Fractional Head of Growth & Business Development, EMEA.
Contract Consulting Opportunity | Approximately 20 Hours per Month.
About Align:
Align Social Impact is a full-service impact agency working at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, research, culture, philanthropy, and systems change.
We help organizations turn ambitious ideas into meaningful action. Our partners include companies, nonprofits, foundations, government entities, family offices, philanthropists, and influential talent working to address complex social and cultural challenges. Depending on the engagement, our work may involve shaping an impact strategy, developing a campaign, building a cross-sector partnership, strengthening an organization, designing a philanthropic initiative, or creating an experience that brings people together. What connects our work is a belief that impact should be both deeply felt and meaningfully measured.
Align is a women-owned business with offices in Amsterdam and New York City. We are a close-knit, entrepreneurial team that values imagination, rigor, generosity, cultural fluency, and follow-through. We work across disciplines and borders, bringing together the right people and perspectives for each challenge.
We are building toward a just, inclusive, and vibrant world where people, planet, and culture thrive.
The Opportunity:
Align is seeking a Fractional Head of Growth & Business Development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to help expand our regional presence, deepen strategic relationships, and develop new client and partnership opportunities.
Working closely with our CEO and senior leadership team, this consultant will introduce Align to a broader network of mission-aligned organizations and leaders across Europe and selected EMEA markets. They will identify where our integrated capabilities can deliver distinctive value, cultivate trusted relationships, and guide promising opportunities from an initial conversation through a defined engagement.
This is not a high-volume sales role. Align’s work is complex, collaborative, and grounded in trust. We are looking for someone who understands that sustainable agency growth comes from listening well, making thoughtful connections, communicating value clearly, and following through consistently.
The right person will bring an established regional network and the curiosity to keep building it. They will be commercially astute without being transactional, comfortable initiating conversations with senior decision-makers, and able to recognize opportunities that are genuinely aligned with our mission and capabilities.
This is a fractional, hands-on consulting role. Success will require both strategic thinking and direct participation in relationship development, positioning, proposals, negotiations, and pipeline stewardship.
What You’ll Do:
Grow Align’s regional presence:
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Develop a focused approach to expanding Align’s client and partner network across Europe and selected EMEA markets.
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Identify priority sectors, markets, organizations, and relationships based on Align’s strengths and growth goals.
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Cultivate relationships across companies, nonprofits, foundations, philanthropy, government, family offices, and influential talent.
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Build new sources of trusted referrals, strategic introductions, and cross-sector collaboration.
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Reconnect with former clients and partners where there is a meaningful opportunity to renew or deepen the relationship.
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Represent Align at selected meetings, conferences, convenings, networking opportunities, and industry events.
Create meaningful opportunities:
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Initiate and lead conversations with senior decision-makers about their goals, needs, and emerging priorities.
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Listen for the larger challenge behind an initial request and identify where Align can contribute distinctive value.
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Communicate Align’s integrated capabilities, approach, and experience with clarity and credibility.
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Recognize opportunities that align with our mission, values, expertise, and commercial goals.
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Bring together the right Align leaders and subject-matter experts for each opportunity.
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Help prospective partners understand how strategy, storytelling, research, culture, philanthropy, and organizational change can work together.
Move relationships into action:
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Guide qualified opportunities from early conversations through proposals, negotiations, contracting, and engagement.
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Collaborate with Align colleagues to develop thoughtful approaches, scopes, budgets, presentations, and proposals.
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Help shape opportunities around the client’s real needs rather than forcing them into a predetermined service offering.
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Maintain momentum through timely follow-up, clear next steps, and consistent relationship management.
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Support closing conversations with sound commercial judgment and an understanding of professional-services economics.
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Identify opportunities to expand relationships with current and former clients.
Strengthen Align’s growth practice:
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Maintain an accurate, useful pipeline and provide concise updates on progress, timing, risks, anticipated revenue, and next steps.
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Work toward agreed relationship, pipeline, partnership, and revenue goals.
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Share regional insights and prospective-client feedback to strengthen Align’s positioning, services, and market strategy.
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Help the team understand how needs and priorities differ across countries, sectors, and organizational contexts.
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Collaborate with Align’s European and U.S. teams on cross-market and global opportunities.
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Contribute ideas and practical systems that make regional growth more focused, coordinated, and sustainable.
What It’s Like to Work with Align:
Align is an ambitious agency with an entrepreneurial operating style. Our environment is collaborative, fast-moving, and often nonlinear. We take the work seriously without taking ourselves too seriously.
We value people who create momentum without compromising thoughtfulness or trust. Our strongest collaborators are comfortable working with autonomy, generous in how they share relationships and knowledge, and committed to doing what they say they will do.
