Business Development Job Description Templates
Free business development job description templates: BDR, manager, executive, associate, and director. Download as DOCX. Built for small business.
Business Development Job Description Templates
5 free templates by level. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
Business development is how a small company stops relying on the founder to bring in every deal. The right hire builds a pipeline, opens new markets, and turns relationships into revenue. But business development is not one job. It spans an entry-level representative who books meetings, a manager who owns deals end to end, and a director who leads a whole growth strategy. Each is a different role with a different salary and a different candidate pool, and the job description is where you make that clear.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses and startups that hire without a dedicated HR department, where the founder writes the posting between closing deals. The five templates below cover the most common versions of the role: representative, manager, executive, associate, and director. Each is ready to use. Fill in the bracketed fields, adjust to match your business, and post. For the general principles behind any posting, the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Is a Business Development Job Description?
A business development job description is a short document that explains the role's purpose, responsibilities, qualifications, and compensation so you can post a job and attract the right candidates. It typically covers a job summary, key responsibilities, required and preferred qualifications, the reporting line, and a clear compensation structure. The SHRM job description tools describe a job description as a plain-language tool that explains the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a position, and that standard applies whether you are a large enterprise or a five-person startup.
For a business development role specifically, the document does double duty. It attracts applicants, and once someone is hired it becomes the reference point for their targets and goals. Because the title spans an entry-level representative to a VP of business development, the most important job of the description is to make the level and scope unmistakable. If you are filling adjacent sales roles, the sales representative job description templates cover the pure selling side of this work.
Which Business Development Role Should You Hire?
Pick the template that matches the level and scope you need. The core structure is the same across all five, but each one emphasizes the responsibilities, experience, and compensation that fit a specific level of business development. Use this guide to choose.
5 Free Business Development Job Description Templates
Download all five as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each one follows the same structure: job summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, and how to apply. Fill in the brackets before you post.
Template 1: Business Development Representative (BDR)
Entry-level prospecting. Research, outbound outreach, and lead qualification to book meetings for the sales team. Your best first BD hire when you need top-of-funnel volume. Base plus commission.
Template 2: Business Development Manager (BDM)
Owns a pipeline from prospect to close, plus partnerships and proposals. The most common standalone BD hire for a small business, and often the first one. Base plus bonus.
Template 3: Business Development Executive (BDE)
A senior individual contributor on complex, high-value deals. Note that the title means entry level in some markets, so the template includes a line to define the level clearly in your posting.
Template 4: Business Development Associate
Supports BD through research, list building, CRM hygiene, and proposal prep. A good early hire to support a founder or manager who is doing the selling.
Template 5: Business Development Director / VP
Owns the growth strategy, leads the BD team, and structures major partnerships and deals. For growing companies ready to put a leader over business development. Base plus bonus plus equity.
Business Development Duties and Responsibilities
Business development duties fall into four broad categories. A good job description picks the specific duties from each category that apply to your level and business rather than listing every possible task. These are the responsibilities most often expected of the role.
The mix shifts sharply by level: an entry-level representative weighs almost entirely toward finding opportunities, while a director weighs toward strategy and growth. At a small business, one BD hire often covers all four categories at once. For help scoping the role precisely before you write the posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through a simple process.
What to Include in a Business Development Job Description
Every strong business development job description includes the same core sections. The templates above are built around them, but it helps to know how to make the duties concrete instead of generic.
| Weak bullet | Strong bullet |
|---|---|
| Find new business | Research target accounts and run outbound outreach to book meetings |
| Build relationships | Develop and close partnerships that meet revenue and margin goals |
| Manage the pipeline | Own a pipeline from prospect to close and keep the CRM current |
| Hit targets | Meet monthly pipeline and revenue targets against a defined quota |
| Help with strategy | Shape the go-to-market plan and identify new markets and channels |
Specific, measurable duties attract candidates who can actually do the work and signal a serious employer. Keep the language neutral and inclusive, and confirm whether the role is exempt or non-exempt under the Department of Labor FLSA rules before you set pay. For standard tasks and skills you can borrow, the O*NET profile for market research and business development lists recognized responsibilities.
BDR vs SDR
One of the most common questions when hiring an entry-level role is whether you need a BDR or an SDR. The titles overlap and many companies use them interchangeably, but there is a useful distinction.
| Trait | BDR | SDR |
|---|---|---|
| Focuses on outbound prospecting | ||
| Focuses on inbound lead qualification | ||
| Generates new opportunities from scratch | ||
| Entry-level pipeline-building role | ||
| Books meetings for closers |
In practice, a BDR leans outbound and an SDR leans inbound, but at a small business one person usually does both. What matters is not the title but defining clearly whether the role is inbound, outbound, or both, so candidates know exactly what they are signing up for. Use the representative template above and adjust the outreach language to match.
How to Write a Business Development Job Description
A strong business development job description takes about 20 minutes to write if you follow a clear structure. Here is the process the templates are built around. If this is one of your first hires, the small business hiring guide covers the steps around the posting itself.
Before you post, double-check that the role reports to a named person and that the compensation structure is clear. The overview of the hiring manager role explains who should own the posting and the decision in a small business.
Business Development Salary
Set your compensation using government data as a baseline, then structure most of the pay as base plus variable. Business development pay varies enormously by level, and a director earns several times what an entry-level representative does in base alone.
