Business Development Lead to the CEO (Chief of Staff – BD)
Job description
Location: Brooklyn, NY (in-person 1–2 days/week; more frequent in first 6 months)
Travel: Regular travel required
Type: Full-time
About the Role
We are a 20-person, fast-moving company led by a highly entrepreneurial CEO. This role is for a high-agency, execution-focused operator who will work directly with the CEO to drive business development efforts from idea to outcome.
The CEO generates new opportunities, partnerships, and initiatives at a rapid pace.
Your role
is to turn those opportunities into tangible results—preparing materials, driving follow-ups, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
This is not a purely strategic or relationship-management role. It is a hands-on, get-it-done role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves quickly, and takes ownership.
We are specifically looking for someone who enjoys execution and follow-through, not just strategy or relationship management.
What You’ll Do
- Drive business development execution
- Turn conversations, ideas, and opportunities into clear next steps and outcomes
- Track and push forward deals, partnerships, and external initiatives
- Own follow-through
- Ensure every meeting results in clear action items and timely execution
- Relentlessly follow up with internal and external stakeholders
- Create high-quality materials
- Draft memos, emails, and proposals
- Build clear, compelling slide decks for partners, customers, and investors
- Support CEO externally
- Prepare briefs for meetings and calls
- Join key meetings and capture decisions, risks, and next steps
- Support CEO effectiveness
- Manage and prioritize the CEO’s calendar to align with company priorities
- Ensure the CEO is prepared for all meetings with clear context and materials
- Optimize scheduling to maximize time spent on highest-value activities
- Wear many hats
- Jump into whatever is needed to move a deal or initiative forward
- Operate across sales, partnerships, strategy, and execution
- Travel as needed
- Attend partner meetings, customer visits, and key events
What Success Looks Like
- Opportunities move quickly from conversation to execution
- External partners receive clear, timely, and professional follow-up
- The CEO’s time is leveraged and focused on highest-value activities
- Nothing important gets dropped
- Materials (decks, memos, emails) are consistently high quality and on time
Who You Are
- High agency / self-starter – you take initiative without waiting for direction
- Relentless executor – you follow through until things are done
- Go-getter attitude – you move quickly and push through obstacles
- Strong communicator – excellent writing and presentation skills
- Highly organized – able to manage many parallel workstreams
- Comfortable with ambiguity – you can create structure where none exists
- Low ego, high ownership – willing to do whatever it takes to get results
- Comfortable across levels of work – you are willing to handle both high-impact external work and the day-to-day tasks required to keep execution moving
Preferred Background
- 4–8 years of experience in:
- business development, partnerships, or startup roles
- consulting or other fast-paced, execution-heavy environments
- Experience working closely with senior leadership or founders is a plus
- Military experience is a plus (but not required)
- Data center or energy experience is a plus (but not required)
Why This Role
- Work directly with the CEO on high-impact initiatives
- Significant ownership and visibility across the business
- Opportunity to operate across strategy, partnerships, and execution
- Fast-paced environment with meaningful responsibility early
Compensation
- Salary: $120K–$160K (top of band reserved for exceptional candidates)
- Bonus and/or equity
How to Apply
- Resume
- A brief example of something you personally drove from idea to execution
- (Optional) A writing sample or slide deck