- Key Takeaways: Writing a VP of Business Development Job Description That Works
- About the VP of Business Development Role
- VP of Business Development Job Description Template
- How to Customize This Template
- Common Mistakes in VP of Business Development Job Descriptions
- From Job Description to Hire
- Frequently Asked Questions
As Global Head of Research & Leadership Advisory at JRG Partners, I wrote this VP of Business Development job description template for employers who want the spec to do real work: attract the right candidates, repel the wrong ones, and align the hiring committee before the first interview. Use the template as the base and the customization guidance to make it yours.
Key Takeaways: Writing a VP of Business Development Job Description That Works
- The VP of Business Development owns the partnership and transaction pipeline, sourcing, structuring, and closing the deals that extend what the company can do alone.
- Write the spec for the candidate you want to attract, not the file you need to complete; strong leaders read job descriptions as evidence of how the company thinks.
- Separate true requirements from preferences ruthlessly; inflated requirement lists shrink slates without improving them.
- Publishing the success metrics up front attracts operators and deters narrators, exactly the sorting you want.
- State the deal thesis, licensing, channel, M&A support, or revenue partnerships, and typical deal size; BD is a genre-specific craft.
About the VP of Business Development Role
Reporting most commonly to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, or Chief Commercial Officer and leading BD managers/associates, alliance management, and deal support, the role carries the accountabilities in the template below. Treat the template as the market-standard baseline and the customization section as the part that makes it yours.
VP of Business Development Job Description Template
Position Summary
[Company] is seeking a VP of Business Development. The VP of Business Development owns the partnership and transaction pipeline, sourcing, structuring, and closing the deals that extend what the company can do alone. The position reports to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, or Chief Commercial Officer.Key Responsibilities
- Build and prioritize the partnership/transaction pipeline
- Source opportunities through networks and outbound discipline
- Structure and negotiate terms with financial rigor
- Lead diligence coordination across functions
- Close transactions and transition to alliance management
- Manage existing partnerships to committed value
- Maintain market and competitor deal intelligence
- Report pipeline and portfolio value honestly
Requirements & Qualifications
- 10+ years BD/corporate development; deals closed and referenceable
- Deal-structuring craft: terms, economics, and risk allocation
- Sector network relevant to the company’s partnership map
- Financial-modeling command at diligence standard
- Negotiation record verifiable through counterparties
- Cross-functional leadership through deal cycles
- Judgment on deals not done, as important as those done
Key Performance Indicators
- Deals closed versus plan (count and value)
- Pipeline quality and conversion
- Realized value from closed partnerships
- Deal-cycle time
- Diligence quality (post-close surprises)
- Alliance health scores
- Sourcing productivity
Compensation
Mid-market base salaries for this role typically run $200,000-$275,000, scaling substantially with company size and mandate; see our VP of Business Development Salary Guide 2026 for full benchmarks by revenue tier, ownership structure, and industry.
How to Customize This Template
Treat every element above as a default awaiting your specifics. State the deal thesis, licensing, channel, M&A support, or revenue partnerships, and typical deal size; BD is a genre-specific craft. Then prune the requirements to the honest minimum, rank the responsibilities so the first three carry the mandate’s weight, and confirm the KPI list matches how the executive will actually be reviewed, because candidates will hold you to it.
Common Mistakes in VP of Business Development Job Descriptions
Audit any specification against five classic errors before posting: unicorn requirement lists, unprioritized responsibility dumps, absent success metrics, insider jargon, and missing compensation context. Strong candidates read these as organizational tells, and they are usually right to.
From Job Description to Hire
A locked spec sets up the two decisions that follow: pricing the role against the real market, and building an interview process that tests the requirements rather than admiring them. For the interview stage, our VP of Business Development interview questions guide pairs directly with this template.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What does a VP of Business Development do?
- A: The VP of Business Development owns the partnership and transaction pipeline, sourcing, structuring, and closing the deals that extend what the company can do alone. Day to day, the role centers on build and prioritize the partnership/transaction pipeline and source opportunities through networks and outbound discipline.
- Q: Who does the VP of Business Development report to?
- A: Most commonly the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, or Chief Commercial Officer, with the role leading BD managers/associates, alliance management, and deal support. Reporting-line choices signal the seat’s real weight, and candidates read them that way.
- Q: How many years of experience should a VP of Business Development have?
- A: Market-standard specifications ask for 10+ years of relevant progressive leadership, but treat tenure as a proxy: the requirement that matters is demonstrated ownership of the outcomes in the KPI list at comparable scale.
- Q: How does VP of Business Development pay compare with VP of Sales pay?
- A: Where BD means transactions and partnerships, base weighting is heavier and total cash comparable; where BD is a senior-sales title, the packages converge entirely, and the OTE conventions of the sales market apply.
- Q: How long should a VP of Business Development job description be?
- A: A page externally, with the fuller internal profile behind it. Length signals indecision; precision signals a company worth joining.
- Q: What requirements should we include for a VP of Business Development?
- A: Apply one test to each line: would we reject a great candidate who lacks this? If not, move it to preferred, or delete it.
![](https://www.jrgpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/tanya-gallardo.jpeg")
Tanya Gallardo
Managing Director, Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy
Tanya Gallardo is the Managing Director of Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy at JRG Partners, leading C-suite and Board engagements across key growth sectors including Technology, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.
With over 18 years of experience specializing in disruptive technology leadership, Tanya is recognized as a leading authority on talent architecture for future-focused executive roles, such as the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Her expertise lies in accurately assessing the cultural fit and technical depth required to ensure a high return on investment (ROI) for critical leadership appointments.
Prior to her role at JRG Partners, Tanya held senior roles directing global talent acquisition strategies at a major publicly-traded technology firm, advising on organizational design and succession planning for emerging executive functions. She is a recognized speaker and contributor to industry events, sharing data-driven insights on executive compensation, leadership development, and the measurable business impact of C-suite talent.
