Business Development Assistant Jobs in Chicago, IL

For more than three decades, premier organizations have trusted IPM to lead the successful execution of their strategic portfolios and critically important initiatives. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in Boston, Parsippany, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, IPM has led more than 5,000 projects for over 500 clients. Our clients range from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups.

We are a certified "Great Place to Work" company and have been named to the Great Place to Work list of "Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services."

The Business Development Coordinator a role internal to IPM and serves as a central support resource for IPM's Industry Teams and Strategic Growth function, helping drive business development effectiveness through CRM administration, proposal support, market research, partnership coordination, reporting, and AI-enabled business intelligence. This role contributes to both industry-specific and corporate business development initiatives by supporting client pursuit activities, maintaining business development systems and processes, and enabling informed decision-making through research and analytics.

This entry-level role is responsible for maintaining Salesforce data quality, supporting proposal and contract administration, preparing client and market research, and ensuring key business development activities are executed efficiently and consistently across the organization.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, technology-savvy, and eager to build a long-term career in business development

• Enter, maintain, and update pipeline information, sales activities, and account engagement data within Salesforce and other approved business development systems.
• Ensure data integrity and consistency across business development platforms.
• Develop and distribute recurring pipeline reports, dashboards, and business development metrics.
• Support Industry Directors and Strategic Growth leaders with account and opportunity tracking.
• Assist with forecasting activities and business development planning efforts.
• Maintain and organize proposal content, case studies, credentials, and other business development resources.
• Assist in the development, coordination, and review of proposals, statements of work, and related client-facing materials.
• Support contract administration and pursuit-related activities.
• Coordinate internal business development meetings and follow-up action items.
• Support initiatives that strengthen IPM's market visibility, brand recognition, and thought leadership.
• Utilize Microsoft Copilot and other approved AI tools to accelerate research and business development workflows.
• Create pre-meeting briefing packages and account intelligence reports.
• Support target account planning and strategic pursuit development.
• Conduct market, competitor, and industry research to identify trends and opportunities.
• Prepare analyses and reports that support business development decision-making.
• Track referral opportunities, alliance activities, and partnership engagement efforts.
• Schedule and coordinate partnership meetings, quarterly business reviews, and follow-up activities.
• Participate in internal business development and operations meetings as required.
• Support network and opportunity pipeline growth through research, outreach coordination, and business development initiatives.
• Assist with buyer-enablement activities and content development efforts.

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business administration, communications, management or a related field.
• 2+ years of professional experience.
• Internship or previous experience in sales support, marketing, customer success, or administrative support roles preferred.
• Computer literacy in all MS Office applications.
• Strong aptitude for learning business systems and technology platforms.
• Interest and exposure to utilizing AI as a tool to enhance and accelerate work efforts.
• Experience with Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Copilot, Power BI, or similar tools is preferred but not required.
• Professional communications skills (verbal and written).
• Strong organization, prioritization, and interpersonal skills.
• Proven initiative and follow through, with a high attention to detail.
• Demonstrated work ethic, integrity, and professional conduct.
• Curiosity and willingness to continuously learn and grow knowledge and skillset through earning relevant certifications, attending training courses, and/or seeking out additional resources.

• Engaging culture:IPM has a caring, nurturing culture with a transparent communication approach and culture-building and team-building events, both regional and company-wide.
• Professional development:This role is intentionally designed as a development opportunity. IPM invests heavily in training, mentorship, and experiential learning to help employees build long-term careers. You are IPM's future - we only promote from within.
• Comprehensive compensation and benefits program:including 100% employer-paid health for employees and 80% paid health for dependents; 401(k)matching, performance bonus, relocation assistance, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation, holiday, personal and sick time, among many others; salary range is $50,000 to $85,000 dependent on experience.
• Philanthropy: We are devoted to the communities we serve and actively promote employee involvement in community improvement projects. We have created "Project Mercy" to channel our philanthropic efforts every quarter.

Disclaimer: Where a specific pay range is noted, it is a good faith estimate at the time of this posting. The actual salary offered will be based on experience, skills, qualifications, and market / business considerations.

IPM is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment.

IPM's hybrid work environment requires a minimum of three in-office days each week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Additional in-office days may be required based on business needs and meetings.