Business Development Manager

Position overview

To establish and lead ACER’s new business development function across global offices, ensuring proactive pipeline management, quality proposals, account growth, and internal collaboration.  

Position context

The Australian Council for Educational Research is a national, independent, not-for-profit educational research and development organisation with a proud history of rigorous research, resource development, and research-based advice to governments and education authorities globally.

Our mission is to create and promote research-based knowledge, products and services to improve learning across the lifespan. We pursue this mission through collaborative research projects; national, regional and global assessment programs; education system reviews and evaluation studies; and the provision of high-quality, evidence-informed professional resources for practitioners.  

ACER has approximately 460 staff working across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide with a strong global presence in Malaysia, UAE, UK and India.    

The Marketing, Communications and Media (MCM) team drives ACER’s visibility, engagement and growth by delivering strategic, integrated communications across key audiences and markets. The team leads marketing and business development, internal and external communications, media and government relations, publishing, creative design, and digital information services.  
 

Job Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Planning

• Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive business development strategy that aligns with ACER’s mission and leverages market insights to identify growth opportunities across global markets. 
• Establish the new BD team, including collaborating with the New Business team and aligning all tender activity. 
• Translate the BD strategy into actionable plans, tools, and team capability initiatives. 
• Recommend clear BD performance metrics and KPIs. 
• Develop dashboards and provide regular reporting and insights to the Executive and Senior Leadership teams on KPI performance, pipeline health, market intelligence, and risks/opportunities. 
• Champion a shared organisational understanding of business development as a strategic, mission-aligned business enabler. 

Implement and Support a Streamlined Tender Process 

• Design and embed a consistent, efficient, and collaborative tendering approach that enhances responsiveness, strengthens competitive positioning, and supports long-term business growth. 
• Oversee the bids and proposals process across tenders, grants, EOIs, and strategic partnerships —working closely with client relationship managers to ensure quality, competitiveness, and compliance.  
• Develop and maintain a central proposal library and BD resource hub, including organisational credentials, case studies, and project summaries. 
• Implement go/no-go procedures in collaboration with the strategic bid board, to support the qualification of tenders and proposals and improve win rate.  
• Collaborate with research, consulting, and product teams to capture lessons learnt from successful and unsuccessful tenders. 
• Introduce formal handover processes from BD to project delivery.  

Opportunity Development and Pipeline Management 

• Develop a dynamic pipeline of leads and prospects across short, mid, and long-term horizons to ensure consistent growth in collaboration with the Head of Departments and global senior executives. 
• Manage ACER’s global business development pipeline and tender calendar, including pre-positioning, pipeline tracking, and CRM oversight. 
• Develop a shared understanding and clear definitions of pipeline stages for tenders and financial forecasting. 
• Coordinate the market intelligence process with the wider MCM team. 

CRM Implementation and Oversight 

• Develop and implement capture planning and key account management processes, from pilot to wider adoption. 
• Lead the cultural and operational change associated with the implementation of a new global CRM. 
• Work with the IT team to develop and implement training and support resources. 
• Drive adoption across teams, promoting best practices for data entry, contact management, and opportunity tracking. 
• Identify and managing non-compliance with the CRM system.  

Internal Collaboration and Enablement 

• Establish and chair the Global BD meetings. 
• Work closely with Marketing to align messaging, storytelling, and collateral. 
• Support staff capability-building in BD tools, processes, and proposal development. 
• Support offices with account management planning and stakeholder engagement. 
   

Decision Making Authority

The Business Development Manager will work under the broad direction of the Chief Marketing Officer and will operate with a high degree of independence and accountability with respect to strategic and operational decisions within the area within broad guidelines established in association with the Chief Marketing Officer.  

Organisational accountabilities

• Proactively work towards achieving individual, team and organisational objectives while demonstrating ACER’s leadership behaviours: 
  • Developing Self – involves self-management, self-reflection and self-improvement 
  • Embracing Change – being open to change and leading change when appropriate 
  • Pursuing Excellence – ongoing search for new and better ways of working 
  • Setting Directions – strategic thinking and planning for the future 
  • Supporting Colleagues – supporting and contributing to the development of others 
  • Working Collaboratively – building highly effective internal and external relationships 
• Actively work to create an equitable, fair and harmonious work environment which is free from harassment, bullying and discrimination by demonstrating respectful and courteous behaviour towards others 
• Proactively foster an inclusive and diverse work environment which encourages and respects different experiences and perspectives, and values diversity of thought  
• Comply with all occupational health and safety requirements, including following safe work practices for self and others and identifying, assessing, and mitigating psychosocial risks  
• Comply with all information security requirements, including completing regular security training and abiding by the standards and procedures laid out in ACER’s Information Security Management System 
• Work in accordance with ACER’s policies and procedures 

Skills, knowledge and experience

Essential  

• Proven experience in establishing high-performing business development teams and processes. 
• At least ten years' experience in business development in a B2B environment.  
• Strong stakeholder engagement and leadership skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to manage CRM systems and BD reporting. 
• Demonstrated ability in delivering tendering processes and capture planning. 
• Exceptional communication, writing, and facilitation abilities, with the ability to inform, persuade, convince, and negotiate with others towards consensus or alignment or adoption of a new product, research and/or service delivery process. 
• Proven experience in change management and overcoming resistance.  
• Strong influencing skills at all levels of the organisation.  
• Strong collaboration mindset and experience working across multiple time zones or cultures. 

Desirable 

• Knowledge or experience in the education or research sector. 

Qualifications

A post graduate qualification in Business, Marketing, or a related field. A Master in Business Administration (MBA) would be advantageous.