Fractional business development jobs · hire a fractional BD director, or hire a business development director for good

Fractional business development jobs: what a BD director owns

Business development is the work of finding revenue the business does not have yet. A fractional BD director owns that for part of the week: which new markets and customer types to go after, which partners and channels to build, which large accounts to open, and which tenders to bid for. The difference from a sales director is direction. A sales director runs the team that converts demand already in the pipeline; a BD director creates the routes that feed it.

Director-level, not manager-level

Many searches are for a fractional business development manager. That is usually a more junior hire: an individual who works a territory or a list of accounts to a plan somebody else set. This page is about the director seat that sets the plan. If what you need is meetings in the diary, fractional SDR capacity is the cheaper fix. If the pipeline is healthy and the team needs leading, hire a fractional head of sales.

Business development in the public sector

For a supplier to government, business development means bids. Public contracts are advertised on Contracts Finder and, for high-value contracts, on the Find a Tender service; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own portals. A BD director decides which frameworks and tenders are worth the effort, and a fractional bid manager writes and runs the bids.

Fractional business development consultant: adviser or leader?

A fractional business development consultant and a fractional BD director can be the same person on different terms. A consultant delivers a defined piece of work, such as a market study, a partner shortlist or an introduction campaign, and then leaves. A fractional BD director holds a seat: named on the leadership team, answerable for results between visits, and managing whoever does the outreach.

The label does not settle the employment status. GOV.UK notes that a person may be an employee in employment law but have a different status for tax purposes. Where the consultant works through their own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply. A medium or large client makes the status determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides, and HMRC sets out the size tests in its guidance for clients. Status turns on how the engagement runs in practice. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.

Some BD consultants work on commission. For an employee, Acas says commission should be in the written statement of employment particulars. For a consultant through their own company, any link between pay and results is a term agreed between the business and the consultant. Write down what counts as a win and when it is paid.