Based in Buffalo, New York, Via Evaluation. Inc. is an evaluation and data strategy consulting firm helping mission‑driven organizations measure what matters. We work with nonprofits, K–12 schools, professional associations, foundations, and community‑based organizations to use meaningful data to guide decisions and demonstrate impact. Higher Ed Insight, our subsidiary, brings this work to higher education, workforce development, and STEM education research.
We are a certified Woman‑Owned Small Business (NYS WBE, SBA WOSB, WBENC) and a 2024 Buffalo Business First’s Best Places to Work honoree. Guided by a clear mission, we have built our reputation on thoughtful, high‑quality work and deep client partnerships. Our clients stay with us, refer us with confidence, and place lasting trust in our work. Our immediate challenge is visibility—reaching organizations that aren’t yet aware of us and building intentional infrastructure to sustainably grow our pipeline.
We live our core values…
- Commitment to Growth & Development
- Work/Life Balance
- Feedback Inspires Change
- Collaborative Team Approach
- Integrity Matters
- Passionate About Our Work
Summary of Position
The Senior Manager of Business Development & Growth is a hands-on role for someone who thinks strategically and can execute day-to-day. You will work closely with leadership and client-facing staff to turn opportunities into funded work, while helping the team show up clearly and confidently in the market.
Areas of Focus
Pipeline Development & Opportunity Management
- Build and maintain a forward-looking pipeline of opportunities across our core sectors (nonprofits, K–12 schools, foundations, associations, subject to change)
- Monitor Requests for Proposal (RFP) sources, listservs, and networks to identify relevant opportunities
- Assess opportunities for fit and bring forward clear go/no-go recommendations
- Track all opportunities in Client Relations Management (CRM), ensuring accuracy and timely follow-up
- Surface dormant relationships, expiring contracts, and re-engagement opportunities
Proposal Development & Coordination
- Lead proposal development from kickoff through submission
- Translate our work into clear, compelling, client-centered proposals
- Create timelines, coordinate contributors, and ensure deadlines are met utilizing project management and opportunity tracking systems (Motion, Salesforce, SharePoint)
- Partner with technical staff to gather inputs and shape scopes of work
- Maintain and improve proposal templates, boilerplate language, and process tools
Communication & Market Presence
- Support consistent external communication aligned with business development priorities
- Draft LinkedIn content, short insights, and light thought leadership in the voice of VIA and affiliated companies
- Help translate completed work into simple, clear stories for external audiences
- Support development of key business development materials (e.g., statements of qualifications, one-pagers)
Team Enablement & Collaboration
- Guide client-facing staff through prospect conversations with concise briefs and talking points
- Support a culture of shared business development by making processes clear and accessible
- Facilitate simple debriefs after proposals or major conversations to capture lessons learned
- Collaborate closely with leadership to refine messaging, priorities, and approach
Systems & Continuous Improvement
- Maintain and improve business development workflows and tools
- Use CRM (Salesforce) data to track pipeline activity and identify trends
- Recommend practical improvements to increase efficiency and win rates
Eligibility
Knowledge & Technical Requirements
- 5–8+ years of experience in business development, proposals, marketing, or consulting
- Experience in professional associations, nonprofit, education, philanthropic foundations, or public sector environments preferred
- Strong responsive writing skills, with the ability to translate and interpret complex ideas and plans into clear, compelling communications, language, stories, and products
- Experience supporting or leading proposal development (custom proposals, RFPs, bids, or similar)
- Familiarity with CRM systems (Salesforce or similar)
- Highly organized, self-directed, and comfortable managing multiple deadlines
Skills & Abilities
- Clear and effective communicator (written and verbal)
- Strong project manager who can move work forward
- Good judgment in prioritizing opportunities and effort
- Collaborative and able to work across teams with efficiency
- Comfortable balancing structure with flexibility
Success in This Role Looks Like
- A consistent and visible pipeline of qualified opportunities
- High-quality, timely proposals with improved win rates
- Clear, compelling communication of our work in the market
- Strong coordination across staff contributing to business development
- Practical systems that make business development easier and more consistent
Growth Opportunity
This role is designed to evolve into a Director of Growth position within 2–3 years, with increasing ownership over strategy, systems, and team leadership.
Physical Demands
- This is a remote position requiring regular use of a computer, keyboard, mouse, and screen. To align with supervisor’s schedule individual must work within one hour of Eastern Standard Time office hours.
- Frequent communication via phone, video conferencing, and occasional in-person meetings are expected.
- Airline or vehicle travel to conferences, events, and client locations for business development and relationship-building purposes is required.
An honest note on fit — please read before applying
This role requires comfort with ambiguity and range. It is not a fit for someone who needs a detailed playbook, operates in a single narrow lane, or comes from a predominantly B2C or consumer brand background. We’ve tried junior and generalist marketing roles before, and those arrangements didn’t serve either party well. We’re seeking someone with strong business development instincts, real curiosity about our industry, and the confidence to challenge us when they see a smarter way to move forward.
Total Compensation
Compensation
- Salary negotiations tend to have an unfair bias. Via Evaluation is committed to increasing equity and does not participate in a salary negotiation process with any candidate. Our starting salary is our best offer, and it will be the same regardless of the candidate. This position will pay $125,000.00 annually or a biweekly rate of $4,807.69.
- Annual Remote Stipend $580 for personal needs paid bi-weekly
- Work Computer & Monitor provided
- Annual bonus plan based on company revenues
- Annual COLA increases
- Bi-annual compensation study for wage benchmarking
- Self-allocated Professional Development $1,500
- Compensation Equity Policy
Transportation
- Transportation & parking for work reimbursed
- Co-working space available at headquarters
- All work mileage (car) reimbursed at Federal reimbursement rate
- Defensive driving reimbursement of up to $50
- TSA precheck reimbursed up to $85
Paid Time Off
- 4-day work week (Friday is paid)
- 16 PTO days annually (4 weeks) to start
- 11 federal holidays off
- 2 floating holiday days
- 30-minute lunch breaks
Benefits
- Health Insurance (company paid premium for single coverage)
- Dental Insurance (company paid premium for single coverage)
- Dependent Care Account (DCA)
- Flexible Medical Spending Account (FSA)
- 50k Life Insurance (company paid)
- Short-Term Disability (company paid)
- Long-Term Disability (company paid)
- Accident, Critical illness (company paid)
- Additional policies are available for Health, Dental, Vision, Life insurance for dependents
Retirement
- Annual financial planning meetings
- 401K Loans
- Traditional 401K and/or 401K Roth IRA -Safe Harbor and employer match of up to 10%
Other
- Flex-Scheduling during company hours (M-Th 7 AM to 7 PM)
- Hybrid work environment – what works best for you
- Employee Assistance Program
- Up to $150.00 toward Estate planning
- Financial Advisor to assist employees with their investments and financial planning
- Vaccine leave for employee for seasonal and doctor-recommended vaccines