Because our work crosses sectors, cultures, and disciplines, we look for people who are curious and adaptable. They can move fluidly between a conversation with a foundation leader, a corporate executive, a government stakeholder, a cultural partner, or a prospective collaborator—and understand that each requires a different kind of listening.
We believe growth should strengthen our mission, our work, and our relationships. The person who thrives in this role will treat business development not as a separate commercial function, but as an extension of how Align creates value in the world.
You May Be a Strong Fit If You:
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Care deeply about social impact and share Align’s commitment to a just, inclusive, and vibrant world.
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Have an active and trusted network across one or more priority European or EMEA markets.
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Know how to turn relationships into substantive conversations and well-matched professional-services opportunities.
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Are commercially minded without being transactional.
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Build credibility by listening carefully, asking strong questions, and making thoughtful connections.
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Can communicate a complex, multidisciplinary offering in a way that feels clear and relevant.
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Are proactive, entrepreneurial, organized, and able to create momentum independently.
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Understand when an opportunity is promising—and when it is not right for Align.
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Are comfortable with measurable pipeline and revenue expectations while recognizing that trusted relationships often develop over time.
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Navigate different countries, cultures, sectors, and organizational environments with sensitivity and good judgment.
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Value collaboration and know when to bring colleagues and subject-matter experts into a conversation.
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See reputation, trust, and long-term relationships as essential business-development assets.
Experience and Capabilities:
We expect strong candidates to bring:
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Approximately 10 or more years of relevant experience in growth, business development, agencies, consulting, communications, philanthropy, corporate purpose, nonprofits, government, social impact, or related fields.
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A demonstrated record of developing senior relationships and securing significant professional-services engagements.
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An active network across one or more relevant European or EMEA markets.
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Relationships with senior decision-makers, advisors, and influential connectors.
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Experience leading discovery conversations, pitches, proposals, negotiations, and closing discussions.
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Strong commercial judgment and the ability to evaluate opportunities across markets and sectors.
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Excellent relationship-building, presentation, facilitation, negotiation, and communication skills.
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The ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a multidisciplinary, international team.
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Comfort managing a pipeline and working toward defined relationship, partnership, and revenue goals.
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Professional fluency in English; additional European or regional languages are an advantage.
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A commitment to thoughtful, ethical, and relationship-centered growth.
An advanced degree is welcome but not required. We place greater value on demonstrated results, relevant relationships, sound judgment, reputation, and lived experience.
We also recognize that exceptional candidates do not always follow linear career paths. If this opportunity resonates and you believe your experience and relationships could contribute meaningfully to Align’s next phase of growth, we encourage you to apply.
What Success Looks Like:
Specific goals will be established at the beginning of the engagement based on Align’s priorities, target markets, and realistic relationship-development cycles.
Success may include:
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Meaningful growth in Align’s network among partner organizations and leaders.
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New strategic relationships, collaborators, and sources of trusted referrals.
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Qualified conversations with senior decision-makers.
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Opportunities advanced to proposals, defined scopes, or formal partnership discussions.
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A healthy pipeline of well-matched, high-value opportunities.
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New client engagements and agency revenue.
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Expanded relationships with current and former clients.
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Consistent, visible progress across priority relationships and opportunities.
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Stronger regional insights that improve Align’s positioning and services.
We understand that significant relationships and engagements take time to develop. Progress will therefore be evaluated through both near-term activity and the quality, relevance, and long-term potential of the opportunities created.
Engagement Details
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Location: Amsterdam or elsewhere in the Netherlands, or able to travel to Amsterdam twice during the initial three-month engagement.
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Engagement: Independent contract consulting opportunity with an initial three-month commitment.
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Time commitment: Approximately 20 hours per month.
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Compensation: €35–€55 per hour, based on experience and location.
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Works with: Chief Executive Officer and senior leadership team.
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Travel: Two visits to Amsterdam may be required during the initial engagement. These may include team sessions, prospective-client meetings, presentations, networking opportunities, or events.
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Travel expenses: Travel and related expenses for the two required Amsterdam visits will not be covered by Align. Any additional travel will be discussed and agreed upon in advance.
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Work authorization: Candidates must have the appropriate authorization to work as independent consultants in their country of residence.
The engagement may be renewed, extended, or modified by mutual agreement.
How to Apply:
Please submit a résumé or professional biography and a brief introduction addressing:
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Your experience developing senior relationships and securing professional-services engagements.
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The European or EMEA markets, sectors, and relationships most relevant to this opportunity.
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One or two significant opportunities, engagements, or partnerships you helped develop.
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Your interest in Align’s mission and next phase of growth.
Equal Opportunity:
Align Social Impact is an Align Communications & Creative LLC company and an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.
We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to working with people who bring a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and skills. Employment and contracting decisions are based on qualifications, merit, organizational needs, and alignment with our values.
Learn more at alignsocialimpact.com.
