Description:
Organization Overview
The Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) is a non-profit adventure-based education organization that emphasizes personal growth through challenge and experience. For over 60 years, our wilderness courses have focused on inspiring responsibility, teamwork, confidence, compassion, and environmental and community stewardship.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Business Development Manager will play a pivotal role in leading COBS’s reach and impact in Utah by securing new funding, partnerships, and revenue streams. This role involves identifying and cultivating relationships with potential donors, grantors, and partners, as well as developing and implementing strategies to increase program sustainability and financial viability. The ideal candidate is entrepreneurial, highly relational, and passionate about outdoor education, youth development, and building community connections. This role is directly responsible for $250,000 in new revenue in FY26. This amount will increase as business in the region also increases.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in sales, fundraising, negotiation, and closing agreements.
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and secure partnership agreements.
• Experience managing sales processes within Salesforce, including lead management, opportunity tracking, and forecasting.
• 3–7 years of experience in business development, sales, partnerships, or fundraising (preferably in education, outdoor recreation, or nonprofit sectors).
• Understanding of the Utah market, including local funding community, education and youth development stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success in developing partnerships and driving revenue growth.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust-based relationships.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with strong initiative and problem-solving abilities.
• Passion for outdoor education, youth development, and equitable access to the outdoors.
• Experience and comfort working remotely with regional travel for partner meetings, events, and occasional national team gatherings.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Existing professional network in Utah’s philanthropic, education, nonprofit, or outdoor sectors.
• Experience working with diverse communities and stakeholders.
• Familiarity with outdoor education or experiential learning models.

Market Development & Partnership Building: Analyze the Utah landscape to cultivate and manage new and existing client relationships to grow COBS’s presence and impact. Research and identify sales opportunities across Utah, including school districts, charter schools, youth organizations, tribal communities, other nonprofits, and government agencies.

• Engage community stakeholders to understand regional needs and co-create responsive program offerings.
• Represent COBS at community events, conferences, and in collaborative spaces to build awareness.
• Build and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders through strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Fundraising and Revenue Generation: Collaborates with the Development Director to lead efforts to grow revenue for COBS’s Utah program through donor cultivation, strategic partnerships, grants and events.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with existing and prospective funders, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Identify and secure new revenue through institutional partnerships, individual donations, sponsorships, and other funding sources.
• Leverage events and campaigns to increase visibility and generate revenue

Growth Planning and Implementation: Drive the development and execution of a business development plan in Utah aligned with COBS’s growth goals, including clear objectives, timelines, and success metrics.

• Track performance to plan and provide regular reports on progress to school leadership.
• Analyze data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• Work to ensure the long-term financial health of programs by developing strategies for diversification of funding and revenue generation.
• Improve customer experience through process improvements that will support growth.

Requirements: