Marketing & Business Development VA (Engineering & Construction) (33)

Marketing & Business Development Operator (Engineering & Construction)

You will be responsible for rebuilding and operating the business development function for a 38-year-established MEP engineering firm that has traditionally generated opportunities through referrals and existing relationships.

At present, there is no formal outbound strategy, limited follow-up structure, and no centralized process for managing business development activities.

Your responsibility is to create and maintain forward momentum by:

• reconnecting with architects, developers, and historical contacts
• generating meaningful outbound engagement opportunities
• gathering market intelligence from industry decision-makers
• maintaining consistent follow-up without external prompting
• removing day-to-day business development coordination demands from the stakeholders.

You will interact directly with senior professionals across architecture, development, engineering, and construction sectors. This requires sound judgment, strong communication skills, and the ability to operate independently.

Success in this role requires initiative. Candidates who depend heavily on scripts, rigid workflows, or detailed outreach instructions will struggle in this environment.

Filtering Signal: This role is not designed for individuals who rely on volume-based outreach, scripted conversations, or prebuilt engagement sequences to be effective.

Core responsibilities include:

• Reconnect with architects, developers, consultants, and previous proposal contacts using relevant context rather than generic messaging
• Review proposal records, CRM history, and prior communications to understand relationship background before initiating contact
• Conduct outbound outreach through RingCentral, email, and other approved channels without requiring scripts or ongoing approval
• Adjust conversations naturally based on stakeholder responses and business opportunities
• Move interested prospects toward meaningful next steps such as meetings, calls, or in-person discussions with the President
• Document after every interaction:
• conversation outcome
• agreed next action
• relationship insights (timing, pricing considerations, trust level, competitive landscape, decision factors)

Outreach process ownership includes:

• Establish and maintain a structured outreach tracking process when systems are incomplete or nonexistent
• Independently manage follow-up schedules, relationship stages, and communication history
• Ensure follow-up commitments are completed without reminders
• Reprioritize outreach efforts based on leadership direction, market conditions, and opportunity quality
• Maintain CRM records and tracking tools that remain organized, current, and easy to understand

Senior-level relationship development includes:

• Engage directly with architects, developers, consultants, and industry decision-makers
• Communicate professionally and confidently without dependence on scripts
• Ask thoughtful business-development questions, including:
• reasons proposals were not selected
• project budget limitations
• anticipated decision timelines
• factors influencing competitor selection
• Gather actionable market intelligence that can support future business development efforts

Research & opportunity identification includes:

• Research organizations prior to outreach, including leadership teams, active projects, market position, and strategic focus
• Identify prospects that align with the firm's engineering capabilities and target project profile
• Prioritize relationship quality and long-term opportunity potential over outreach volume
• Screen out low-probability or poorly aligned opportunities before resources are invested

Executive support includes:

• Coordinate meetings and discussions between senior stakeholders and the President
• Draft concise, executive-level communications that reflect the President's communication style
• Organize incoming documents, proposals, correspondence, and supporting materials
• Monitor deadlines, follow-up commitments, and outstanding requirements across active opportunities
• Prepare organized information to support invoicing processes and QuickBooks-related administrative tasks

Marketing & market intelligence support includes:

• Monitor LinkedIn communications and identify potential opportunities for engagement
• Surface partnership opportunities, project leads, and strategic connections from inbound activity
• Maintain current project references, qualifications, marketing collateral, and firm information
• Collect recurring market feedback and communicate trends, concerns, and opportunities to leadership

Requirements include:

• Demonstrated experience in outbound business development utilizing both phone and email outreach within AEC, engineering, construction, or closely related industries
• Comfortable communicating with senior-level professionals including architects, developers, consultants, and project stakeholders
• Ability to initiate and guide conversations without relying on prepared scripts or templates
• Proven capability to build, organize, and maintain business development processes independently
• Strong written communication skills with experience producing executive-level correspondence
• Excellent documentation habits, including tracking discussions, insights, action items, and follow-up requirements
• Able to work effectively in ambiguous environments and bring structure to unorganized processes
• Candidates requiring daily direction, extensive supervision, or detailed task-by-task instruction are unlikely to succeed in this role

Tools include:

• Microsoft Outlook
• RingCentral
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Outreach Tracking System (created and maintained by the role)
• CRM Platform / Historical Proposal Database
• QuickBooks (supporting function)

What we value most includes:

• You proactively revive inactive relationships without needing direction
• You gather meaningful business intelligence rather than simply generating activity
• You communicate confidently with experienced industry professionals
• You focus on relationship quality and strategic opportunities
• You create systems and processes where none currently exist
• You reduce the President's involvement in routine business development coordination
• You convert conversations into actionable next steps and measurable progress

What this role is not includes:

• Not a high-volume SDR, appointment-setting, or cold-calling position
• Not a script-driven outreach role
• Not a social media content or digital marketing position
• Not an entry-level business development training opportunity
• Not a role measured primarily by activity counts or outreach volume
• Not a CRM administration or data-entry function

Position details include:

• Remote (Philippines-based)
• Alignment with US Pacific Time working hours required
• Independent contractor engagement
• Flexible asynchronous work environment with expected responsiveness during working hours
• Direct interaction with executive leadership, including President-level communication

Application instructions include:

1. A 1–2 minute introduction video
2. Written Response:

"You are contacting an architect who requested a proposal approximately two years ago but ultimately did not proceed. Write your exact opening message or explain your call approach for restarting the conversation, and describe the reasoning behind your approach."

We are evaluating:

• Conversational judgment and communication skills
• Ability to engage effectively with senior stakeholders
• Capability to reactivate dormant professional relationships
• Clarity of thinking and decision-making in ambiguous situations