Business Development Manager- Work Remotely

If you’re excited about building systems that empower others to lead and want to help shape Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurial, AI-ready talent for the future of work, we’d love to hear from you!

Venture for Canada is a national registered charity equipping talent across Canada with the entrepreneurial skills, mindset, and opportunities to succeed in a 21st-century economy increasingly shaped by rapid change and emerging technology. Venture for Canada serves as a catalyst by empowering individuals to create a more prosperous, inclusive, and innovative society.

Since 2013, Venture for Canada has grown in meaningful ways, and we’re excited to expand our team with values-aligned individuals who can contribute to what we’re building. The Manager, Business Development is responsible for driving participation in Venture for Canada’s programs through proactive business development, prospecting, and relationship-building.
Employer acquisition – building a pipeline of SMEs and employers for VFC’s Internship, Intrapreneurship, AI Adoption, and other employer-facing programs.
# Institutional partnerships – developing relationships with post-secondary institutions, incubators, accelerators, and other organizations that can drive program enrolment, bulk seat purchases, and white-labelled program sales.

The relative focus across employer acquisition and institutional partnerships may shift over the course of the contract based on VFC’s program priorities, growth targets, and capacity needs.
This is a results-driven role for someone who enjoys prospecting, opening doors, pitching, building relationships, and converting interest into measurable program growth.

Build and manage a national pipeline of prospective SMEs and employer communities for Venture for Canada’s employer-facing programs
Proactively identify, prospect, and engage new employers through outbound outreach, referrals, networking, events, and other business development channels
Develop relationships with business networks, industry associations, chambers of commerce, and other organizations that provide scalable access to prospective employers
Attend relevant business and industry events to generate leads, build relationships, and promote Venture for Canada programs
Identify and test new employer acquisition channels and outreach strategies
Develop repeatable business development approaches that allow Venture for Canada to efficiently scale employer acquisition
Meet established targets for employer pipeline, qualified leads, and employer interest generated

Build and manage a pipeline of post-secondary institutions, incubators, accelerators, employers, and other organizations that provide access to VFC’s target program participants.
Proactively identify, prospect, and engage institutional partners through outbound outreach, networking, referrals, and events.
Identify and sell opportunities for institutions to purchase bulk program seats or white-labelled VFC programming for their students, members, or communities.
Lead institutional business development from initial outreach through presentations, proposals, negotiation, and close.
Track referrals, enrolments, institutional sales, and revenue generated through these channels.
Meet established targets for institutional pipeline, participant referrals, enrolment, and program sales.

Pipeline, Performance & Reporting

Maintain an accurate and actionable employer acquisition pipeline with clear stages, next steps, and follow-up
Maintain accurate CRM records of employer prospects, outreach, opportunities, and outcomes
Track employer acquisition activity, conversion rates, lead sources, and channel performance
Use pipeline and performance data to prioritize activity and focus resources on the highest-performing acquisition channels and opportunities
Identify barriers to employer acquisition and recommend changes to outreach, messaging, channels, or Venture for Canada’s employer value proposition
Work closely with Marketing to develop campaigns, collateral, webinars, events, and communications that support business development
Coordinate with Student Programs when engaging employers already within Venture for Canada’s network to avoid duplication and ensure a consistent employer experience
Share employer and market insights with Program, Marketing, and leadership teams to strengthen Venture for Canada’s value proposition and acquisition strategy
You are a proactive business developer who enjoys prospecting, opening doors, starting conversations, and building pipeline
You are comfortable with outbound sales and business development and are motivated by clear acquisition and growth targets
You are an excellent relationship builder who can quickly establish credibility with entrepreneurs, post-secondary institutions, SME leaders, and business organizations
You are persistent and resilient and understand that successful business development requires consistent outreach and follow-through
You take ownership of your pipeline and are comfortable independently figuring out how to reach a target
You are highly organized and disciplined about CRM management, follow-up, and tracking results
You are curious about businesses and interested in understanding the challenges and opportunities facing Canadian SMEs and entrepreneurs
You are a confident communicator and presenter who is comfortable hosting webinars, networking, and representing Venture for Canada externally

3–5+ years of experience in business development, sales, partnerships, or a related role

• Demonstrated success building pipeline through proactive outbound prospecting and converting prospects into measurable results
• Experience developing new business relationships from initial prospecting through qualification and handoff or close
• Experience working with SMEs, entrepreneurs, or business owners is strongly preferred
• Experience developing or leveraging channel relationships, referral networks, associations, or other scalable approaches to customer acquisition is an asset
• Familiarity with Canada’s entrepreneurship, small business, economic development, workforce development, or innovation landscape is an asset
• Strong written and verbal communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills
• Strong CRM and pipeline management skills, with the ability to use data to prioritize activity and improve conversion
• Strong ownership and initiative, with the ability to independently build a pipeline and move opportunities forward
• Willingness to travel and attend external events as required

The purpose of this job posting is to fill a temporary vacancy created by an employee leave of absence. The contract term is 12 months. The anticipated start date is immediate.

Venture for Canada is a remote-first organization with offices based in Toronto and Vancouver. This is a remote position open to candidates across Canada. Light in-person attendance of program-related events during evenings and weekends is required.

Language Requirement
As a national organization serving communities across Canada, professional proficiency in written and spoken English is required. Proficiency in both English and French is considered a strong asset for this role.

Commitment to Diversity and Accessibility
Accommodations are available upon request for candidates participating in all stages of the recruitment and selection process. Venture for Canada may use artificial intelligence-enabled tools to support certain aspects of the recruitment process; we are unable to provide employment sponsorship or support work permit applications for this position.