Business Development & Research Associate

Transportation & Nonprofit Focus

Location & Employment Details

Location: Fully remote
Schedule: ~20 hours/week
Time zone overlap: Minimum 2–4 hours during U.S. Eastern Time business hours on assigned workdays
Term: 90-day initial engagement, with strong potential to extend and expand based on results
Reports to: Owner/leadership (retains control of relationships, approvals, board selection, and major outreach)

About the Company

You will support two affiliated Ohio-based organizations under shared leadership:

A U.S.-based medical and non-medical transportation company providing wheelchair and ambulatory transportation. Its growth depends on strong referral relationships across the healthcare system and on winning contract, broker, and subcontracting work.

An affiliated faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving the local community through outreach, food, clothing, and related assistance. It is in a build-out phase and needs a consistent pipeline of funding, board, volunteer, and partnership prospects to scale its impact.

Both organizations are lean and leadership-led. That means your work has a direct, visible effect on what gets built next.

About the Role

This role exists to build and maintain a steady pipeline of qualified opportunities so leadership can spend their time on relationships and closing — not on sourcing.

For the transportation company, that means finding the referral sources, contracts, and partnerships that generate rides. For the nonprofit, that means finding the funders, board members, volunteers, and partners that grow capacity.

This is not a data-entry or calendar-management position. You are a researcher and opportunity-finder. Success is measured by the quality and volume of real, actionable opportunities you produce — not hours logged.

Initial time is split roughly 60% to the transportation company and 40% to the nonprofit, and may shift with workload and results.

Key Responsibilities

Transportation — Market & Referral Research

Research hospitals, healthcare systems, skilled nursing, assisted-living, dialysis, rehabilitation, and behavioral-health facilities
Identify decision-makers: discharge planners, case managers, social workers, transportation coordinators, and vendor-management contacts
Identify private-pay and wheelchair transportation opportunities

Transportation — Contract & Partnership Opportunities

Research transportation brokers and subcontracting opportunities
Identify RFPs, contracts, and vendor-registration opportunities
Research airport transportation opportunities (e.g., regional airport ground transport)
Research hotels, senior communities, travel organizations, and other referral partners

Nonprofit — Funding & Grant Research

Research foundations, grants, and corporate-giving programs
Research funding opportunities available to faith-based organizations
Identify in-kind donors (food, clothing, hygiene products, and related goods)
Research nonprofit training and capacity-building opportunities

Nonprofit — Board, Volunteer & Partnership Research

Research qualified board-member candidates and regional board-matching organizations
Research community leaders and professionals who may support the mission
Identify churches, ministries, volunteer organizations, and social-service organizations for partnership and referral
Research local businesses with community-giving programs

Contact Verification & Outreach Support

Verify names, titles, phone numbers, and email addresses — confirm accuracy rather than copying search results
Prepare professional introductory emails when requested
Conduct authorized follow-up calls and emails
Track all follow-ups through to a next step

Data, Reporting & Judgment

Build and maintain organized lead, donor/funder, board-prospect, and volunteer/partner databases in a single source of truth
Flag high-priority opportunities with a recommended next action
Distinguish qualified opportunities from weak leads before they reach leadership
Deliver a weekly business-development report summarizing new opportunities, verified contacts, and follow-up status against targets

Required Qualifications

Excellent written English and strong spoken English
Demonstrated lead-generation and advanced internet-research experience
Proven ability to verify information rather than copy search results
Ability to distinguish qualified opportunities from weak leads
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel proficiency
CRM/database experience
Professional email communication
Ability to follow instructions and work independently with minimal oversight
Ability to handle confidential business information with discretion
Responsible experience using AI research tools (e.g., ChatGPT)

Preferred Qualifications

Experience researching healthcare organizations, medical transportation, NEMT, or transportation/logistics
Experience with nonprofits, churches, or faith-based organizations
Grant, foundation, or fundraising research experience
LinkedIn research and prospecting experience
Telephone outreach experience
CRM systems administration
Canva and/or social-media administration

Ideal Candidate Profile

You are:

Highly organized and self-directed — you can run with a goal without being managed step by step
Judgment-oriented — you know the difference between a real opportunity and a name on a list, and you verify before you report
Resourceful — when a source is incomplete or wrong, you find another way
Comfortable switching contexts — you can move between for-profit B2B research and mission-driven nonprofit research in the same week
Discreet — you treat business and relationship information as confidential
Comfortable supporting a faith-based mission as part of the nonprofit work
Output-driven — you measure yourself by the opportunities you produce, not the hours you spend

How to Apply

Please submit a brief summary that includes:

A short description of your most relevant experience
Years of virtual-assistant / research experience
Lead-generation and internet-research experience
Any nonprofit, grant, healthcare, or transportation research experience
CRM and spreadsheet platforms you've used
AI tools you use and how
Your available hours in U.S. Eastern Time and your hourly rate
One example of a difficult research assignment you completed successfully

Business Development / Research Associate - 20993