Structure the pay as base plus commission or bonus, and always state the on-target earnings. Entry roles lean lighter on base and heavier on upside, while director roles add equity. Publish a range too. As of early 2026, eleven states and Washington, D.C. require a pay range directly in the job posting, and a clear range attracts more qualified applicants everywhere. For broader context on these roles, the BLS overview of business and financial occupations is a useful reference.
Hiring Business Development Without an HR Department
Enterprise templates assume a layered sales org, defined quotas, and a director above every seller. A small business has none of that. The BD hire is often a generalist who prospects, closes, and manages relationships, reporting straight to the founder. As the team grows, the same is true of related roles, which is why hiring a sales manager later follows a similar pattern. Here is how to write the BD posting for that reality.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Once a candidate accepts, the same document becomes the foundation for the offer letter and the onboarding plan. A business development hire needs structured onboarding because their ramp time directly affects revenue, and a slow start costs you deals.
Send a clear offer letter with the full compensation structure, collect signed paperwork, and give your new hire the product knowledge, market context, CRM access, and targets they need in the first weeks. Once you have your offer ready, the offer letter template handles the next step, and an onboarding template gives them a structured start. FirstHR connects the offer, paperwork, and onboarding workflow in one place so a small business can manage the full process without a dedicated HR department.
For a sample plan to follow, the onboarding plan sample shows what a complete ramp looks like, and an employment contract template covers cases where the role needs a contract rather than a simple offer letter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a business development professional do?
A business development professional helps a company grow by finding and developing new revenue opportunities. Depending on the level, that means researching and qualifying prospects, running outreach, building relationships with potential customers and partners, negotiating and closing deals, and shaping growth strategy. Entry-level roles like a business development representative focus on prospecting and booking meetings. Mid-level managers own a pipeline from prospect to close. Directors and VPs own the overall growth strategy and lead a team. The exact scope depends on the level, which is why a clear job description matters: it tells candidates whether they will prospect, close, or lead.
What should a business development job description include?
A strong business development job description includes a short job summary, the level of the role, 7 to 10 specific responsibilities, required and preferred qualifications, the reporting line, and a clear compensation structure. Because BD roles are paid with a base plus commission or bonus, the compensation section should state the base, the variable structure, and the realistic on-target earnings. Responsibilities should match the level: prospecting and qualification for entry roles, full pipeline ownership for managers, and strategy and team leadership for directors. Be specific about your market and CRM so candidates can judge fit.
What is the difference between a BDR and an SDR?
The roles overlap and many companies use the titles interchangeably, but there is a common distinction. A Sales Development Representative (SDR) typically focuses on qualifying inbound leads that marketing generates. A Business Development Representative (BDR) typically focuses on outbound prospecting to generate new opportunities from scratch. Both are entry-level pipeline-building roles that book meetings for closers. In a small business, one person often does both. What matters is not the title but defining clearly in your posting whether the role is inbound, outbound, or both, so candidates know what they are signing up for.
Which business development role should I hire first?
It depends on whether you need someone to open opportunities or close them. If the founder or an existing seller is closing deals but the pipeline is thin, hire a Business Development Representative or Associate to generate and qualify leads. If you need someone to own deals end to end and take selling off the founder's plate, hire a Business Development Manager. Most small businesses making their first dedicated BD hire choose a manager who can both prospect and close, then add representatives later as the pipeline grows. Avoid hiring a Director or VP until you have a team for them to lead.
What salary should I list for a business development role?
Use government data as a baseline, then adjust for level and structure most of the pay as base plus variable. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that sales managers, the closest tracked category for senior BD roles, earn a median of about $138,060 per year, with the lowest 10 percent under $66,910 and the highest 10 percent over $239,200. Entry-level representatives and associates earn far less in base but carry commission upside. Always state the base, the commission or bonus structure, and the on-target earnings. Eleven states and Washington, D.C. now require a pay range directly in the job posting, and a clear range attracts stronger candidates everywhere.
Is a business development role exempt or non-exempt?
It depends on the duties and how the person is paid, and you should confirm the classification under federal and state law. Many outside sales and higher-level business development roles qualify as exempt from overtime, while some inside or entry-level representative roles paid hourly may be non-exempt. The Department of Labor sets the federal standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and some states apply stricter tests. Misclassifying a role creates legal and financial risk, so review the actual duties and pay against the current rules, and when in doubt, get advice before you finalize the posting and offer.
How do I write a business development job description for a small business?
Pick the level you actually need, describe the real scope, and be specific about compensation. At a small business, the BD hire is often a generalist who prospects, closes, and manages relationships, frequently reporting straight to the founder. Be honest about that breadth, name your market and CRM, and set realistic targets rather than copying an enterprise quota. Spell out the base, variable pay, and on-target earnings, since strong sellers compare total compensation. The representative and associate templates here are written for early entry hires, while the manager template fits a first standalone BD hire at a company without a dedicated HR department.
What happens after I hire a business development professional?
Once a candidate accepts, the job description becomes the basis for the offer letter and the onboarding plan. A business development hire needs structured onboarding because their ramp time directly affects revenue. Send a clear offer letter with the compensation structure, collect signed paperwork, and give them the product knowledge, market context, CRM access, and targets they need in the first weeks. A 30-60-90 day plan works well for ramping a new seller. FirstHR handles the offer letter, document collection, and onboarding workflow in one place, so a small business can move a new BD hire from accepted offer to productive without a dedicated HR department.