Higher Education Business Development Leader
About this role
DLR Group is an integrated design firm with a promise to elevate the human experience through design. This fuels the work we do around the world and inspires our mission to improve the lives of our clients, our communities, and our planet. If this sparks your interest, you’re in the right place.
We are seeking a strategic and entrepreneurial Higher Education Business Development Leader based in Orlando to grow DLR Group’s Higher Education practice. This individual will shape and execute a growth strategy, partnering with Southeast leaders, local studios, and integrated design teams. You will build relationships with colleges and universities, identify opportunities, and position DLR Group to help institutions advance their academic missions.
About Higher Education at DLR Group
DLR Group’s Higher Education practice fully embraces our responsibility to society by designing spaces that emphasize academic learning and social development. We are transforming the educational landscape, working with our clients to set new horizons for learning and living that enrich campus communities, the spaces they strive to provide, and what they can achieve. Our team draws from evidence-based design to work with institutional stakeholders to strengthen student and faculty engagement, ensuring that learning is enhanced through design. We also understand the rapid pace of technological, social, and cultural change; our teams work with colleges and universities to navigate these challenges.
Our work spans campus planning, academic and research environments, student life, libraries, workforce training, arts, and athletics. DLR Group’s Evolution of Campus research also helps institutions plan for changing student needs, including engagement and wellbeing.
What you will do:
- Partner with regional and local Higher Education leaders to develop and execute a business development strategy for the Southeast.
- Work with studio and design leaders to identify target institutions, establish market priorities, and develop relationship and pursuit plans.
- Build DLR Group’s presence with public and private colleges, universities, and community colleges throughout the region.
- Cultivate relationships with institutional leaders, facilities and planning teams, academic stakeholders, foundations, and industry partners.
- Identify opportunities across campus planning, academic and research facilities, student life, and other areas of DLR Group’s Higher Education practice.
- Collaborate with designers, architects, engineers, planners, and marketing professionals on pursuit strategies, proposals, interviews, and presentations.
- Lead business development meetings that establish priorities, responsibilities, and next steps.
- Mentor team members in relationship development, client engagement, and pursuit strategy.
- Stay informed about regional higher education trends, institutional capital plans, funding priorities, procurement processes, and professional associations.
- Represent DLR Group at industry events and in conversations with prospective clients and partners.
Required Qualifications:
- Six or more years of business development, client development, or related experience, preferably in higher education, architecture, engineering, construction, or professional services.
- Knowledge of the Southeast higher education market and the ability to build relationships with institutional decision-makers.
- Demonstrated ability to develop growth strategies, cultivate senior-level relationships, and turn opportunities into competitive pursuits.
- Experience supporting proposals, presentations, interviews, or other pursuit activities with messaging tailored to client needs.
- Strong collaboration, communication, presentation, and organizational skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities while working across offices and disciplines.
DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new builds, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.
We are 100% employee-owned: every employee is literally invested in our clients’ success. At the core of our firm are interdisciplinary teams engaged in every step of project lifecycles. Our teams champion true collaboration, open information sharing, shared risk and reward, value-based decision making, and proficient use of technology to deliver exceptional design. We are pursuing the goals of the 2030 Challenge, the ME2040, and the SE2050, and are an initial signatory of the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.
Through our values – commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, teamwork – we elevate the human experience through design, together.
DLR Group follows a four-day in-office work model, with employees having the flexibility to work somewhere other than the office on Fridays.
We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/M/F/Veteran/Disabled employer.
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