Business Development Manager

Business Development Manager 

Position Title: Business Development Manager
Target Start Date: September 28, 2026
Department: Business Development
Hours per Week: 5-12 hrs
Duration: 6 Months
Application Deadline: September 21, 2026
Immediate Supervisor: James Lucey
Supervisor Title: Chief Operating Officer
Compensation: Hourly
Range: $15-$20 an hour, based on experience.

Position summary

The Business Development Manager at Skipper AI owns their own client outreach pipeline from first contact through an active account. You'll work with Skipper leadership to source target companies, run your own outreach and follow-up scheduling, and learn the AI solutions Skipper AI works with well enough to apply them directly in client conversations, spotting real use cases as they come up. When an account moves from a conversation into a real relationship, you become its account manager, owning the stakeholder management, scheduling, and ongoing coordination that keeps it moving toward adoption. This is a role built around ownership: you run the pipeline, you learn the tools, and you carry the relationship. The ideal candidate is self-directed, curious about how AI actually gets used inside a business, and motivated by delivering results and building relationships. This is a part-time position with real ownership from day one.

Success factors

• Manages their own schedule while staying in sync with Skipper leadership and internal stakeholders.
• Keeps stakeholder relationships organized and consistent over time, internal and external alike.
• Curious and motivated to learn the tools of the role, and eager to apply them beyond the internal use case into real client conversations.
• Intentional and efficient with time, from client and stakeholder interactions to the research and preparation that comes before them.
• Strongly represents Skipper AI's brand and values in every communication.
• Genuinely aspires to ownership in day-to-day work, not just told what to do.
• Comfortable with both sides of outreach and relationship-building, the setbacks as much as the wins.

Required qualifications | Position competencies & skills

• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to conduct research and apply it to outreach that feels genuine and relevant.
• Excited about building and maintaining new relationships through different communication streams.
• Organized and disciplined with time management, able to balance multiple accounts, conversations, follow-ups, and projects at once.
• Self-directed and accountable, takes ownership of their work, and pursues critiques with a positive growth mindset.
• Quick to pick up new tools, will be onboarded on Jira, Confluence, and the AI solutions Skipper AI works with.
• Comfortable in an early-stage environment where priorities shift and not everything is defined yet.

Preferred qualifications

• Has independently started and carried a project through to completion, a side business, app, product, or initiative of their own.
• Some experience with software or technical tools.
• Interest in AI, enterprise software, or business development.
• Interest in public speaking or presenting.
• Curiosity about how businesses adopt new technology.

Position responsibilities

Internal communication and check-ins

• Join regular check-ins with Skipper leadership to align on target accounts and strategy.
• Come prepared with a point of view, not just a status update.
• Communicate proactively on scheduling conflicts, blockers, or shifts in priority.

Preparation and research

• Research target companies and contacts to identify real entry points and angles.
• Work closely with Skipper leadership and stakeholders to make sure your client prep is as sharp as it can be.
• Learn the AI solutions Skipper AI works with well enough to speak to them credibly.

Pipeline management and outreach

• Own and run your own outreach pipeline from first contact onward.
• Record interactions, take notes, and write follow-ups to keep every relationship moving.
• Manage scheduling and follow-up so nothing goes cold.
• Once an account becomes active, step into the account manager role, owning stakeholder coordination and next steps toward adoption.

What you will gain

• Full ownership over a real client relationship, from the first outreach to active adoption.
• Direct access to Skipper AI leadership, working alongside the people actually building the company, not through layers of management.
• Hands-on experience with AI solutions and how businesses actually adopt them, not just theory.
• A measurable track record: accounts opened, relationships managed, and real outcomes you can point to.
• A front-row seat to how an early-stage AI consultancy operates and grows.

Work designation

• This position is fully remote. All core responsibilities are performed independently and do not require a fixed on-site schedule.
• The team looks for opportunities to meet in person when project timelines and individual schedules align. These gatherings are intentional but informal, driven by shared momentum rather than a fixed cadence.

Skipper AI core values

Trust and Transparency. We communicate openly, follow through on commitments, and treat every client and colleague with honesty. Trust is the foundation of every relationship we build.

Humble Hunger. There's more to a failed task than the task itself; every mistake carries a lesson, and progress in anything is still progress forward. It's okay to be wrong, as long as you admit it. What matters is being hungry more often than you are wrong.

Have Hard Conversations. One's success in life is directly correlated to their ability to have hard conversations. Conversations are hard if you are passionate, and two passionate people in a room is a rare thing.

About Skipper AI

In the last year, we have worked with 8 companies, on countless projects, and have shipped things that did and didn't work. Importantly, we have captured the themes behind what leads to success or failure, and have not found a use case since those learnings did not apply. Skipper AI exists to not skip them. We've driven 90%+ adoption not because of the platform we picked, but because we refuse to skip the intentional steps. Intentionality through change has never been more important. The tools are the easy part; it's the steps most firms rush past, the change management in between where AI actually sticks or quietly dies.