---
title: 'Business Lead - New York & Toronto at AIP Connect'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/business-lead-new-york-toronto-aip-connect-greater-toronto-area-3526jz0wjw9c'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Business Lead - New York & Toronto at AIP Connect

- **Company:** AIP Connect
- **Location:** Greater Toronto Area, Canada
- **Compensation:** $180k–$210k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-07-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/aipconnect/63a3d23d-d239-46df-a7c9-c8c3c800b98d

## Job description

Our client a world class business agency is currently hiring for a Business Lead  Toronto, New York and L.A. The Business Lead is responsible for providing both strategic and tactical leadership for a portfolio of business totaling $10-20+MM. They serve as the senior partner and trusted advisor for clients as well as agency cross-functional teams to create successful outcomes for our clients and the agency. The Business Lead manages a senior team that are focused on day-to-day account operations, relationship management, and revenue growth. They demonstrate strong leadership qualities, team management skills, and operational/business management capabilities. Passionate about helping clients change the trajectory of their business, the Business Lead is curious about technology, data, design, and enjoys building long-term client relationships.

## About you

- Experience with driving account strategy, account management, account growth and leadership of cross-functional teams to achieve the goals of our clients and grow their relationship.
- Excited about developing account and engagement strategy and capable of overseeing delivery of that strategy and plan.
- Strong story-telling and strategy development capabilities with an aptitude for developing and delivering well thought out documents and presentations.
- This person will come with the ability to identify needs that the client may not recognize and ensure that approaches and solutions are linked to objectives and future needs
- Consistently builds new executive level relationships and enjoys networking
- Effective at managing client expectations, ensuring delivery of the highest quality, and able to communicate client feedback effectively
- Management of portfolio profitability working with the agency's MD’s to develop and negotiate work and overseeing all aspects of account operations (AR, contracts etc.,)
- Excel at building high-performing teams with passion for mentoring and growing talent across a diverse and talented team

## What you will be doing

- Seek out and understand opportunities on where we can successfully grow our business with the client
- Manage and set expectations to ensure we deliver quality work on time and on brief
- Identify a client’s business needs and work with both the client and the various agency teams to understand, define, and build effective and innovative solutions that generate measurable results
- Prepared to be as much of a leader as they are a communicator and mentor
- This is a hybrid role (onsite at the agency's offices, working at client site, and remote) - you will be expected to spend time onsite at client meetings and briefings, as well as generating new business
- Willingness to collaborate with the agency’s India office time zone (ie. joining early morning calls as required), and working with agency’s east coast office time zone
- Note: Hybrid work in office is an essential function of the job.

AIP Connect believes in equal opportunity. Our recruitment consultants are committed to inclusive recruitment and selection practices and will not discriminate based on age, colour, ability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.

Accessibility:  If you need any accommodations during the interview process, please let us know.

Posted Salary: Actual compensation within this range will be determined based on job-related skills, relevant experience, education, and training. This range reflects base salary only and does not include eligibility for bonus program or other benefits.

For the most accurate and up-to-date details on this role, please refer directly to AIP Connect’s careers page, as third-party sites may not reflect current information.

## About AIP Connect

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: AIP Connect is a boutique recruitment and staffing agency that connects companies with top talent through a human-centric, high-touch approach.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Founded and bootstrapped by its CEO)
- **Headquarters**: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- **Founded**: 2006
- **Founders**: Nicol Kalman

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Staffing and Recruiting
- **Target customers**: B2B — primarily mid-to-large enterprises and agencies in sectors like technology, marketing, media, and professional services
- **Mission/purpose statement**: To connect the right people to the right employers with a refreshingly different approach — prioritizing authenticity, transparency, and long-term fit over volume.

## Products & Services
- **Executive Search / Permanent Recruitment**: Full-service headhunting for senior-level and specialized roles across account management, operations, data & analytics, human resources, and media.
- **Temporary Staffing**: Short-term and contract placements for roles needing immediate support, managed by a dedicated AIP Staffing Inc. division under Managing Director Leslie Barrow.
- **Freelance & Contracts**: A curated pipeline for companies needing flexible, project-based talent, ranging from creative to technical fields.
- **General Application & Pipeline**: An open channel for candidates to register interest even when no specific role is listed, allowing AIP to proactively match them to future opportunities.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total headcount of ~29 employees (Year-over-Year growth: +15.4%, adding ~6 people); LinkedIn following of 8,192 (Yearly growth: +8.6%)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Bootstrapped — no external investors; key executives include Nicol Kalman (Founder/CEO), Kristine Sanderson (Partner, CHRL MHRM), Sarah Glynn (Snr. Recruitment Manager), and Leslie Barrow (Managing Director, AIP Staffing).
- **Growth Signals**: Active hiring across multiple geographies (Canada and US); 8 office locations; recent job postings for internal roles like Operations Systems Administrator signal internal scaling.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Truly human-centric**: Rejects algorithms and automated matching in favor of in-person briefings and deep conversations — a strong differentiator against large, tech-driven competitors.
- **Full transparency**: Communicates directly about salary, skill gaps, and role realities for both candidates and clients, building trust and reducing mis-hires.
- **Candidate-first philosophy**: Explicitly treats candidates as long-term partners, not commodities, focusing on fair compensation, career progression, and cultural fit.
- **Strong leadership team**: Led by an experienced founder and a team with deep industry knowledge and HR credentials (CHRL).

## Strategic Focus
- **Growth as a "connector" brand**: Emphasizing its role as a community builder that brings like-minded people together, rather than just a transaction facilitator.
- **Operational expansion**: Investing in internal systems and talent (e.g., Operations Systems Administrator) to support scaling across North America while maintaining its high-touch model.
- **AI as a support tool, not a replacement**: Leveraging AI to assist in resume review and candidate assessment, but explicitly keeping final decisions human — a balanced approach to technology.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described internally and externally as "refreshingly different" — values high integrity, openness, and a genuine commitment to people. The team is described as "born connectors."
- **Work environment**: Offers hybrid, remote, and on-site roles depending on the position and location. Geographies include Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax, Richmond (VA), and New York City.
- **Notable perks/engineering culture**: While the company is not a tech product firm, its internal use of AI in the hiring process shows a forward-looking, pragmatic attitude toward technology. The culture prioritizes low-ego, high-trust collaboration. Candidates are respected and never treated as commodities.
- **Alumni network**: Alumni have gone on to reputable firms like Wealthsimple, PwC Canada, Bell Media, and Spencer Stuart, reflecting a strong talent development environment.

## Sources
1. [aipconnect.com/about-us](https://aipconnect.com/about-us/)
2. [jobs.lever.co/aipconnect](https://jobs.lever.co/aipconnect)
3. [linkedin.com/company/anithing-is-possible-recruiting](https://linkedin.com/company/anithing-is-possible-recruiting)
4. [aipconnect.com/team/](https://aipconnect.com/team/)
5. [aipconnect.com/current-roles/](https://aipconnect.com/current-roles/)

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