Business Development Specialist

NOW HIRING Business Development Specialist

The Business Development Specialist – responsible for identifying, engaging, and converting net new small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients for Harbour Air. This role plays a critical part in expanding our SME customer base by driving new account acquisition, accelerating time to first booking, and delivering incremental revenue.  The primary function of this job is to secure SME businesses into Harbour Air's SME program. The ideal candidate is a proactive, strategic thinker who is passionate about relationship-building and thrives in a collaborative team environment

WORK HOURS: Monday to Friday 

LOCATION: Head Office, Downtown Vancouver (Hybrid Option)

TERM: Full Time Regular (Permanent)

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: Competitive wages, training and development, opportunities for growth, extended medical, dental, life, and disability insurance, flight perks (including Buddy Passes and global inter-airline partnerships), revenue sharing, RRSP matching program, discounts at local restaurants and travel partner organizations, staff events and much more

Responsibilities and Expectations

• Build, structure, and actively manage a high-volume SME acquisition pipeline, focused on speed of conversion and repeatable wins.
• Proactively research and prioritize SME prospects, identifying decision-makers, buying behaviors, and travel patterns to enable efficient outbound prospecting.
• Maintain consistent outbound activity levels (calls, meetings, proposals) to ensure sustainable pipeline generation.
• Foster relationships with key stakeholders within target organizations generate interest, uncover needs, and drive new account conversions.
• Actively manage the full SME sales cycle from outreach and qualification through proposal, agreement, and first booking, with a focus on standardized propositions.
• Execute Harbour Air's SME acquisition approach using pre-defined commercial frameworks, pricing guardrails, and value propositions, escalating exceptions only where required. 
• Collaborate with internal teams and the Corporate Account Manager as required to support proposals and agreements, while maintaining clear ownership of SME acquisition outcomes. Ensure all sales activities align with Harbour Air's strategic priorities, service offering, and brand standards.
• Track and report on pipeline health, conversion metrics, and revenue projections, ensuring clear visibility into sales performance.
• Monitor SME market trends, competitor activity, and customer feedback to inform prospecting priorities and refine acquisition approaches. Monitor customer feedback, travel patterns, and evolving business needs to recommend adjustments to product offerings or sales approaches.
• Provide practical, field-led insights to support ongoing refinement of SME offers, tools, and go-to-market execution. Relationship Building & Stakeholder Engagement
• Establish and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with existing and prospective SME clients, partners, and industry stakeholders.
• Represent Harbour Air at conferences, trade shows, networking events, and community engagements to strengthen brand presence and build new connections.
• Support the onboarding of new SME accounts, ensuring a seamless transition to the account management team and strong initial customer experience.
• Work closely with the broader commercial team to share best practices, coordinate outreach, and jointly develop strategies for market growth.
• Share best practices and learnings with the wider Commercial team to continuously improve SME acquisition effectiveness. Collaborate cross-functionally with operations, customer experience, revenue management, and marketing to align business development efforts with organizational capacity and customer needs.
• Contribute positively to a collaborative, transparent, and high-performance Commercial team culture. 
• May be asked to carry out additional tasks, projects, or responsibilities as required, in alignment with the scope and level of the position, to meet changing business needs.

Qualifications/Assets

• 3–5+ years of business development, B2B sales, or account acquisition experience, ideally in travel, transportation, or a related industry.
• Proven track record of securing new business and consistently meeting or exceeding sales targets.
• Diploma or Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Business, Marketing, or a related field preferred
• Airline experience preferred but not required. 
• Strong ability to build rapport, communicate clearly, and manage complex negotiations.
• Experience managing sales pipelines, forecasts, and activity metrics within a CRM environment. Highly organized with strong follow-through and CRM proficiency.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively across teams. 
• Self-motivated, energetic, and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.
• This role requires occasional travel and the flexibility to work irregular hours, including evenings, weekends, or holidays, as needed.
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment

ABOUT HARBOUR AIR GROUP 

• Launched in 1982, Harbour Air is North America's largest seaplane airline. With around 500 employees, it flies more than half a million passengers annually both within BC and to/from Seattle, USA.
• Our people are the backbone of our organization, and we are committed to creating a culture that inspires one another to achieve extraordinary success. We have regularly been honored as the recipient of numerous awards including BC's Top 55 Employers, and Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures.

DEADLINE: Open until filled

We thank all applicants for their interest, however only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

Harbour Air is an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to Diversity and Inclusion and value a diverse workforce. Together, we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the diverse voices of our employees. It fuels our innovation and connects us closer to our customers and the communities we serve.

Harbour Air is committed to developing a barrier-free recruitment process and work environment. Accommodation in relation to the job selection process is available upon request. If you require any accommodation, please email and we'll work with you to meet your accessibility needs.