Business Development Manager

If you've been looking for a job for longer than 5 minutes you've probably got Seek fatigue.

All the beige copy-and-paste ads that make you feel depressed just thinking about having to do that job.

Or the AI-generated stuff that feels about as real as the picture of the Big Mac on the billboard.

If that's at least made you smile, you might be the rare kind of BDM we're looking for.

The person we're hoping to find can do two things that don’t always come together in the same person.

👉 Open doors and create business relationships where none existed before.

👉 But also build B2B relationships through credibility, curiosity and trust - not 'sales tactics'.

If this sounds like you, your job hunt might be over.

Who are we?

de Jonge Read (DJRA) helps directors and business owners through some of the toughest financial times of their lives.

But we don't just advise. We guide, support and walk alongside them with empathy and clarity.

For us, trust and relationships aren't “nice to have”; they are the foundation of everything we do and as a result most of our clients come to us through referrals.

Specifically, through trusted relationships with accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers, financial advisors and other professionals whose clients may need our help.

Our Brisbane and Melbourne businesses have well-established referral networks built over the last 20 years, but we haven't focused as much time and energy on Sydney until now.

And that's where this new BDM role comes in.

About the BDM role

This isn't a job where you'll inherit a beautiful book of referral partners and spend your days maintaining relationships over coffee.

Your first job is to build the network. Although you’re not starting from scratch by any means, and we have a 20 year track record of successfully helping company directors with rave reviews about our value.

As the BDM you'll need to work out where the opportunity is, identify the right firms and people, find legitimate reasons to start conversations, open doors and progressively turn those first conversations into genuine professional relationships.

➕ That might mean picking up the phone to a cold prospect.

➕ Asking someone you know for an introduction to an ideal referral partner you’ve identified through your research.

➕ Going to the right event. Or something completely different.

Then, in this role, once you've opened the door, the way you build the relationship matters enormously.

Because the people you're talking to aren't just referring us a “lead”.

They're potentially introducing DJRA to a client they've advised for years who’s going through a very difficult time in their lives. And their own reputation is on the line.

So you'll need to be someone who can build genuine trust with senior professionals without becoming corporate, transactional or salesy.

We're looking for a proven BDM who knows how to open doors - and whose ability to build real relationships means those doors stay open.

What you’ll be doing day to day

👉 Mapping the Sydney market and identifying the firms, segments and individual referral partners worth pursuing.

👉 Proactively creating new relationships through targeted outreach, calls, introductions, events and good old-fashioned initiative.

👉 Turning first conversations into second conversations - and gradually into genuine referral relationships.

👉 Meeting accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers, financial advisors and other professional referrers face-to-face.

👉 Educating referral partners on when DJRA can help and giving them confidence that their clients will be in safe hands.

👉 Staying connected and following up intelligently without making every interaction feel like a transaction.

👉 Representing DJRA at networking events and industry gatherings - strategically, rather than collecting business cards for sport.

👉 Working closely with our Strategists to make sure introductions and client handovers are seamless.

👉 Managing your pipeline and CRM properly, so you know where every important relationship sits, what happens next and where the opportunities are.

👉 Building a Sydney referral network that becomes increasingly active, productive and sustainable.

Over the first 12-18 months in this role, if you're successful, the next step will be hiring a Partnership Executive to support you..

As the Sydney network becomes established and existing relationships require more nurturing, you will be able to grow the BD team so you can keep doing more of what you're particularly good at:

finding the next opportunity, opening the next door and developing the next valuable relationship.

Who's the ideal BDM for this role?

We're looking for someone who has already demonstrated that they can enter a B2B market, identify the right people, open doors where no relationship exists, establish genuine trust with senior professionals and progressively turn those relationships into commercial opportunities - while remaining warm, credible, non-transactional and highly organised.

If this is you, these statements will feel true -

✅ I've personally generated new B2B relationships rather than only inherited or managed existing accounts.

✅ I can give you examples of businesses, markets, territories or networks I've helped build from a relatively blank page.

✅ I'm comfortable approaching someone who doesn't already know me and finding a credible way to start a conversation.

✅ I don't need an inbound enquiry or warm introduction before I can create an opportunity.

✅ I'm commercially motivated and enjoy being accountable for outcomes.

✅ I'm persistent without becoming pushy.

✅ I'm strategic about where I invest my time rather than networking randomly.

✅ I get energy from meeting new people and building long-term professional relationships.

✅ I'm curious about people, listen properly and tend to remember the details others forget.

✅ I'm comfortable speaking with senior professional advisors without becoming “stuffy and corporate”.

✅ I can confidently ask for the next step while still allowing trust to develop naturally.

✅ I'm good at managing my own time and staying organised.

✅ I actually use my CRM - it's not just somewhere opportunities go to die.

What we're offering

➡️ A genuine market-building BDM role with the autonomy to create something meaningful.

➡️ A business where relationship-building ability is highly valued - but commercial performance matters too.

➡️ A values-led culture: ethical, empathetic, passionate and client-centred.

➡️ The opportunity to be part of a national team of BDMs and share what's working, what's not and what you're learning.

➡️ The chance to help shape how DJRA's Sydney business-development capability evolves as the market grows.

➡️ The opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of people facing financial hardship.

➡️ The chance to build (and lead) a small team to support you over the coming years.

➡️ $185k OTE package.

Next Steps

We've created a digital Application Pack so you can learn more about DJRA, the team and whether this role is really for you or not.

Step 1

Click Quick Apply and go through the process (you can just select no resume as we won't be reviewing it at this stage).

👉 When you click submit you'll get a copy of the Application Pack emailed to you.

Step 2

Have a good read of the pack and watch Matthew's video. If you think this sounds like the kind of challenge you'd enjoy, click the link in the pack to apply.

Step 3

You'll get confirmation that we have your application and then we'll be in touch ASAP with an update.

PS - If this role is still listed, it's still available.