Job Title: Corporate Development Manager (Origination & Relationship Leadership)Company: Solen Software Group
Location: Toronto, Canada (hybrid)
Employment Type: Full-time
About the RoleThe Corporate Development Manager (CDM) is a senior origination and people-leadership role responsible for building durable acquisition pipelines across Solen's priority verticals.
You will own market coverage, outbound strategy, founder engagement, and relationship development for a defined set of verticals and high-priority accounts. The CDM will lead and develop a Toronto-based team of 5+ Corporate Development Associates, while also serving as a hands-on individual contributor-personally building deep, long-term relationships with Solen's most strategic founder and advisor accounts.
Success in this role comes from combining high-tempo outreach and disciplined operating rhythms with authentic founder credibility-compounding trust over time and consistently producing high-quality, well-qualified opportunities.
Core Responsibilities1) Origination Strategy & Market Coverage- Own origination strategy for assigned verticals and priority account lists, aligned with Solen's acquisition theses.
- Define ICPs, personas, account universes, and coverage models (founder-owned, sponsor-owned, carve-outs).
- Design and run multi-touch outreach programs (email, phone, LinkedIn, events, conferences, in-person) tailored to founder audiences.
- Build long-term nurture programs (content, check-ins, founder events) that compound trust and readiness over time.
- Translate market learning into sharper targeting, messaging, and segmentation.
2) Team Leadership & People Management (Toronto Hub)- Directly manage, coach, and performance-manage 5+ Corporate Development Associates, with responsibility to scale the team over time.
- Set clear expectations on activity quality, messaging standards, discovery fundamentals, and qualification discipline.
- Run weekly 1:1s, pipeline reviews, call coaching, and skill-building sessions; deliver direct, high-candor feedback.
- Partner with the Head of Corporate Development and People team on hiring profiles, onboarding, and career progression paths.
- Build a culture grounded in accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
3) Individual Contributor - Priority Relationships- Personally own and develop relationships with Solen's highest-priority founder and advisor accounts.
- Act as a senior Solen representative in founder conversations, building credibility, trust, and long-term alignment.
- Lead complex discovery conversations focused on founder goals, succession, growth constraints, and partnership fit.
- Maintain momentum and engagement over long relationship arcs, positioning Solen as the preferred partner.
- Develop "why Solen" narratives tailored to priority accounts based on their context, objectives, and constraints.
4) Pipeline Management, Metrics & Operating Rigor- Own pipeline health and reporting for your team: coverage, outreach, connects, first meetings, qualified opportunities, and progression.
- Enforce CRM rigor and data quality as a non-negotiable operating standard (hygiene, stage definitions, required fields).
- Run structured weekly and monthly reviews focused on conversion, quality, and learning-not just volume.
- Surface insights on objections, market signals, and winning talk tracks; institutionalize learnings through playbooks.
5) Cross-Functional Partnership- Align with internal stakeholders on vertical priorities, messaging, qualification standards, and handoff criteria.
- Coordinate timely, structured handoffs of qualified opportunities once mutual fit and readiness thresholds are met.
- Provide market feedback loops to refine theses, positioning, and outreach programs.
Ideal Candidate Profile- 5+ years in corporate development, PE origination, B2B SaaS enterprise sales/new-logo, or sourcing roles.
- Proven experience managing and developing junior-to-mid-level teams in an outbound, metrics-driven environment.
- Strong individual contributor instincts with demonstrated ability to build senior-level founder relationships.
- Systems-oriented operator who values process, scorecards, operating cadence, and continuous improvement.
- High integrity, low ego, strong executive presence; comfortable in ambiguity and energized by building.
- Experience in vertical-market software, PE-backed platforms, or consolidators strongly preferred.
Benefits- Opportunity to build and lead a scaled origination function within an evergreen software compounder.
- High ownership role with meaningful influence on Solen's long-term growth trajectory.
- Competitive compensation and benefits package.
