[Hiring] Business Development Specialist @Northwest Playground

Role Description

As our Business Development Specialist, you’ll get NPEI involved in projects long before they go to bid. You’ll build relationships with:

• Landscape architects
• Architects
• Engineers
• Planners
• Agencies and owners who fund projects

You’ll help them plan with our manufacturers’ products in mind, get those products specified, and turn early conversations into qualified opportunities.

You’ll own NPEI’s relationships with design firms and specifiers. When a project takes shape, you’ll hand it to the territory Park Consultant, who manages the customer account, the proposal, and the sale. You’ll plan outreach together with our Park Consultants so customers see one coordinated team. This role has no sales quota. Instead, you’ll be measured on the relationships, specifications, and pipeline you build.

This is a new, permanent role and the start of a long-term business development function at NPEI. You’ll begin in the Seattle and Tacoma markets and help us expand into new markets as the program grows.

What You Will Do:

• Map the market:
  • Research and categorize design firms, civil engineers, general contractors, public agencies, school districts, and parks departments across Seattle and Tacoma by size, project focus, and markets served.
• Build designer relationships:
  • Create and carry out an engagement plan for landscape architects and other design professionals: set meetings, revive inactive accounts, and become their go-to resource for play and recreation.
• Get our products specified:
  • Promote our priority manufacturer lines and give designers and owners early budget guidance, basis-of-design language, and design detail support.
• Find projects early:
  • Gather project and bid intelligence before the quote stage, create qualified opportunities in Salesforce, and hand them off smoothly to territory Park Consultants.
• Partner with Sales:
  • Plan outreach timing and approach with Park Consultants, and support them with presentations and resources for their existing design accounts.
• Open new markets:
  • Identify and develop outreach to segments outside our usual channels, such as port authorities and higher education.
• Lead education programs:
  • Deliver continuing education (CEU) courses and Lunch & Learns. Earn CEU accreditation for manufacturer coursework, develop NPEI’s own courses with Marketing, and support sample libraries.
• Create content:
  • Work with Marketing on regular blog posts, white papers, and LinkedIn content, plus state-by-state grant and fundraising guides that help Sales and customers fund projects.
• Show up in the community:
  • Attend regional ASLA chapter events, industry events, and trade shows.
• Report results:
  • Share monthly reporting on activity and results with the Chief Revenue Officer.
• Time split:
  • About 60% outreach and meetings
  • 25% education programs
  • 15% content and research

How Success is Measured:

• Meetings held with target design firms, agencies, and owners
• CEUs and Lunch & Learns delivered
• Specifications won for our priority manufacturer lines
• Qualified opportunities handed off to Park Consultants, and the pipeline they create

Qualifications

• 1–4 years in sales, business development, or account-based outreach, ideally in B2B, design, or public-sector settings. Specification of sales experience with a manufacturer or manufacturer’s rep firm is a strong plus.
• Familiarity with parks, playgrounds, landscape architecture, or public-sector procurement is preferred but not required.
• Credible, outgoing, organized, and curious. Comfortable picking up the phone and starting conversations with designers, owners, and agencies.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, and comfortable leading CEU and Lunch & Learn sessions.
• Strong emotional intelligence. Able to work independently while partnering closely with the sales team.
• A strategic thinker who proposes and follows through on new ways to engage design professionals, and who enjoys building something new.
• Salesforce or similar CRM experience strongly preferred. Proficient with Microsoft Office.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Regular local travel across the Seattle–Tacoma area, with occasional overnight trips for manufacturer visits, trade shows, and new markets. Valid driver’s license, clean driving record, and a reliable vehicle.

Salary

• Base salary of $60,000.00 Plus commission. Expected first-year total earnings of $85,000.00+.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time off, paid holidays
• 401k with 4% employer matching
• Car allowance, company phone and laptop, and reimbursed travel expenses.