Business Development Specialist
About the Role
The Business Development Specialist is responsible for researching and prospecting new partnerships that align with the university’s strategic growth plan. The goal of this position is to help grow inquiries, enrollments, credit taking, and revenue through newly established strategic relationships. This role supports and implements strategic outreach efforts for newly signed partnerships and works with prospective students to deliver qualified inquiries and assist them through the admissions pipeline.
The successful candidate will work fully remote or hybrid and report to the Director of Business Development. This position is based out of the university’s home office in Albany, NY, with the option to consider remote candidates. Remote employees will have mandatory occasional travel for meetings, conferences, and professional development opportunities and must be available during work hours 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Eastern time. The university will supply necessary equipment (e.g., laptop, docking station). Employees are responsible for having a workspace conducive to virtual meetings without interruptions.
Responsibilities
- Assist in executing the growth sales strategy to enable new business growth, proposal development, cultivate client relationships, and strengthen existing strategic clients.
- Research and prospect specific clients that support the needs of the university as directed by the Director of Business Development.
- Prospecting includes cold calls, phone conversations, emails, email exchanges, leveraging social media, and face-to-face conversations at conferences with prospective partners at the B2B and B2C levels.
- Represent Excelsior University at conferences, seminars, and forums to develop B2B relationships and B2C engagements.
- Ensure consistency with Excelsior’s brand in communications with partners, students, and team members.
- Identify points of contact for potential partners and coordinate meetings for the Director of Business Development.
- Organize potential partner lists and information in SharePoint.
- Coordinate and track all partner and student activities (calls, emails, events) via Salesforce.
- Convey information about Excelsior University degree programs and services to potential partners to align workforce and organizational needs with university solutions.
- Generate and provide reports and updates.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution.
- At least two years of work experience in a related role, such as sales, business development, account management, marketing, admissions, or recruiting.
- Experience working in higher education or other learning-related fields with adult learners is a plus.
- Drive for success in researching and identifying new prospective partners to grow inquiries, enrollments, credit taking, and revenue.
- Willingness to establish and build relationships with key decision-makers and develop an understanding of professional development and workforce needs within organizations.
- Ability to work with diverse stakeholders and recognize opportunities for growth.
- Project management skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities effectively.
- Creativity, enthusiasm, and openness to innovation.
- Ability to master a wide body of knowledge and information.
- Ability to work fully remote or hybrid in a professional, private, and quiet workspace while managing deadlines and goals.
- Proficient computer literacy and willingness to learn new applications; knowledge of Microsoft Office products required. Knowledge of Salesforce and SharePoint is a plus.
- Self-disciplined with proven ability to work independently and achieve goals.
Preferred Qualifications
- A minimum of 2-3 years of business development experience in a hunter role.
- Proven ability to establish and build relationships with key decision-makers.
- A minimum of 2-3 years of project management experience.
Schedule
- Remote employees must be available during work hours 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Eastern time.
- Albany-based staff are expected to work onsite a minimum of two days per week.
- Regional and national travel (including weekend and overnight travel) is required.
Pay
The hiring salary range for this position is $58,500.00 - $63,000.00.