Business Development & Engagement Manager

IMAGINE is a global leadership community dedicated to accelerating systems change for a sustainable and equitable future. Founded in 2019 at the MoMA, IMAGINE brings together corporate executives, disruptive innovators, investors, and civil society leaders to foster impactful collaborations. The organization focuses on advancing climate action, social equity, and transformational leadership across industries. Through initiatives like the Food Collective and Fashion Pact, IMAGINE empowers leaders to drive systemic change at scale.

We are looking for someone who can join within weeks, not months. Please only apply if you are available to start promptly.

This is a rare and genuinely broad commercial role, sitting at the intersection of relationship development, community stewardship, and sustainable growth. You will be the primary point of contact for prospective and existing IMAGINE Leaders, responsible for identifying the right people, welcoming them into the ecosystem, and ensuring they derive extraordinary long-term value from their membership. The role spans four interconnected areas:

• Identifying and engaging exceptional leaders who align with the IMAGINE community
• Building deep, lasting relationships that evolve well beyond initial onboarding
• Strengthening the ecosystem through matchmaking, thought leadership, and meaningful engagement
• Maintaining the commercial and operational discipline that allows IMAGINE to grow with integrity

This is not a transactional role. Success here means finding and nurturing the kind of leaders who become long-standing contributors to the community: people who refer others, participate actively, and grow with us over years, not months. You will work closely with the Director of Community & Membership and collaborate with the CFO on revenue performance, cohort composition, and relationship network visibility. The role demands someone who is equally at home in a candid strategic conversation with a senior leader as they are reviewing customer data in HubSpot.

We are looking for a commercially minded relationship builder, someone who understands that long-term value is created through trust, relevance, and genuine care for the people in their network. The right person for this role will not see business development and relationship management as separate disciplines. They will move fluidly between them, understanding that the best commercial outcomes at IMAGINE are a natural consequence of exceptional human connection.

You will bring:

• 5+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, commercial roles, or community and membership management
• A genuine track record of building high-trust relationships that translate into long-term value for both parties
• Experience managing accounts, communities, or member relationships in a quality-first environment
• Confidence and fluency with HubSpot or equivalent CRM systems. You understand the discipline of a well-managed engagement network
• Strong emotional intelligence and the interpersonal judgement to navigate complex relationships with senior leaders
• A structured, data-informed approach to managing priorities and commercial performance
• The ability to operate with autonomy in a lean, high-trust organisation, taking ownership without needing extensive infrastructure around you

While a strong foundation in commercial or sales roles is important, we are equally interested in the quality of the relationships you build and the judgment you bring to curating them. We are open to supporting development across the broader aspects of the role for the right person. IMAGINE is a lean, high-trust organisation where ownership is expected and rewarded. If you are a relationship-first commercial leader who thrives without a large support structure and wants to help build something genuinely exceptional, we would love to hear from you.