How to hire a head of business development

How to hire a head of business development, step by step

Here's a step-by-step head of business development hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a head of business development job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new head of business development
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a head of business development do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a head of business development, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A head of business development's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, heads of business development from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of heads of business development and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Head Of Business Development	Description	Hourly rate
   Head Of Business Development	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$45-91
   Business Partner	A business partner is an individual who is involved in a legal business partnership with other individuals to manage a business as co-owners. Business partners invest their money into the business, and each partner benefits from any profits and sustains part of any losses... Show more	$31-67
   Development Manager	A development manager is responsible for assisting existing clients or potential clients of the services they need. A development manager serves as the initial point of contact for the clients to answer their inquiries and concerns before proceeding with a contract... Show more	$36-76

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Cloud
   • C++
   • Project Management
   • Cloud Computing
   • R
   • HR
   • Product Development
   • Shared Services
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • KPIs
   • Software Development
   • Digital Transformation
   • Emerging Technologies
   • Strategic Partnerships

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop the company's online presence through website and Facebook that lead to business expansion to markets of UK, Denmark.
   • Implement and customize CRM database used to manage all development activities.
   • Lead and manage large RFP responses to ensure corporate objectives for profitability, sustainability, and operational delivery objectives are meet.
   • Hire a top tier SQL developer for data warehouse and reporting activities.
   • Plan and maintain company presence on forums and social networks, including Facebook.
   • Initiate project for upgrading CRM and re-design of flow of communication between cross-functional teams.

   More head of business development duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your head of business development job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A head of business development salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, heads of business development' average salary in hawaii is 41% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level heads of business development earn 51% less than senior-level heads of business development.
   • Certifications. A head of business development with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a head of business development's salary.

   Average head of business development salary

   $134,190yearly

   $64.51 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level head of business development salary

   $94,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average head of business development salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$161,180	$77
   2	Massachusetts	$159,041	$76
   3	Nevada	$158,033	$76
   4	California	$156,607	$75
   5	Connecticut	$156,427	$75
   6	Arizona	$149,003	$72
   7	New York	$145,686	$70
   8	New Jersey	$140,247	$67
   9	Indiana	$139,708	$67
   10	Virginia	$136,427	$66
   11	Michigan	$134,882	$65
   12	Minnesota	$134,146	$64
   13	District of Columbia	$130,304	$63
   14	North Carolina	$121,311	$58
   15	North Dakota	$117,248	$56
   16	Texas	$114,435	$55
   17	Illinois	$111,169	$53
   18	Colorado	$109,090	$52
   19	Georgia	$105,104	$51
   20	Florida	$102,423	$49

   Average head of business development salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$201,995	$97.11	198
   2	Google	$193,403	$92.98	169
   3	Poshmark	$177,017	$85.10
   4	Bloomberg	$171,536	$82.47	23
   5	ByteDance	$171,380	$82.39	3
   6	Oculus	$171,173	$82.29
   7	Reddit	$170,357	$81.90	3
   8	Penske Media	$166,173	$79.89	2
   9	Agenus	$165,534	$79.58	1
   10	Cloudflare	$164,261	$78.97	14
   11	Inter-American Development Bank	$161,966	$77.87
   12	Economists Incorporated	$160,459	$77.14
   13	AstraZeneca	$158,074	$76.00	17
   14	TinyCo	$154,486	$74.27
   15	Balyasny Asset Management L.P.	$154,320	$74.19
   16	Atlassian	$154,304	$74.18	29
   17	The Economist Newspaper Group	$153,290	$73.70	3
   18	Intuit	$153,106	$73.61	132
   19	Walgreens	$152,852	$73.49	7
   20	Microsoft	$151,165	$72.68	218

4. Writing a head of business development job description

   A job description for a head of business development role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a head of business development job description:

   Head of business development job description example

   Paradigm is a San Francisco-based crypto investment firm with over $10 billion in assets under management. We make investments in companies and protocols at all stages, ranging from early-stage venture financing rounds to growth equity to liquid token assets.
   
   Paradigm was co-founded in 2018 by Matt Huang (former Partner at Sequoia Capital) and Fred Ehrsam (co-founder of Coinbase). Crypto is unique among asset classes in terms of the pace of its development, and we believe that a deep understanding of blockchains and an ongoing commitment to technical excellence is critical to our success.
   
   In the last four years, we've been hard at work building a world-class team to identify investment opportunities, contribute to crypto research and support our portfolio of 40+ investments. We also have a vested interest in the crypto ecosystem globally and a broader goal of accelerating crypto's ability to advance the world we live in. We believe that crypto will ultimately redefine money, finance, and the internet itself, and this technological revolution will have a fundamental and long-lasting impact on the global economy.
   
   We've built a reputation as serious, engineering-driven investors who make meaningful contributions to the projects we support. As our investment activity continues to grow, we're in a unique position to kickstart our portfolio projects' development by connecting them to one another. Given that, we're looking to add our first market development partner to lead that function. In addition to advising our portfolio companies on their business development, sales and marketing strategies, this person will build a Paradigm-internal network of business opportunities for them, and will disseminate best practices throughout the group. Ultimately, this person will define the gold standard for GTM approaches within crypto, and will help coach our portfolio companies from product ideation all the way through multibillion-dollar scale.
   
   This role will report to Paradigm's Chief Operating Officer, and will work closely with our investment partners and the rest of our operating team.
   
   ResponsibilitiesCreate and sustain an internal network of business relationships that provides every new portfolio company with a ready-made market before the ink on their term sheet is dry Solidify Paradigm's position as founders' top-choice investor within the web3 ecosystem Coach founders toward good strategic decisions when thinking through tricky growth challenges in collaboration with the investing and research teams Develop and deploy expertise on a wide range of crypto-native business models, ranging from infrastructure projects to decentralized finance to consumer applications Empower the Paradigm team to act as an extension of portfolio companies' business development efforts Create and maintain key vendor and outside partner relationships, ensuring we work with the best people to achieve the firm's objectives Navigate a fast-paced environment and be comfortable with executing on tight timelines
   Qualifications and AttributesDeep experience building globally successful growth and business development teams An interest in crypto and belief in its potential World-class communication skills in both large-scale and 1:1 settings Excellent organizational and logistical skills Intense curiosity and open-mindedness Scrappiness; willingness to roll up sleeves Team player Growth mindset

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right head of business development for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your head of business development job on Zippia to find and recruit head of business development candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting heads of business development requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new head of business development

   Once you've found the head of business development candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new head of business development first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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