Market Strategy Business Unit Director

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior leader overseeing BWBR’s integrated marketing, communications, and business development functions.
• Partner with firm leadership to help shape and implement firmwide growth strategy, market positioning, and business priorities.
• Lead development and execution of annual and long-range marketing and business development strategies aligned with BWBR’s strategic plan, market practice goals, regional growth priorities, and evolving market opportunities.
• Lead and support strategic firm initiatives, including annual strategy updates, mergers and acquisitions, integration efforts, and other growth or transition-related priorities.
• Help position BWBR as a nationally recognized design firm through intentional brand differentiation, visibility, thought leadership, and market-facing storytelling initiatives.
• Provide leadership, strategic guidance, and ongoing support to Market Practice Leaders (MPLs), strengthening alignment between market practice strategy, client development, marketing priorities, and business development efforts.
• Facilitate collaboration, annual planning, and strategy updates across market practices to identify growth opportunities, share market intelligence, and strengthen alignment between market practice priorities and firmwide direction.
• Support development and implementation of market practice plans, including strategic targeting, positioning, client engagement, and visibility priorities.
• Partner with MPLs to strengthen seller-doer engagement, cross-sector collaboration, and market-facing leadership across the firm.
• Lead BWBR’s integrated marketing, communications, and brand strategy, ensuring alignment across all client, employee, digital, and market-facing touchpoints.
• Provide leadership, direction, and support to key managers within the Marketing and Communications teams, fostering collaboration, accountability, and professional growth across the business unit.
• Evaluate marketing and communications capabilities, structure, and resourcing needs to raise brand recognition for long-term growth.
• Guide BWBR’s brand positioning, messaging, and storytelling to strengthen differentiation, elevate visibility, and reinforce the firm’s strategic goals across priority markets and geographies.
• Serve as the firm’s senior communications and brand leader, leading external visibility initiatives including public relations, thought leadership, industry recognition, digital visibility, content strategy, and market-facing storytelling.
• Partner with firm leadership, MPLs, and design staff to elevate stories, messaging, and communications that reinforce BWBR’s expertise, culture, innovation, and strategic positioning across proposals, presentations, digital platforms, and firmwide communications.
• Guide communications and implement messaging related to strategic initiatives, growth priorities, market expansion efforts, mergers and acquisitions, and major firm announcements or transitions.
• Provide leadership, direction, and support to the Business Development Key Manager and broader business development function, helping strengthen firmwide business development strategy and collaboration.
• Partner with firm leadership and Market Practice Leaders (MPLs) to advance client engagement strategies, strategic pursuit planning, and market development efforts.
• Guide development and continuous improvement of go/no-go processes, capture planning approaches, pursuit strategy frameworks, and client development tools.
• Support key client development, cross-sector collaboration, and strategic market expansion efforts while aligning marketing, communications, and visibility initiatives with business development priorities.
• In collaboration with firm leadership and MPLs, support the continued evolution of seller-doer development initiatives, including BWBR’s Next Generation program, to strengthen business development capabilities and future leadership growth across the firm.
• Lead, mentor, and support marketing, graphics, communications, and business development staff in a collaborative, high-performing, team-oriented environment.
• Foster accountability, innovation, professional growth, and a culture of continuous improvement across the business unit.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships throughout the firm, encouraging collaboration between technical teams, market leadership, and growth-focused initiatives.
• Guide staffing strategy, prioritization, resource allocation, and organizational development efforts to ensure teams are structured and supported to meet evolving business needs and long-term growth objectives.
• Establish and monitor metrics, market intelligence, client insights, and performance data to evaluate effectiveness, inform strategic decisions, guide investment priorities, and measure overall return on investment.
• Lead development and management of the annual Market Strategy Business Unit budget, aligning staffing, marketing investments, visibility initiatives, sponsorships, and strategic resources with firm priorities and growth objectives.
• Partner with the CEO to establish annual sales projections, growth targets, and market priorities that inform firmwide revenue planning and strategic decision-making.
• Support continuous improvement of systems, processes, tools, emerging technologies, and reporting approaches that strengthen operational effectiveness, business insight, scalability, and innovation across the business unit.

  Qualifications & Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Journalism, Public Relations, or related field.
  • 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in marketing, communications, business development, or growth strategy roles within the A/E/C industry.
  • Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Demonstrated success leading integrated marketing and business development initiatives in a collaborative, relationship-driven environment.
  • Experience leading teams, mentoring staff, influencing senior leadership, and navigating complex organizational dynamics.
  • Strong understanding of strategic planning, client development, pursuit strategy, and brand positioning.
  • Exceptional communication, presentation, facilitation, and storytelling skills.
  • Experience leading organizational change, integration efforts, or strategic transformation initiatives.
  • Awareness of emerging marketing technologies, digital tools, and evolving industry practices impacting marketing, communications, and business development within the A/E/C industry.
  • Familiarity with CRM systems (Deltek), marketing analytics, digital marketing platforms, and content management systems.

  Key Leadership Characteristics

  • Strategic and future-focused leader.
  • Collaborative and relationship-driven communicator.
  • Curious with strong business and marketing acumen.
  • Adaptable, emotionally intelligent, and solutions oriented.
  • Capable of balancing vision, operational execution, and accountability.
  • Trusted leader who handles confidential and sensitive information with professionalism and discretion.