors, and other stakeholders.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee will frequently:

• Remain in a stationary position for extended periods while working at a computer.
• Use hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard, telephone, and other office equipment.
• Communicate effectively in person, by telephone, and through electronic communications.
• Move throughout the office and meeting locations to access files, office equipment, and meeting spaces.
• Occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull items weighing up to 15 pounds and occasional attendance at meetings, programs, events, or community functions outside of normal business hours may be required.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.