Associate Director - Business Development

Code and Theory’s Business Development team finds, shapes, and wins the agency’s next clients. We run pursuits from the first signal to the signed SOW. Along the way we work with strategy, creative, technology, and senior leadership to build pitches that show what the agency can do.

We’re hiring at several levels, from Associate Manager to Director. The core of the job is the same at every level. What changes is how much you own and how many people you lead.

You’re organized and you stay calm when timelines get tight. You can write a clear recap an hour after a meeting. You can also stand in front of a CMO and hold the room. You’re curious about AI, emerging technology, and how brands are changing, and you bring that curiosity into every pursuit.

Above all, you share Code and Theory’s core values of humility, creativity, and passion.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Run pursuits end to end. Take opportunities from identification and qualification through go/no-go, RFP response, pitch, and close.
• Lead the pitch team. Bring together strategy, creative, design, and technology. Set the workback, run the check-ins, and keep everyone moving toward the same win themes.
• Build the materials. Own proposals, RFP responses, credentials, case studies, and pitch decks, and keep the quality high.
• Build relationships. Earn the trust of prospects, consultants, and partners before, during, and after a pitch.
• Keep the pipeline honest. Track opportunities, update the CRM, and report on pipeline health, win rates, and what we learn from each pursuit.
• Read the market. Follow industry shifts, competitor moves, and emerging technology, and turn what you find into new opportunities.
• Make the process better. Improve how the team works, including templates, tools, and AI-assisted workflows, so every pursuit starts faster than the last.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Agency experience. Business development, new business, or client services experience at an integrated, digital, or technology-first agency. Roughly 2+ years for Associate Manager, scaling to 8+ years for Director.
• Pursuit know-how. A clear grasp of how RFPs, pitches, and proposals come together, and what it takes to win them.
• Writing and presenting skills. Strong written and spoken communication. You can write an RFP answer, a leadership recap, and a pitch narrative, and you know how each one should sound.
• Leadership. The ability to direct cross-functional teams, including people more senior than you, without formal authority. Director candidates should also have experience managing people.
• Judgment. You work independently and own your pursuits, and you know when to escalate.
• Comfort with tools. Experience with CRM and project management tools (HubSpot, Airtable, or similar). Comfort using AI tools in your daily work. Able to turn pipeline data into a clear report.
• Adaptability. You do well in a fast-moving environment where priorities can shift in a day.

ABOUT US

Born in 2001, Code and Theory is a digital-first creative agency that sits at the center of creativity and technology. We pride ourselves on not only solving consumer and business problems, but also helping to establish new capabilities for our clients. With a global client roster of Fortune 100s and start-ups alike, we crave the hardest problems to solve. We have teams distributed across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The Code and Theory global network of agencies is growing and includes Kettle, Instrument, Left Field Labs, Create Group, Current, and TrueLogic.

Striving never to be pigeonholed, we work across every major category: from tech to CPG, financial services to travel & hospitality, government and education to media and publishing. We value the collaboration with our client partners, including but not limited to Adidas, Amazon, Con Edison, Diageo, EY, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lenovo, Marriott, Mars, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, and TikTok.

The Code and Theory network is comprised of nearly 2,000 people with 50% engineers and 50% creative talent. We’re always on the lookout for smart, driven, and forward-thinking people to join our team.

The compensation range for this role is $100,000 – $140,000 and spans multiple levels. We're open to hiring at the level that best matches the right candidate's experience. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, budget, and location.