Director of Business Development

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Business Development serves as Louisville Hotel Partnership's dedicated business development executive focused on identifying, originating, qualifying, and advancing new citywide convention, trade show, exhibition, association, corporate, and group business opportunities for Louisville, Kentucky.

This position is structured as an independent contractor engagement. LHP anticipates an initial three (3)-year relationship and is seeking a seasoned business development professional interested in building a sustained, long-term partnership with the organization. The engagement will be governed by a written independent contractor agreement that includes periodic performance and strategic alignment reviews, renewal provisions, and termination rights. Continuation of the engagement will depend on performance, strategic alignment, continued business need, available funding, and compliance with the agreement.

This position operates as a highly strategic "hunter" role. The engagement is primarily intended to generate new opportunities, create relationships with key decision-makers, develop a robust pipeline of future business, and advance opportunities through the sales cycle primarily focusing on citywide programs.

Unlike traditional destination sales positions, this role is principally responsible for originating and cultivating new business opportunities rather than managing the full transaction process. Once qualified opportunities are identified and positioned for pursuit, leads may be transitioned to Louisville Tourism Convention Development team members for proposal development, bid management, and final contract execution while the Director remains strategically invested throughout the sales process.

The Director of Business Development will focus on securing citywide convention and trade show opportunities, targeting need periods and high-impact business that drives incremental hotel demand and economic impact for Louisville Hotel Partnership stakeholders.

• Proactively identify, research, qualify, and originate new convention, trade show, association, exhibition, and corporate group opportunities for Louisville.
• Develop a continuous pipeline through strategic prospecting, relationship development, market intelligence, industry research, referrals, and outbound sales efforts.
• Serve as Louisville Hotel Partnership's dedicated new business development resource focused on generating opportunities not currently within Louisville Tourism's active sales pipeline.
• Conduct targeted outreach using industry databases, IDSS CRM, Linked In Sales Navigator, Knowland, Mint+, industry directories, exhibit house intelligence, and market research tools.
• Maintain a robust pipeline with emphasis on high-value citywide business and need-month demand generation.

• Identify opportunities to shift market share from competing destinations and convention centers.
• Pursue business displaced by convention center renovations, expansion projects, capacity constraints, and market disruptions throughout North America.
• Develop new opportunities in underpenetrated and emerging markets.
• Monitor industry trends, convention rotations, corporate meeting patterns, and trade show marketplace activity to uncover future prospects.

• Establish and maintain executive-level relationships with association executives, corporate decision-makers, exhibition organizers, third-party intermediaries, exhibit houses, show management companies, and industry influencers.
• Develop portfolio-level relationships with organizations capable of producing multiple future opportunities.
• Represent Louisville Hotel Partnership in conjunction with Louisville Tourism while traveling to potential convention/show targets.
• Maintain active membership and participation in targeted industry organizations.

• Coordinate with designated Louisville Tourism Convention Development representatives to evaluate and prioritize opportunities while independently determining the appropriate methods and approach for performing the contracted services.
• Transition qualified opportunities to designated Louisville Tourism sales professionals for proposal development, bid coordination, transaction management, and contract negotiation based on the current team deployment.
• Remain actively engaged throughout the sales cycle to influence…