Business Development Associate

Title: Business Development Associate

Location: NYC, NY or LA, CA (Remote)

Range: $60K - $75K

ABOUT PUSHKIN INDUSTRIES

Pushkin Industries is an award-winning audio network and production company, committed to producing good, smart, fun audio in any format. Founded in 2018, Pushkin makes narrative and investigative series as well as conversational shows. We have launched many new podcasts into Apple's Top 10, including Against the Rules, The Happiness Lab, Cautionary Tales, Deep Cover, and Revisionist History, which is hosted by Pushkin co-founder Malcolm Gladwell. Pushkin also produces audiobooks such as Gladwell's The Bomber Mafia and Talking to Strangers, Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver, Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon, and So Many Steves by Steve Martin and Adam Gopnik. We make highly-produced client work as well, for companies like IBM, GSK, and TED. We are dedicated to fostering an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute their best work.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

Pushkin is looking for an organized and ambitious Business Development Associate to join our growing BD team.

This role sits at the intersection of deal execution, licensing strategy, and partner management. You'll support the VP of Business Development on simpler deal types across the portfolio while taking ownership of executing Pushkin's licensing strategy and managing key partner relationships. You'll also play a key role in maintaining the operational systems that keep our commercial engine running. 

Our team is small and collaborative. This is an ideal role for an early-career professional who is eager to grow into a more senior BD role and wants to be close to the deal-making, strategy, and day-to-day of a growing media company.

This position reports to to Pushkin's VP, Business Development.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITES:

Deal Support & Negotiation

• Support the VP in drafting and negotiating deal terms for basic partnerships, including content licensing, custom content, and talent work-for-hire agreements
• Manage deal correspondence and track active negotiations from initial terms through to countersigned execution
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure alignment on commercial terms before deals go out

Licensing & Syndication

• Support and execute the VP's licensing strategy across distribution, translation, and subscription licenses
• Source potential narrative content from third parties and manage the full pipeline from initial outreach through deal execution
• Manage Pushkin's third-party distribution and paywall licensing relationships, including maintaining and growing existing partnerships (e.g., BBC Sounds) and identifying new opportunities
• Support the VP on translation of Pushkin owned-and-operated podcasts and audiobooks

Partner Management & Operations

• Own the full lifecycle of Pushkin's QBR process with key partners — scheduling, data gathering, liaising with senior production, business, and commercial leadership, tracking follow-ups, and preparing initial decks for VP review
• Maintain the Airtable deals pipeline, ensuring records are accurate and up to date and  tracking deal stages, deadlines, and key terms across multiple concurrent workstreams
• Support the VP in maintaining deal and contract checklists, templates, playbook and fallback language, and workflow guides  

WHAT YOU'LL BRING:

Required:

• 2–4 years of experience in business development, podcasting, publishing, media, or a related field
• Assured and comfortable managing relationships with partners and stakeholders
• Extremely organized, with the ability to manage multiple deals and workstreams simultaneously without dropping details
• Clear, professional written and verbal communication
• Comfort working in spreadsheets and databases; Airtable experience a plus
• An operations mindset — you notice when a process is broken and want to fix it
• Genuine curiosity about AI tools and how they can improve BD and operational workflows
• Passionate consumer of podcasts and/or audiobooks

Nice to Have:

• Experience reviewing or working with contracts
• Familiarity with podcast, audiobook, or content licensing deal structures
• Existing network in publishing, podcasting, or media
• Exposure to financial modeling or P&L analysis
• Interest in growing toward a more senior BD or strategy role

WHY JOIN US:

• Direct exposure to deal-making across podcasts, audiobooks, and media partnerships
• Clear growth path toward a more senior BD or strategy role
• Collaborative, lean team where your work has direct impact on the company's commercial trajectory
• Flexibility: Remote-friendly, with hybrid options from our NY office. Pushkin employees enjoy two company-wide one-week breaks per year, three weeks of paid vacation, paid holidays, and parental leave eligibility
• Competitive Compensation: $60,000–$75,000, plus a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, retirement plans, and more

Pushkin Industries is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, familial status, or other legally protected characteristics.