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

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

A director of international business development runs an organization's international programs. Their aim is to secure and maintain business growth. They work closely with the business development team to establish and deepen relationships with clients and business partners. They seek and seize fresh business opportunities for international operations. By keeping a keen eye on market trends and opportunities, they formulate strategic plans and present these projections to senior management.

Once their organization's strategies are established, a director of international business development ensures that negotiations and other activities run smoothly. They may also assume the task of choosing key personnel about proposal efforts. Typically, they supervise and direct multiple teams with varying focus and roles.

To become a director of international business development, a master's degree in international relations, business administration, or any related field is required. Some employers prefer candidates with at least ten years of experience in international market.

What general advice would you give to a director, international 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, International Business DevelopmentUS Average
Salary
7.9

Avg. Salary $112,698

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 17.92%

male 82.08%

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, international business development career paths

Key steps to become a director, international business development

  1. Explore director, international business development education requirements

    Most common director, international business development degrees

    Bachelor's

    65.6 %

    Master's

    25.1 %

    Associate

    4.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific director, international business development skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Business Plan8.45%
    Strategic Plan8.32%
    Business Strategy8.05%
    International Business Development7.04%
    International Markets6.89%
  3. Complete relevant director, international business development training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors, international 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, international business development based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director, international business development resumes.
  4. Research director, international business development duties and responsibilities

    • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
    • Develop and implement the international website s SEO strategy to improve search engine rankings.
    • Develop new sales in UK, Belgium, Germany and open new technical support office in Germany.
    • Improve sales performance and identify strategic opportunities through the evaluation of standardize SalesForce pipeline review across regions and business segments.
  5. Get director, international business development experience

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

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director, international 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, international 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, international business development resume templates

    Build a professional director, international 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, international business development resume.
    Director, International Business Development Resume
    Director, International Business Development Resume
    Director, International Business Development Resume
    Director, International Business Development Resume
    Director, International Business Development Resume
    Director, International Business Development Resume
    Director, International Business Development Resume
    Director, International Business Development Resume
    Director, International Business Development Resume
  7. Apply for director, international business development jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a director, international 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, international business development job

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Average director, international business development salary

The average director, international business development salary in the United States is $112,698 per year or $54 per hour. Director, international business development salaries range between $70,000 and $180,000 per year.

Average director, international business development salary
$112,698 Yearly
$54.18 hourly

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Director, international business development reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Pros

Innovating a business model is key for a profitable business and growth. Without a proper and sustainable business model, even the best product or technology innovations will not flourish. Learn the skills and knowledge needed to start improving your business as you learn through real-life examples from fellow entrepreneurs, innovators and leading experts on business model innovation. Benefit business owners, entrepreneurs, business consultants or business developers who seek better understanding of business models and the tools to develop them.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Cons

Politics, toxic work environment, having to work with real sob.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Pros

The opportunity to be in touch with people from different countries since I speak 8 languages, and I am an Engineer.


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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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