Business Development Rep, Higher Ed Partnerships

The Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) is a non-partisan, non-profit dedicated to fostering constructive dialogue in higher education. They are seeking a Business Development Representative who will be responsible for building and expanding partnerships with colleges and universities, engaging prospective partners, and converting marketing interest into active conversations.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute intentional, well-researched outbound outreach strategies (email, phone, LinkedIn, and other channels) to engage prospective partner institutions across the higher education sector
• Own timely, personalized follow-up on inbound and marketing-generated leads, converting interest into qualified meetings and early-stage partnership conversations
• Conduct thoughtful research on prospective institutions to understand their priorities, challenges, and likely decision-makers before initiating outreach
• Partner with Director and Senior Director of Partnerships to develop and refine account prioritization, territory planning, and targeted and new outreach strategies for key institutions and segments
• Collaborate closely with the Demand Generation Manager to create and strengthen lead follow-up processes, improve lead quality conversion, and surface opportunities to refine campaign-to-pipeline workflows
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of all outreach activity, engagement history, and pipeline progression in Hubspot, helping ensure strong visibility across the team
• Monitor outreach performance and identify recurring patterns, objections, or process gaps, recommending adjustments to messaging, targeting, or follow-up approach as needed
• Meet or exceed monthly and quarterly goals for outreach activity, qualified meetings, and pipeline contribution
• Share market feedback, prospect insights, and learnings with the Partnerships and Marketing teams to improve positioning, segmentation, and future outreach effectiveness

Requirements:

• 3+ years of professional experience and 1+ year of experience in business development, sales, admissions, partnerships, or another outreach-driven role; experience in higher education, edtech, or mission-driven organizations is a plus
• Genuine excitement for prospecting and outreach, with a track record of turning research, persistence, and strong follow-up into real conversations
• Organized and process-driven, with the ability to manage a high volume of outreach without letting things fall through the cracks
• Comfort engaging professionally with a range of stakeholders, including senior leaders and decision-makers
• Clear, compelling communicator in writing and conversation, with the ability to tailor messaging to different audiences
• Coachable and collaborative, with a track record of thriving in team environments working toward shared goals
• Self-motivated and goal-oriented, comfortable with metrics and energized (not intimidated) by targets
• Genuine curiosity about higher education and a belief in CDI's mission to build skills for constructive dialogue on college campuses
• Experience with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and sales engagement tools preferred
• Growth mindset and eagerness to learn the nuances of the higher education market