Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships

Position Description

Who we are: 
The Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning (VPAL) seeks to shape the future of education by discovering new ways to build the competence, curiosity, and confidence of learners around the world. We create engaging and scalable learning experiences, cultivate inspiring ideas, and connect a global community of learners—while developing tools, technologies, platforms, and policies to reduce friction throughout the learning lifecycle.



How you'll contribute: 
This newly created, critically important position is a key driver in our growth strategy. You'll increase the reach of Harvard Online certificate courses by identifying and partnering with corporations, nonprofits, governmental agencies, and educational institutions around the world.  Reporting to the Director of Marketing & Product Management and working cross functionally with a wide range of roles across VPAL, you'll seek out prospects, build relationships, help develop solutions that meet each organization's needs, identify opportunities for further growth and own our global partnership strategy.



At VPAL, your role will be to:   

• Own the end-to-end process for acquiring strategic partners, revising and improving our process over time
• Identify opportunities for partnerships to contribute to the growth of institutional programs
• Cultivate relationships with corporate and other partners to understand their learning and development needs
• Monitor, analyze, and anticipate market trends to identify new, emerging, and enhanced partnership opportunities with a range of organizations, including corporations, educational institutions, governmental, and other nonprofit organizations
• Develop and implement short-term and long-term strategic plans to achieve new business development goals through partnership opportunities that are consistent with the mission, vision, and values of the university
• Develop and execute sales by utilizing direct marketing strategies, salesforce building, and marketing support materials 
• Collaborate closely with marketing, product management, and creative teams, while also coordinating with program services, instructional design and multimedia teams as needed
• Create and maintain all program documentation including sales reports, relationship notes, inquiries, contracts, pricing schedules, etc.  
• Facilitate contracts and third-party agreements and coordinate the negotiation of license agreements in collaboration with VPAL administration team and Harvard's Office of General Counsel, as needed
• Establish key metrics and performance measures to track progress against goals and in a way that enables the team to understand priorities and maximize productivity on an ongoing basis
• Provide VPAL leadership with accurate and timely information about new business development results on a continuing basis to facilitate informed decision-making
• Ensure that VPAL and Harvard Online programs and initiatives have visibility amongst industry leaders and potential collaborators  

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required
• Minimum of 8 years' relevant work experience

Additional Qualifications and Skills

• Experience in positions involved with business-to-business, business-to-institution, or business-to-government sales and marketing, account management, business development, and project management in an industrial or academic setting required
• Experience with Salesforce
• MBA, JD, or other relevant Master's degree 
• Proven track record of establishing and expanding business relationships 
• Experience selling digital products preferred
• Excellent interpersonal skills and attention to detail  
• Excellent oral and written communication skills 
• Experience interacting with senior leadership and high-level stakeholders, both internal and external to the organization 
• Comfort using data to demonstrate results and make informed decisions
• Ability to work in a matrixed organization, collaborate with a diverse group of stakeholders, build consensus and buy-in to advance department objectives 
• Highly skilled networker, relationship builder and negotiator combined with excellent presentation, public speaking, oral and written communication skills 

Physical Requirements

• Sitting using near vision use for reading and computer use for extended periods of time
• Lifting (approximately 20 to 30 pounds), bending, and other physical exertion

Working Conditions

• In-person work is performed in an open office setting
• VPAL is a hybrid office, as our team places a high value on the in-person experience, cross-team collaboration, and strong community building. Individual flexible work options for this role, including hybrid, will be discussed during the interview process. Specific in-office and schedule will be determined between you and your manager.
• This position may include domestic and foreign travel.

Additional Information

IMPORTANT NOTE: A cover letter is requested for this role. Your cover letter and resume should be submitted as a combined SINGLE DOCUMENT under the resume tab.  


VPAL is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this position.


PLEASE NOTE: The health of our workforce is a priority for Harvard University. With that in mind, we strongly encourage all employees to be up-to-date on CDC-recommended vaccines.



Why Harvard?
We offer a wide range of exciting and challenging job opportunities that support our world-class academic environment. We invite you to explore the many reasons to work for Harvard at . Harvard University is committed to offering competitive total compensation package including:

• A creative, high-energy, collaborative environment  
• Generous Vacation, Sick, Personal, and Holiday pay  
• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits starting on your first day  
• University-funded retirement plans  
• Tuition Assistance Program  
• Transportation benefits to help with your daily commute  
• Health and wellness discounts, memberships, and programs  

Additional benefits can be found at

Benefits

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