Chief Business Development Officer

Invest Puerto Rico (IPR) is a non-profit organization created by law with the mission of promoting Puerto Rico as a competitive investment jurisdiction to attract new business and external capital to the Island.
IPR aims to attract new jobs and investment in the near-term and fundamentally shift the competitive position and economic trajectory of Puerto Rico over time.  Our culture is highly entrepreneurial and values creativity, problem-solving, initiative, intellect, and work ethic. People who do well at IPR tend to embrace complexity, espouse a global view, understand the importance of relationships, and possess a results-based orientation. IPR prides itself on its welcoming and energetic environment that encourages collaboration, innovation, and professional growth. Our team is comprised of people with diverse backgrounds in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors coming together to accelerate economic development in Puerto Rico.

Overview

The Chief of Business Development will work with IPR leadership to attract new business and investment to Puerto Rico, manage prospect inquiries, and provide investors with assistance as they consider Puerto Rico as a location for investment. The position is based in Puerto Rico and reports to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Broad responsibilities include representing IPR in and being accountable for business and investment attraction efforts around the world by developing and executing a business development strategy, responding to investor inquiries, helping with transactional processes, and managing a team of business developers to enable these efforts.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Business Development (Drive the attraction of companies, jobs and investment to the island) – Develop and lead the implementation and monitoring of business development and lead generation and management strategies in targeted markets and sectors in alignment with the IPR strategic plan, including but not limited to:

• Establish business development (BD) go-to-market strategy and implement key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of individual BD strategies aligned with the organizational goals.
• Monitor and analyze market trends, competitor activities, and economic data to inform decision-making and business development strategy adjustments.
• Represent and manage IPR’s participation in sales missions, trade shows and conferences to generate leads and raise awareness of Puerto Rico’s value proposition in target sectors and markets.
• Oversee lead management and support, including presentations to executives, coordination of high- level visits and industry tours, development of compelling business cases and proposals addressing issues or needs of the project, while ensuring the effective coordination with IPR staff, government agencies, private sector partners and other key stakeholders.
• Negotiate and finalize project deals and agreements in partnership with government agencies that benefit Puerto Rico’s economy.
• Expand IPR’s reach and cultivate strong relationships with targeted corporate site selectors, commercial brokers, incentive experts, and other lead generation sourcing stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain a strong pipeline of business and investment opportunities for the island.
• Identify and oversee commercially viable infrastructure projects suited for real estate developments, and energy infrastructure projects through public-private-partnerships and/or incentive stacks.

Marketing (Tell the Puerto Rico story to companies and potential investors) - Work closely with the IPR Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Strategy Officer and other colleagues to:

• Support development of a marketing, branding, and communication strategy that supports IPR brand development and lead generation.
• Support the analysis and compilation of economic, market and demographic data for use and dissemination.
• Develop tailored value propositions for target industries and lead generation activities.
• Assist with the identification and prioritization of relevant promotional events and activities.

 Stakeholder Relations (Build partnerships, rapport, and relationships that will accelerate results and amplify impact):

• Establish and engage relationships with industry leaders and key stakeholders to gain greater insight into the challenges and opportunities within target sectors.
• Collaborate with public, private and other key stakeholders to advocate for new policies that promote economic growth, innovation, and strengthening Puerto Rico’s competitiveness.
• Strengthen and enhance IPR’s relationship with IPR’s investor base, both private and public, sharing up-to-date knowledge, highlighting IPR’s accomplishments and soliciting their feedback.
• Develop and maintain professional relationships with local and regional economic development entities and officials, providing support as needed to drive opportunities.
• Maintain high levels of customer service satisfaction with prospects, multipliers, investors and communities.

Reporting, Budget, & Leadership (Manage business development reporting, budget and resources):

• Lead the management and measurement of all lead generation activities, meetings, and events utilizing IPR’s customer relationship management (CRM) system to log, track, and manage inquiries, requests, information provided, lead potential, and investment status.
• Compile, track and report key performance metrics (KPIs) to the CEO and Board of Directors including, but not limited to, the number of leads generated, number of new opportunities, number of jobs, etc.
• Work closely with the CEO and CFO to develop an appropriate budget and resource strategy to ensure proper representation at relevant events and BD activities.
• Regularly report to the CEO on pipeline, prospects, roadblocks, and events.
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing business development team, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and accountability.
• Promote professional development opportunities to enhance team capabilities and keep pace with industry best practices.
• Ensure compliance with organizational policies, ethical standards, and relevant regulations.
• Work closely with the rest of the leadership team on IPR’s organizational and promotional strategy.
• Any other responsibilities that the IPR Board of Directors, or Chief Executive Officer determine to be appropriate to fulfill IPR’s mission and mandate.

Role Specific Qualifications

• Ability to develop and refine on an ongoing basis a business development strategy to attract new businesses and investment to the Island.
• Demonstrated ability to aggressively sell and close deals, while effectively providing client support.
• Established relationships with key decision-makers and stakeholders across target sectors like bioscience, aerospace, technology, among others
• Strong understanding of procedures and norms regarding how to do business in Puerto Rico to assist new entities with regulatory, operational, or other challenges.
• Ability to navigate government processes and leverage public-private partnerships.
• Knowledge of public administration and municipal government operations.
• Ability to develop and monitor a budget and resource strategy for events and business development activities.
• Strong knowledge of standard business relocation activities and resources.
• Knowledge of basic real estate principles.
• Knowledge of pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes and regulations pertaining to international investment.
• Strong management skills - ability to lead, develop and manage a team of business developers
• Demonstrated client relationship management skills.

 General Qualifications

• A commitment and desire to have a positive impact on Puerto Rico’s economic future.
• Broad knowledge of Puerto Rico’s economy: both challenges and opportunities.
• Broad knowledge of global business trends and how Puerto Rico can meet demands with its resources and advantages.
• Exhibit an entrepreneurial spirit and be results and solutions oriented.
• Ability to communicate with leaders effectively and credibly at the top levels of business and government.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, along with strong public speaking and presentation skills.
• Superior project management skills.
• Superior networking and relationship-building skills, including individuals of diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to proactively manage internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven conflict resolution, consensus-building and negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated credibility, integrity, and sincerity.
• Fully bilingual in English and Spanish. Knowledge and fluency in other languages is also a plus.

Knowledge and Experience

• Four-year degree from an accredited institution in business, economics, engineering, marketing, or a related field.
• A master’s degree is strongly preferred.
• A minimum of 20+ years of work experience, preferably in an economy and/or environment similar to that of Puerto Rico.
• Proven experience developing, leading, and delivering results for business development strategies in a commercial environment – commercial experience managing multiple business lines across international markets strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience using macroeconomic data and trends to understand opportunities and determine strategies.
• Willingness to travel nationally and internationally up to 50 percent of the time.
• Experience at the senior management level.
• Experience in both the private and public sectors is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success in leading and motivating others to build a collaborative and high-performance team.
• Experience leading a team that may include remote members in different time zones.

Careers Inc. job postings are legally privileged and may not be copied, reproduced, displayed, modified, transmitted, used for misrepresentation, and/or distributed through any website, social media, network, database, platform, or related. Failure to comply will result in legal action.