Vice President - Business Development

Role Overview

The Vice President - Business Development is a senior leadership role responsible for driving revenue growth, building strategic partnerships, and expanding Academian's overall market presence.

This role focuses on new business acquisition, strategic account growth, and deal closures, working closely with the CBO, Sales, Account Management, and Delivery leadership to develop and execute growth strategies.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development & Revenue Ownership

• Own revenue targets, pipeline development, and deal closures across assigned markets and accounts.
• Drive new client acquisition and expansion of existing strategic accounts.
• Partner with the CBO to define and execute go-to-market and growth strategies.
• Lead enterprise sales cycles, including RFPs, proposals, pricing, negotiations, and closures.

Enterprise Sales & Client Engagement

• Build and manage relationships with C-suite executives and senior decision-makers.
• Lead consultative and value-based selling conversations.
• Represent Academian in executive presentations, conferences, and industry forums.
• Position Academian as a trusted strategic partner to clients and prospects.

Sales Enablement & Internal Collaboration

• Work closely with Sales, Account Management, and Delivery teams to ensure strong deal shaping and execution alignment.
• Provide market and client insights to influence offering positioning and sales strategy.
• Support teams with deal strategy, client context, and executive-level guidance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to identify opportunities for account expansion and new business.

Market & Growth Leadership

• Monitor market trends, customer needs, competitive landscape, and emerging opportunities.
• Identify new markets, client segments, partnerships, and business opportunities.
• Contribute to thought leadership and long-term strategic planning.
• Help identify opportunities to expand Academian's services, solutions, and client base.

Success Metrics

• Revenue growth and pipeline conversion.
• New client wins and strategic account expansion.
• Deal win rate and average deal size.
• Client relationships, retention, and repeat business.
• Growth of strategic partnerships and new market opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's preferred.
• 15-20+ years of experience in Business Development, Enterprise Sales, Strategic Partnerships, or a related field.
• Strong experience in EdTech, Digital Learning, Education Services, Technology Services, or related industries preferred.
• Ambitious leader with a strong hunter mindset and demonstrated ability to achieve revenue targets.
• Proven success closing large, complex deals and managing enterprise sales cycles.
• Strong executive-level communication, negotiation, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strategic mindset with strong commercial, analytical, and growth orientation.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with senior executives and key decision-makers.

Compensation

• Competitive base salary.
• Performance-linked variable compensation tied to revenue and business growth.

Location

This is a US-based position with potential travel to client sites, conferences, industry events, and customer locations across the country.