Business Development Associate

Polus is looking for a Business Development Associate to drive market development and sales opportunities for the Fibi e-Research Administration Suite (Fibi eRA), a software platform supporting research administration, including grants management, research compliance, agreements and conflict of interest management. This role identifies institutional customers, researches target accounts, generates qualified leads, and manages opportunities through a structured sales pipeline. You ll also coordinate with Marketing, Functional and Technical teams to move customer engagements, product demonstrations, trials and proposals forward. Key Responsibilities Identify and research prospective customers (universities, research institutions and other research-intensive organizations), build targeted prospect lists, and map relevant decision-makers and stakeholders. Generate leads through account-based research, email outreach, LinkedIn prospecting, referrals and other channels, and qualify them on institutional fit, requirements, buying signals and opportunity potential. Understand prospects research administration processes, existing systems and likely business needs. Maintain the Fibi sales pipeline with accurate opportunity stages, customer information and follow-up records, and track engagement, progression, next steps and risks. Coordinate introductory meetings, requirement discussions, product demonstrations and guided trials with the Functional and Technical teams. Capture customer requirements, feedback and concerns, map them to relevant Fibi modules and use cases, and communicate them to the right teams. Identify and track RFP, RFI and RFQ opportunities review eligibility, timelines and documentation requirements and coordinate inputs, compilation and submission, while maintaining records of outcomes and customer feedback. Identify industry consultants, referral partners and other stakeholders who can support market intelligence, customer introductions and opportunity identification. Research target markets and developments in research administration technology, and share market insights to support product growth priorities. Report on lead generation, qualification, pipeline movement, customer engagements and proposal activity, and present progress, challenges, priorities and support needed in monthly Product Growth Pre-Sales reviews. Work with the Manager Product Growth to prioritize opportunities and improve pipeline conversion, and coordinate with Marketing on campaigns, target accounts and lead-generation initiatives.