Manager, Business Development (remote)
Full Time, one year contract, renewable
Reporting to CEO
Direct Reports: None
Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) is a national independent charity. Over the past six years, MHRC has emerged as one of the fastest-growing mental health organizations in Canada, with revenues increasing more than twentyfold during this period. This growth has been driven by strategic partnerships with both government and industry, allowing MHRC to expand its impact while advancing evidence-based understanding of mental health in Canada.
To support our continued growth and deepen our partnerships, MHRC is creating a new role: Manager, Business Development.
The Opportunity
This position will report to the CEO and will play a key role in expanding MHRC’s fee-for-service offerings, which translate our research, insights, and charitable mission into valuable products and services for partners across sectors. This is a revenue generating role with responsibility for building and closing a pipeline of fee for service opportunities.
The role will also work closely with the Vice President, Data and Partnerships to support the development and strengthening of relationships with current and potential partners, and with provincial and federal government partners. At its core, this role is about relationship building—understanding partner needs, identifying areas of alignment, and connecting MHRC’s expertise with opportunities that create meaningful and mutually beneficial impact.
MHRC’s fee-for-service work builds on our charitable efforts to better understand mental health across Canada. Through this work, we collaborate with partners to develop custom research, insights, easy-to-consume reports, and offer strategic guidance in advancing partner goals. Potential partners can include but are not limited to: provincial and federal governments, corporate Canada, industry associations, large charities and others who are in need of current data, insights and easy-to-consume reports.
See samples of our reports on our website at www.mhrc.ca. Examples of this work include:
- Public-facing research reports produced in partnership with organizations such as Bell Let’s Talk and group insurance providers.
- Confidential research and analysis for partners seeking to deepen their understanding of mental health trends to inform new products, services, or policy approaches.
- Consulting and advisory services to review existing mental health programming and develop evidence-informed strategies for improvement.
The Manager, Business Development will play a central role in identifying opportunities, developing partnerships, and helping bring these initiatives to life.
Key Responsibilities
With clear revenue and activity targets, success in this role (and contract renewal) will be measured by growth in fee for service revenue, strength of the partnerships pipeline and renewals. The role encompasses the following responsibilities:
- Identify and pursue new partnership opportunities that align with MHRC’s mission and strategic priorities
- Grow and manage the pipeline for MHRC’s fee-for-service initiatives
- Build and maintain strong relationships with industry partners, insurers, employers, and other stakeholders
- Work collaboratively with internal teams to translate MHRC’s research and insights into partner-focused products and services
- Develop proposals, partnership agreements, and project scopes
- Actively identify prospects, develop a funnel, nurture relationships and represent MHRC in conversations with potential partners and stakeholders throughout the sales cycle
What you Bring:
You are a resourceful, motivated self starter who takes initiative and has the following skills, attributes and abilities:
- An interest in doing meaningful work
- A minimum of 3–5 years of experience in successful business development, partnerships, consulting, or a related field
- Post-secondary education to support sales skills development
- Successful sales experience ideally at a national level
- Confidence, professionalism and poise
- Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build trusted relationships with diverse stakeholders
- The ability to work independently with clearly defined KPIs in a remote environment while maintaining high levels of engagement
- Highly effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey complex ideas
- Working knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite; MHRC also strongly embraces the use of AI tools to enhance productivity and innovation
- Familiarity with the mental health sector or related areas such as healthcare, social impact, insurance, or research is considered an asset
- Government relationships federally and provincially considered an asset
- Reliable access to a quiet and dedicated workspace that supports productive remote working
Why You’ll Love Working With Us
- Work fully remote from anywhere in Canada.
- Join a highly committed, collaborative team
- A chance to shape national conversations and drive meaningful change in mental health in a growing, trusted organization cited in the media weekly
- Competitive compensation commensurate with education, experience and sales success
- 3 weeks vacation and Remembrance Day as an extra statutory holiday
- Additional 3 weeks fully paid sabbatical (in addition to vacation time) at every 5 years of service (including FT contract work)
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS NOW: How to Apply
To express your interest in this role, email your resume and a brief letter or email outlining your interest to [email protected] and copy [email protected] with the subject line: APPLICATION – BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. All applications will be kept strictly confidential. MHRC is committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, and welcomes applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. Qualified candidates will be considered without discrimination based on any characteristic protected by Canadian law. Accommodation is available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.