Business Development & Partnerships Lead, Education Sector

We are hiring on behalf of a Singapore-based EdTech company that works with schools and education stakeholders to support student guidance, future pathway planning, and education-related outcomes.

The company serves the education sector and works with students in the upper secondary to pre-university age range. It is looking for a commercially strong business development professional who can open doors, build trust with institutional stakeholders, and create partnerships from the ground up.

Role Overview
This is a field-led business development and partnerships role.

The successful hire will be responsible for building a self-generated pipeline, opening new institutional doors, driving conversations with education stakeholders, and moving opportunities from first contact towards pilots, proposals, partnerships, and paid engagements.

This is not an inbound-heavy, desk-bound, or marketing-fed sales role.

Most working days will be spent outside meeting prospects, canvassing, developing relationships, and creating new commercial opportunities across the education ecosystem. Fridays are typically reserved for office-based meetings and internal alignment.

This role is suited to someone who knows how to build pipeline from scratch and keep replenishing it over time. We are not looking for someone who performs well only because of brand pull, marketing-generated demand, agent-fed opportunities, or a finite personal network that runs dry after the first wave of outreach.

You will do well here if you are comfortable with direct outreach, disciplined follow-up, institutional selling, longer partnership sales cycles, and high ownership with minimal hand-holding.

Key Responsibilities
. Build and manage a self-generated pipeline of schools, institutions, and relevant education-sector partners
. Drive outbound business development through direct outreach, canvassing, prospecting meetings, networking, and disciplined follow-up
. Open new doors independently rather than relying mainly on inbound enquiries or warm lead flow
. Consistently generate fresh opportunities beyond immediate personal networks or pre-existing contact pools
. Identify, qualify, and pursue partnership opportunities aligned with the company's growth priorities
. Engage school leaders, institutional decision-makers, and relevant education stakeholders
. Understand stakeholder needs and translate them into practical partnership proposals
. Navigate multi-stakeholder education environments and move conversations towards clear next steps
. Develop proposals, partnership pitches, and commercial recommendations for institutional prospects
. Lead prospect conversations, demos, pilot discussions, proposals, negotiations, and closing activity
. Progress opportunities from first conversation to pilot, conversion, or paid engagement where there is clear fit
. Manage and grow partner relationships where required
. Represent the company at meetings, events, and education-sector touchpoints
. Maintain strong pipeline discipline, reporting accuracy, and follow-through
. Work closely with senior leadership to share market feedback, refine outreach angles, and support partnership execution
. Track market developments and identify new routes to growth within the education sector

Requirements
. Minimum 2-3 years of business development, partnerships, or B2B sales experience in Education, EdTech, or a closely related institutional sales environment
. Direct experience engaging schools, education institutions, or institutional academic stakeholders
. Strong hunter profile with clear evidence of building pipeline from zero
. Demonstrated ability to generate your own leads through direct outreach, canvassing, networking, and persistent follow-up
. Clear evidence of building and replenishing pipeline over time, not just converting an initial batch of warm contacts
. Able to keep opening new doors after early personal leads or introductions have been exhausted
. Comfortable operating without heavy dependence on established brand pull, marketing-generated demand, referrals, or external agents
. Experience moving institutional opportunities through longer sales cycles
. Comfortable spending most working days in the field meeting prospects and building relationships
. Strong communication, proposal-writing, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills
. Good CRM hygiene and pipeline management discipline
. Strong ownership mindset and ability to work independently with minimal hand-holding
. Resilient, commercially disciplined, and able to stay consistent when results take time to build
. Genuine interest in education, student outcomes, and institutional partnerships

What Success Looks Like in the First 6 Months
. Build a qualified pipeline of school and institutional opportunities
. Secure active conversations with relevant education decision-makers
. Progress selected opportunities into pilots, proposals, or partnership discussions
. Convert suitable early opportunities into paid engagements or structured next steps
. Establish a repeatable outreach rhythm that does not depend only on warm contacts
. Maintain clear reporting, pipeline visibility, and follow-through discipline

Who Will Do Well Here
. Someone who enjoys opening new doors rather than inheriting warm demand
. Someone who can keep creating fresh leads and meetings even after the obvious or easy contacts are gone
. Someone who is comfortable with a field-heavy role and regular prospect-facing activity
. Someone who combines commercial hunger with structure, discipline, and follow-through
. Someone who can navigate institutional conversations without needing heavy coaching
. Someone who can stay steady through slower partnership sales cycles

This Role Is Less Likely to Suit
. Candidates whose results depend mainly on an existing personal contact list that is difficult to replenish
. Candidates who are strongest only when supported by a well-established brand
. Candidates who rely heavily on marketing teams to generate lead volume
. Candidates whose past success came mainly from agents, channel partners, or ready-made warm introductions
. Candidates with mainly event, coordination, customer support, or relationship-management experience but limited personal sales ownership
. Candidates looking for a desk-bound, inbound-led, or cushy hybrid business development role
. Candidates who prefer structured corporate environments with close supervision and extensive hand-holding

Work Arrangement
. Full-time role
. Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 6:30pm
. Mainly field-based / offsite during the week
. Fridays are typically used for office-based meetings and internal alignment
. Suitable for someone comfortable with regular prospect meetings, canvassing, and external stakeholder engagement

Compensation
. Base salary: SGD 5,000 to SGD 7,000 per month, depending on experience and fit
. Performance-based incentives tied to business outcomes
. Opportunity to build partnerships in a growing Singapore EdTech environment

How to Apply
Please submit your CV with a brief summary of your relevant business development or partnerships experience.

Shortlisted candidates may be asked to share examples of:
. A school or institutional account they opened directly
. A deal or partnership they personally drove from start to finish
. How they continued creating fresh pipeline after their easiest leads were exhausted

EA Information
EA Personnel Name: Ben Chang
EA Personnel Registration Number: R23111820
EA Licence Number: 22C1307