Academic Partnership Executive

About the Role:

DTA is looking for an experienced and result-oriented Academic Partnership Executive to build and manage relationships with Colleges and Universities and drive student enrollment into DTA's free certification courses and career development programs.

The primary responsibility of this role will be to connect with Deans, HODs, TPOs, Placement Officers, Training & Placement Teams, Directors, Principals and other authorized decision-makers within educational institutions and establish academic partnerships that enable students to access DTA's free certification courses.

The candidate will be responsible for identifying suitable institutions, initiating conversations with decision-makers, explaining the benefits of DTA's programs, securing institutional approval/support and driving student enrollments at scale.

This role is ideal for professionals who already have experience working with colleges, universities, education institutions, EdTech companies, academic partnerships or student engagement programs.

Key Responsibilities

College & University Outreach:

• Identify and connect with colleges and universities across relevant regions.
• Research institutions and identify the appropriate decision-makers.
• Build relationships with Deans, HODs, TPOs, Placement Officers, Directors, Principals and other institutional authorities.
• Initiate conversations through calls, emails, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, virtual meetings and institutional visits.
• Develop a strong pipeline of colleges and universities for academic collaboration.

Academic Partnership Development:

• Approach institutions for collaboration with DTA.
• Present DTA's free certification courses and student development initiatives to institutional decision-makers.
• Explain how students can access career-oriented learning and certification opportunities at no cost.
• Understand the institution's requirements and recommend suitable DTA programs.
• Obtain institutional approval and establish ongoing academic partnerships.
• Maintain long-term relationships with partner colleges and universities.

Student Enrollment & Program Promotion:

• Drive student enrollment through institutional partnerships.
• Coordinate with HODs, TPOs, faculty members and placement teams to promote DTA courses among eligible students.
• Conduct or coordinate online/offline orientation sessions, presentations and awareness campaigns.
• Share course information, enrollment processes and program benefits with institutions.
• Ensure that interested students successfully complete the enrollment process.
• Work towards achieving monthly and quarterly student enrollment targets.

Institutional Meetings & Visits:

• Schedule and conduct meetings with college/university authorities.
• Visit institutions whenever required to establish or strengthen partnerships.
• Deliver professional presentations about DTA's courses and student development initiatives.
• Represent DTA during institutional meetings, seminars, workshops, career events and other academic activities.
• Build strong professional relationships with institutional stakeholders.

Lead Generation & Follow-Up:

• Generate new institutional leads through:
• Cold calling
• LinkedIn outreach
• Email campaigns
• References
• Networking
• Institutional databases
• Direct college/university visits
• Education events and conferences
• Maintain systematic follow-ups with prospects.
• Convert qualified institutional leads into active partnerships.
• Maintain an updated pipeline of prospective and active institutions.

Partnership & Enrollment Targets:

• Achieve monthly and quarterly targets for:
• New institutional partnerships
• Institutional meetings
• Student enrollments
• Active student participation
• Program adoption
• Maintain accurate records of institutional discussions, follow-ups and enrollments.
• Submit regular reports on business development and academic partnership activities.

Internal Coordination:

• Coordinate with DTA's internal teams for smooth implementation of academic partnerships.
• Share institutional requirements and feedback with relevant teams.
• Coordinate course communication, enrollment activities and student onboarding.
• Ensure partner institutions receive timely support from DTA.
• Support the successful execution of large-scale student enrollment campaigns.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

We are specifically looking for candidates who have relevant experience in the education and academic partnership ecosystem.

Candidates with experience in the following areas will be strongly preferred:

• Academic Partnerships
• College/University Partnerships
• EdTech Business Development
• Institutional Sales
• Education Sales
• Student Enrollment
• Higher Education Sales
• Training & Skill Development
• Career Services
• Campus Partnerships
• University Relations
• Student Engagement
• B2B Education Sales

Candidates who have an existing understanding of college/university decision-making structures and institutional outreach will have an advantage.

Required Skills:

• Minimum 1 year of relevant experience in Academic Partnerships, EdTech, Education Sales, Institutional Business Development or a closely related field.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent relationship-building ability.
• Ability to confidently communicate with Deans, HODs, TPOs, Placement Officers and senior institutional authorities.
• Strong presentation and pitching skills.
• Good negotiation and follow-up skills.
• Ability to generate leads independently.
• Experience with cold calling, email outreach and LinkedIn networking.
• Strong understanding of the institutional sales cycle.
• Ability to manage multiple colleges/universities simultaneously.
• Target-oriented and self-motivated approach.
• Good knowledge of MS Excel/Google Sheets, CRM or other lead-management tools.
• Willingness to travel for institutional meetings when required.

What You Will Be Selling/Promoting:

The candidate will primarily be responsible for promoting and driving institutional adoption of DTA's free certification courses and student development programs.

These may include multiple career-oriented certification and learning programs across areas such as:

• Data Analytics
• IT & Technology
• Professional Skills
• Career Development
• Employability Skills
• Industry-Relevant Certifications
• Other DTA Student Development Programs

The candidate's role is not limited to one course. DTA will continue to introduce multiple certification courses and student development opportunities, and the Academic Partnership Executive will be responsible for taking these opportunities to colleges and universities.

Important: Nature of the Role:

• This is a relationship-driven institutional business development role.
• The candidate will not primarily be selling paid courses to individual students.
• Instead, the candidate will:
• Identify Institution → Connect with Decision-Maker → Present DTA Programs → Establish Partnership → Promote Programs Through Institution → Drive Student Enrollment → Maintain Relationship
• The objective is to create large-scale institutional partnerships through which eligible students can access DTA's free certification opportunities.

Performance Expectations:

The selected candidate will be expected to demonstrate strong performance in:

• Number of new college/university relationships established
• Number of decision-makers contacted
• Number of institutional meetings conducted
• Number of academic partnerships developed
• Number of students enrolled
• Number of active partner institutions
• Student participation and engagement
• Partnership retention and repeat collaboration

Performance will be evaluated based on the quality of institutional relationships as well as measurable student enrollment and partnership outcomes.

Compensation:

The final compensation will depend on the candidate's:

• Relevant experience
• Institutional network
• Academic partnership experience
• Business development capabilities
• Communication and negotiation skills
• Previous performance

Additional performance-based incentives may be provided based on institutional partnerships and student enrollment performance.

Travel expenses/allowance: Applicable for approved institutional visits as per DTA's policy.

Why Join DTA?

• Work directly in the Academic Partnership & Student Development ecosystem.
• Opportunity to build relationships with colleges and universities.
• Work on large-scale student enrollment and career development initiatives.
• Opportunity to interact with senior academic decision-makers.
• Performance-based growth opportunities.
• Flexible Work-from-Home + Institutional Visit model.
• Opportunity to contribute to making career-oriented learning opportunities accessible to students.

Who Should Apply:

• This position is best suited for an experienced professional who already understands how colleges and universities work and is comfortable approaching and building relationships with academic decision-makers.
• If you have experience in Academic Partnerships, EdTech, Institutional Sales, Education Business Development, College/University Relations or Student Enrollment, and enjoy building partnerships that create opportunities for students, this role could be a strong fit for you.

Join DTA and help build academic partnerships that connect students with free, career-oriented certification opportunities.