Director of Business Development

Circl Images Group; City of London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading leadership development organization is seeking a Director of Business Development to drive new client acquisition and strategic partnerships. The ideal candidate will have a strong network, at least 8 years of experience in B2B roles, and a passion for coaching and leadership development. You will be instrumental in shaping the company's growth strategy while building long-term client relationships. This position offers a competitive salary and meaningful work in a purpose-driven environment.

Benefits

37 Days holiday including personal and public holidays

Flex Fridays

Work from home cash allowance

Dedicated external senior mentor

Regular team socials and wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• 8+ years in senior B2B new business roles.
• Experience selling coaching, L&D, leadership, HR solutions or consultancy.
• Proven record of exceeding revenue targets through consultative selling.

Responsibilities

• Identify, engage, and win partnerships with enterprise organizations.
• Build long-term relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Shape Circl's commercial direction through market insights.

Skills

New Business Acquisition

Relationship Management

Strategic Growth

Thought Leadership

Team Building

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Location: Remote + 1 Day per week (Thursdays) in London Office (Storey Club, Paddington)

Employment Type: Full‑time

Salary: £50k - £70k (uncapped commission OTE £110k) + Share Options

About Us

At Circl, we’re reimagining leadership for the modern world – one built on empathy, inclusion and empowerment. Our award-winning Leadership Development Programme pairs business professionals with young Future Leaders (aged 18‑24 from under‑represented backgrounds) to learn coaching skills together and create a new generation of inclusive leaders.

We’ve supported 5,000+ young people and professionals in over 200 organisations, across 57 countries worldwide.

Our clients include world‑class brands such as Google, Barclays, McKinsey, Uber, Meta, VMO2, Kearney, eBay and PepsiCo. 2025 has been our most successful year ever, and we’re now ready to take our impact even further!

Circl Perks And Flexibility

• Social Impact and Purpose: make a real difference to under‑represented young people.
• 37 Days holiday including your birthday, bank holidays and the period between Xmas and New Year.
• 1 Day in the London office per week, with access on other days when required.
• Flex Fridays with limited internal meetings and reduced working hours.
• 3 Work from anywhere weeks, including 1 international week working across time zones.
• Work from home cash allowance.
• Personal development plans across the team to focus on person growth.
• Dedicated external senior mentor for every team member.
• Internal coaching support.
• Regular team socials and wellbeing initiatives.
• Potential for EMI share options.
• Hundreds of perks, discounts and freebies from Pirkx.
• 24/7 counselling and mental health support.
• 24/7 telephone and online GP and prescription service.

The Opportunity

We’re looking for a Director of Business Development, a confident, relationship‑led commercial leader who thrives on opening doors and shaping growth. Working closely with the CEO, Charlie, and an advisory network of top‑tier business leaders, including Circl’s Co‑Founder Adrian (current CEO at Trustpilot), you’ll take charge of driving new business with C‑Suite and senior HR/L&D/DEI decision‑makers, positioning Circl as the go‑to partner for inclusive leadership and culture transformation.

Initially, this is a pure new business role. You won’t manage a team or existing accounts; your sole focus will be personally bringing in new clients, but in this process, you will be heavily involved in shaping Circl's commercial growth strategy, alongside Charlie and our Marketing Team. Over time, the role will evolve into leading and building out Circl’s Commercial strategy, go‑to‑market plans, and future growth.

This is your chance to lead, build and scale the commercial function of a purpose‑driven business poised for its next big leap.

Key Responsibilities

• New Business Acquisition: through your pre‑existing network of senior contacts and new outreach (with marketing support), identify, engage, and win partnerships with enterprise and mid‑market organisations aligned with Circl’s mission.
• Relationship Management: build trusted, long‑term relationships with senior stakeholders (C‑suite, HR, Talent, DEI, and L&D leaders).
• Strategic Growth: shape Circl's commercial direction through market insights, data‑led decisions, clear KPIs and scalable sales systems.
• Thought Leadership: represent Circl externally as a credible voice on inclusive leadership and coaching.
• Future Team Building: over time, play a key role in building and leading a high‑performing commercial team to deliver sustainable growth.

The Ideal Candidate

You’re an accomplished Business Developer with a natural ability to connect with senior leaders and convert conversations into partnerships. You combine strategic thinking with commercial drive and relentless tenacity. You believe deeply in coaching as a leadership tool to create genuine inclusion and social impact. You’ve had …

• Ideally 8+ years in senior B2B new business roles.
• Experience selling coaching, L&D, leadership, HR solutions or consultancy.
• A proven record of exceeding revenue targets through consultative relationship‑based selling.
• An established network of senior contacts in large and mid‑market organisations.
• Comfortable using Salesforce.
• Strategic vision and the ability to build scalable commercial structures.
• A passion for purpose‑led business, coaching and leadership development.

What Success Looks Like

• Significant new revenue growth through strategic partnerships.
• Long‑term, trusted client relationships that strengthen Circl’s impact and reach.
• Over time, a scalable, high‑performing commercial function shaped by your leadership.

Application Process

• Apply now with your CV. Please tell us why you’re interested in the role and what you would bring to it.
• Shortlisted candidates may be invited to a screening call or to submit recorded video responses via our recruitment platform.
• As this is a key role the interview process will be 3‑4 stages with a combination of Zoom and face‑to‑face interviews.
• References and DBS check (upon successful offer).

Seniority level

Director

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Marketing Services