Business Development Officer

The Business Development Officer (BDO) serves as Desert Financial Credit Unions outbound sales and member-acquisition engine within an assigned market. This is a dedicated hunting role focused on systematically converting employer group relationships, high-volume hiring businesses, and emerging organizations into a sustained pipeline of new members for the credit union. The BDO operates as an equal partner to Branch Managers across the assigned market, maintaining a bidirectional lead-flow relationship in which the BDO sources prospects in the field and routes them to branches for white-glove service delivery, while branches surface member-level opportunities for BDO follow-up.

The BDO focuses squarely on the employees of those businesses as prospective members - with measurable conversion outcomes, documented pipeline discipline, and a defined return on investment. Reporting to the Market Manager, the BDO independently identifies and prioritizes target employer groups, executes targeted event attendance with a specific conversion ask, and maintains active working relationships with branch leadership to sustain a healthy mix of self-sourced business, recurring high-volume hiring partners, and branch-referred member conversions.

What you will do here:

Prospecting, Cold Outreach & Pipeline Management

Independently identify, qualify, and prioritize target employer groups, emerging businesses, and high-volume hiring organizations within the assigned market.

Conduct direct outbound outreach to HR departments, office managers, and business decision-makers; secure meetings, on-site visits, and employer-group enrollment opportunities without requiring prompting or warm introductions.

Maintain a documented, actively managed pipeline in the designated CRM platform - tracking lead status, outreach cadence, in-flight opportunities, and conversion outcomes - to demonstrate ROI and inform market-level planning.

Convert qualified prospects into routed referrals to branch partners for service delivery; own the prospect relationship through hand-off and follow up to confirm member conversion.

Targeted Event Attendance & Execution

Attend and actively work strategic partnership events (including university, sports, and other contractual obligations owned by the Market Manager), chamber and referral-network gatherings, and employer-facing opportunities - each with a defined conversion ask, not brand awareness alone.

Plan and execute on-site enrollment events, lunch-and-learns, benefits fairs, and employer-group sessions in coordination with branch partners and business HR contacts.

Adjudicate event ROI in collaboration with the Market Manager; recommend continuation, expansion, or sunset of recurring events based on documented conversion outcomes.

Represent Desert Financial professionally in unfamiliar social and business settings; build rapport quickly across audiences and convert presence into pipeline.

Branch Partnership & Inbound Lead Management

Receive, qualify, and act on leads surfaced by Branch Managers through member interactions; respond within defined service expectations and close the loop on outcomes.

Maintain active, peer-level working relationships with Branch Managers across the assigned market to sustain bidirectional lead flow and shared accountability for market-level growth.

Coordinate with the Business Banking Development Officer to hand off commercial account opportunities that surface through BDO prospecting activity.

Partner with branch teams to ensure a consistent, white-glove member experience from referral through onboarding.

What you will need:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related discipline required.

A demonstrated sales track record is accepted as a direct substitute for formal education preferred.

2+ years of relevant sales experience required, with a documented record of meeting or exceeding individual quota or conversion targets required.

B2B or consultative sales background strongly preferred; experience managing a self-built pipeline from cold outreach through close is essential required.

Experience in sales roles that demand fast rapport-building and proactive closing without a captive audience. (for example: automotive sales, consumer goods or beverage brand promotion, staffing or recruiting sales) preferred.

Strong working knowledge of credit union products, membership eligibility, and Desert Financials value proposition; ability to articulate the consumer-side benefits clearly to non-financial audiences.

Builds Networks Actively cultivates and leverages relationships to source opportunity; does not wait for introductions or warm leads. Treats every interaction as a potential pipeline entry point required.

Customer Focus Reads a room, builds rapport quickly, and orients toward the prospects stated and unstated interests. Translates member needs into a clear value proposition on the spot required.

Interpersonal Savvy Communicates effectively across levels and contexts - from business HR coordinators to business owners to branch leadership. Natural and credible in unfamiliar social and business settings required.

Situational Adaptability Adjusts approach based on the audience and environment without losing effectiveness. Pivots smoothly between an event floor, a business HR directors office, and a branch huddle required.

Action Oriented Takes initiative without prompting; pursues leads and opportunities with urgency and personal accountability. Defaults to outbound motion rather than passive presence required.

Awareness of and adherence to standard regulatory requirements for member-facing activity required.

Comfort operating independently in the field across a defined geographic market; prior experience managing a territory or book of accounts strongly preferred required.

Expertise working in or with a CRM platform (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, or equivalent) to track outreach, lead status, and conversion outcomes required.

Optimizes Work Processes Specifically pipeline discipline - the ability to document outreach, lead status, and conversion outcomes in a CRM or equivalent system.to demonstrates ROI required.

Cultivates Innovation Proactively identifies new target markets, emerging employer opportunities, and untapped segments within the assigned market without being directed to them required.

Valid Arizona driver license. Motor vehicle record will be screened and the incumbent must meet Company guidelines required.

NMLS - Nationwide Multistate Licensing System Ability to be registered through the Nationwide Mortgage Lending System and Registry (NMLS)

We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.

For additional information about our organization, careers, and benefits visit: http://www.desertfinancial.com/careers.