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What is a director, global business development and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Andrew Spicer

A director of global business development is responsible for preparing and delivering business development strategies to globally grow a business or an organization. Essentially, these individuals are responsible for maintaining and growing a company's business presence in countries and markets around the world. These professionals serve as important members of a business team and work on managing all aspects of global acquisitions and establishing plans to increase business and seek out new markets.

A director of global business development is in charge of strategic marketing, planning, and business operations, and they set objectives and processes in reaching corporate goals. These individuals typically work in an office environment during a typical work week but may be required to travel as necessary. They spend most of their time reviewing contracts, negotiating with business units and clients, and partnering with business leaders to ensure the mitigation of market risks. A director of global business development should possess excellent communication, leadership, and organizational skills and be adept at conducting research and analyzing potential global markets.

Most individuals acting as a director of global business development have an advanced degree in business, marketing, or a related field. In this field, directors can make up to $138,000 a year in the US, and the career field is expected to grow 8% by 2028.

What general advice would you give to a director, global business development?

Andrew Spicer

Associate Professor, Website

Resiliency is a particularly important skill for international business and career progression. Resiliency – the ability to recover quickly in the face of obstacles and failures – has always been a critical part of successful international assignments. The only constant of working abroad is that there will be miscommunication and mistakes. Successful international business careers depend on the ability to learn from these inevitable setbacks to improve over time. The constant change in the global business environment also leads to the demand for resiliency among international business specialists. An important role for those with a global mindset is to help companies adapt to the massive disruption to the global business environment for international trade and investment presently taking place across the world.
ScoreDirector, Global Business DevelopmentUS Average
Salary
8.5

Avg. Salary $135,899

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 21.27%

male 78.73%

Age - 38
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38
Stress level
7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Director, global business development career paths

Key steps to become a director, global business development

  1. Explore director, global business development education requirements

    Most common director, global business development degrees

    Bachelor's

    68.2 %

    Master's

    24.6 %

    Associate

    3.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific director, global business development skills

    SkillsPercentages
    R6.88%
    Business Strategy6.52%
    Global Business Development6.41%
    Technical Support6.00%
    Lead Generation5.53%
  3. Complete relevant director, global business development training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors, global business development learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director, global business development based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director, global business development resumes.
  4. Research director, global business development duties and responsibilities

    • Lead team to streamline logistics transactional processing.
    • Lead the RFP process to select a consulting partner.
    • Spearhead the OEM organization to consistently achieve profitable growth, sustain new business generation and cutting-edge product innovation.
    • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
  5. Get director, global business development experience

    Generally, it takes 8-10 years to become a director, global business development. The most common roles before becoming a director, global business development include director, business development director team lead and director of sales.
  6. Prepare your director, global business development resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director, global business development resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director, global business development resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable director, global business development resume templates

    Build a professional director, global business development resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director, global business development resume.
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
    Director, Global Business Development Resume
  7. Apply for director, global business development jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a director, global business development job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first director, global business development job

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Average director, global business development salary

The average director, global business development salary in the United States is $135,899 per year or $65 per hour. Director, global business development salaries range between $96,000 and $192,000 per year.

Average director, global business development salary
$135,899 Yearly
$65.34 hourly

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Director, global business development reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2023
Pros

Rule of thumb with international travel is be ready for serious jet-lag!

Cons

rule of thumb with international travel is to have jet-lag non-stop!


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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