Business Development Director- Partnerships & Channel Growth

Great Day Improvements - Business Development Director- Partnerships & Channel Growth

As the Director of Business Development, you will spearhead growth by sourcing, structuring, and scaling strategic partnerships that connect our products and services with high-value audiences. You will own the full deal lifecycle—from market mapping to negotiation, launch, performance optimization, and renewal—while collaborating cross-functionally to ensure flawless execution. A critical extension of this role is providing operational leadership for co-branded activations at big-box retailers in partnership with the Events team.

Location: Hybrid - Twinsburg / Cleveland, Ohio area

Partnership Strategy and Execution

• Identify, prioritize, and pursue partnership opportunities with organizations that reach our target customers (publishers, member groups, influencers, retailers, affinity groups, B2B platforms, etc.)
• Build robust partner pipelines, develop business cases, and secure internal alignment & resources
• Craft deal terms (commercial, data-sharing, compliance, SLAs)
• Negotiate contracts in collaboration with Legal & Marketing Leadership
• Translate signed agreements into launch plans—defining deliverables, timelines, and KPIs
• Partner with Product, Marketing and Operations to implement integrations, creative, and tracking
• Oversee co-branded events and pop-ups inside big-box retailers (floor plans, staffing, signage)
• Establish KPIs, dashboards, and cadence for reporting (CAC, conversion, LTV, ROI, pipeline velocity, etc.)
• Conduct deep-dive analyses and tests to improve channel performance
• Present insights and recommendations to marketing leadership & partners

This is an individual contributor role to start with that can evolve into hiring and mentoring a small team.

• 5+ years in business development, strategic partnerships, or channel sales; 5+ years in a consumer focused high-volume business
• Proven track record of sourcing and executing revenue-generating partnerships
• Experience supporting in-store or field event programs, ideally within big-box retail environments
• Strong financial modeling and contract-negotiation skills
• Familiarity with attribution, funnel metrics, and marketing analytics tools (GA4, Looker, Tableau, Excel/Sheets)
• Exceptional relationship-builder able to influence senior executives internally & externally
• Comfortable in entrepreneurial settings—able to pivot, problem-solve, and deliver under tight timelines
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or related field

Key Competencies
• Strategic Vision & Commercial Acumen – sees market whitespace and designs win-win deals
• Operational Excellence – turns strategy into structured, repeatable processes
• Analytical Rigor – interrogates data to surface insights and guide action
• Executive Presence & Negotiation – inspires confidence in C-suite and partner leaders
• Cross-Functional Leadership – orchestrates resources across Marketing, Product, Ops, Legal, and Finance

Priorities
• Generate new partnerships and monetize them
• Establish plan to build relationships with key partners for cross selling
• Focus on Minor League Baseball, and existing efforts and bring on 2-5 new relationships
• Build relationships and collaborate.

We Offer:

· Competitive pay

· Medical, dental and vision insurance

· Disability insurance

· Health savings account with company contribution

· Health and dependent care flexible savings accounts

· Company-paid life insurance

· 401K with company contribution

· Employee assistance plan

· Employee discount program

· Paid vacation

GDI is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

#INDGDI