Manager, Business Development

If you’re excited about building systems that empower others to lead and want to help shape Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurial, AI-ready talent for the future of work, we’d love to hear from you!

Venture for Canada is a national registered charity equipping talent across Canada with the entrepreneurial skills, mindset, and opportunities to succeed in a 21st-century economy increasingly shaped by rapid change and emerging technology. We believe that to be entrepreneurial is to act upon opportunities to create value for others. The resourcefulness and creativity of people across Canada are essential to addressing our country’s greatest challenges. Venture for Canada serves as a catalyst by empowering individuals to create a more prosperous, inclusive, and innovative society.

Since 2013, Venture for Canada has grown in meaningful ways, and we’re excited to expand our team with values-aligned individuals who can contribute to what we’re building. To learn more about our hiring process and workplace philosophy, visit our Careers page.
Role Overview

The Manager, Business Development is responsible for driving participation in Venture for Canada ’s programs through proactive business development, prospecting, and relationship-building.
The role has two core portfolios:

- Employer acquisition – building a pipeline of SMEs and employers for VFC’s Internship, Intrapreneurship, AI Adoption, and other employer-facing programs.

- Institutional partnerships – developing relationships with post-secondary institutions, incubators, accelerators, and other organizations that can drive program enrolment, bulk seat purchases, and white-labelled program sales.

The relative focus across employer acquisition and institutional partnerships may shift over the course of the contract based on VFC’s program priorities, growth targets, and capacity needs.

This is a results-driven role for someone who enjoys prospecting, opening doors, pitching, building relationships, and converting interest into measurable program growth.
Key Role Responsibilities
Employer Acquisition

- Build and manage a national pipeline of prospective SMEs and employer communities for Venture for Canada ’s employer-facing programs

- Proactively identify, prospect, and engage new employers through outbound outreach, referrals, networking, events, and other business development channels

- Develop relationships with business networks, industry associations, chambers of commerce, and other organizations that provide scalable access to prospective employers

- Clearly articulate Venture for Canada ’s value proposition and generate qualified employer interest in participating in Venture for Canada programs

- Consistently follow up with prospective employers and move opportunities toward submission of an employer interest form

- Develop and deliver employer-facing webinars, presentations, information sessions, and other activities designed to generate employer leads

- Attend relevant business and industry events to generate leads, build relationships, and promote Venture for Canada programs

- Identify and test new employer acquisition channels and outreach strategies

- Develop repeatable business development approaches that allow Venture for Canada to efficiently scale employer acquisition

- Meet established targets for employer pipeline, qualified leads, and employer interest generated

Institutional Partnerships & Program Growth

- Build and manage a pipeline of post-secondary institutions, incubators, accelerators, employers, and other organizations that provide access to VFC’s target program participants.

- Proactively identify, prospect, and engage institutional partners through outbound outreach, networking, referrals, and events.

- Build referral relationships that generate qualified prospective participants for VFC’s programs.

- Identify and sell opportunities for institutions to purchase bulk program seats or white-labelled VFC programming for their