Business Development Representative

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Employment type: Full-time, W-2 employee.
• Location: United States (remote).
• Work schedule: Full-time, US time zone.
• Compensation structure: Base salary plus variable compensation, with performance measured against pipeline creation, qualified opportunities, and activity quality.

About the role

OpenClassrooms is accelerating growth in the U.S. apprenticeship market and building a stronger, more scalable sales engine. We are hiring Business Development Representatives to help identify, qualify, and convert employer hiring needs into qualified apprenticeship opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Prospecting and Lead Qualification:
• Identify employer hiring needs that may align with OpenClassrooms’ Registered Apprenticeship Programs, including SMB, mid-market, and enterprise employers.
• Call prospective employers to qualify their hiring need, understand the role context, assess timing and urgency, and confirm whether the need aligns with OpenClassrooms pathways.
• Identify the right decision-makers and influencers, including founders, business owners, HR leaders, Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, department leaders, and hiring managers.
• Evaluate lead maturity using ICP fit, hiring need, role alignment, employer readiness, urgency, and likelihood to move forward.
• Create and transfer fully qualified opportunities to Account Executives with clear notes, qualification rationale, and recommended next steps.
• Pipeline Management:
• Log 100% of employer interactions, call outcomes, qualification notes, and next steps in Salesforce.
• Maintain accurate CRM hygiene across lead status, opportunity creation, owner assignment, activity history, and follow-up dates.
• Provide reliable reporting on volume contacted, connect rate, qualification rate, qualified opportunities created, disqualification reasons, and market insights.
• Use internal tools and workflows, including Salesforce and approved prospecting/enrichment tools, to manage activity and support conversion.
• Focus on value creation through outreach, qualification, and employer engagement. Lead enrichment and list-building are primarily supported by Sales Operations.
• Account Mapping & Market Insights:
• Understand the structure of targeted accounts and identify relevant stakeholders, decision paths, and recurring hiring needs.
• Map accounts where multiple contacts or departments may influence apprenticeship adoption.
• Capture employer objections, market signals, hiring trends, role-fit patterns, and feedback on apprenticeship positioning.
• Share account maps and insights with Account Executives and Sales Operations to strengthen prioritization and conversion.
• Collaboration with Account Executives & Sales Operations:
• Ensure smooth handoff of qualified opportunities to Account Executives, including business context, confirmed need, timing, stakeholder details, objections, and recommended next action.
• Collaborate with Account Executives to refine qualification criteria, handoff expectations, messaging, and opportunity quality.
• Share field feedback with Sales Operations on lead quality, data accuracy, disqualification drivers, employer objections, and workflow friction.
• Contribute to improvements in call scripts, outreach sequences, qualification workflows, Salesforce processes, and internal sales tools.
• Continuous Improvement:
• Challenge and improve call scripts, email sequences, objection-handling approaches, and qualification frameworks.
• Recommend process and data improvements based on actual employer conversations and pipeline outcomes.
• Share insights on U.S. employer demand, apprenticeship adoption, tech and digital hiring needs, and workforce trends.
• Participate in a test-and-learn sales culture where feedback, experimentation, and disciplined execution are expected.

Qualifications

• Initial experience in high-volume outbound sales, prospecting, or outreach: SDR/BDR, inside sales, recruiting, employer engagement.
• Strong communication and phone presence: comfortable engaging senior stakeholders (Executives, HR, Talent Acquisition, L&D, Hiring Managers).
• Strong organizational skills: manage high call volumes, prioritize effectively, and maintain reliable follow-up and CRM discipline.
• Comfortable handling objections: budget, timing, candidate readiness, apprenticeship structure, hiring constraints.
• Adaptable in fast-changing environments: with evolving processes, scripts, and priorities.
• Manage workload fluctuations and seasonal peaks: in outreach and pipeline activity.
• Resilient and consistent: able to handle rejection and maintain performance over time.
• Solution-oriented mindset: curious and proactive in understanding employer needs and improving outcomes.
• Startup mindset: hands-on, resourceful, and comfortable taking initiative.
• Motivated to grow in a sales career: ideally toward an Account Executive role.

Skills

• Familiarity with tech, digital, data, cybersecurity, marketing, HR, or business roles.
• Experience with Salesforce, Apollo, or other sales engagement/prospecting tools.
• Experience selling or engaging with HR, talent, workforce development, or education stakeholders.

Benefits

• 401(k) with a 5% match.
• Health Insurance with United Health Care.
• Dental & Vision Insurance with Guardian.
• Company-provided MacBook.
• Access to OpenClassrooms' training catalog.
• 25 days of Paid Time Off per year.
• 5 "Caretaker Days" per year.