Employer Partnerships & Business Development

The Employer Partnerships & Business Development Specialist is responsible for identifying, developing, securing, and activating employer partnerships that support Salem University's institutional growth, workforce development initiatives, and employee education opportunities.

This position focuses on proactive business development, employer acquisition, and relationship management by connecting organizational workforce needs with Salem University's degree, certificate, and workforce education programs.

The Specialist independently manages the business development lifecycle, including prospecting, employer outreach, needs assessment, proposal development, agreement coordination, partnership activation, and ongoing employer engagement.

Working directly with the Vice President of Partnership Development, the Specialist is accountable for developing a qualified employer pipeline, advancing business opportunities, securing new partnerships, and coordinating with internal departments to support successful implementation.

This is a results-driven, individual contributor position requiring strong initiative, professional judgment, relationship-building skills, and accountability for measurable business development outcomes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The duties listed below are representative of the responsibilities of this position. Additional duties may be assigned to support institutional priorities.

Business Development & Employer Acquisition

• Develop and execute business development plans for assigned territories, industries, and employer markets.
• Identify and prioritize prospective employers whose workforce development and employee education needs align with Salem University's academic programs and institutional priorities.
• Independently generate new business opportunities through direct prospecting, targeted outreach, referrals, professional networks, industry associations, and relevant events.
• Establish relationships with human resources, benefits, learning and development, operations, and executive-level decision-makers.
• Identify employer workforce challenges, education benefit opportunities, employee development priorities, and potential partnership needs.
• Evaluate prospective partnerships based on organizational needs, eligible employee populations, program alignment, employer commitment, implementation requirements, and growth potential.
• Develop and maintain a qualified pipeline of employer partnership opportunities.
• Evaluate outreach effectiveness and adjust prospecting strategies based on market response, conversion trends, and business development results.
• Demonstrate ownership and accountability for identifying, developing, and advancing new employer relationships.

Employer Relationship Development & Consultative Sales

• Conduct employer discovery meetings to understand organizational workforce challenges, desired outcomes, decision-making processes, and potential barriers to employee participation.
• Develop customized partnership recommendations that connect employer needs with relevant Salem University programs and educational opportunities.
• Present business cases and value propositions to employer stakeholders.
• Conduct employer presentations, respond to objections, and advance opportunities toward formal decisions.
• Identify organizational decisionmakers, internal sponsors, approval requirements, and implementation expectations.
• Establish clear next steps, responsible parties, and timelines following substantive employer meetings.
• Maintain consistent follow-up throughout the business development process.
• Exercise sound judgment in determining which opportunities warrant continued investment and which should be deprioritized.
• Negotiate partnership terms within established University guidelines and obtain appropriate authorization before making commitments or exceptions.

Partnership Agreements & Implementation

• Coordinate the development, review, approval, and execution of employer partnership agreements.
• Ensure proposed partnerships align with approved University pricing, scholarship, academic, contractual, and operational parameters.
• Collaborate with appropriate University stakeholders to confirm partnership feasibility and implementation requirements.
• Develop activation plans for newly executed employer agreements.
• Establish employer launch timelines, internal responsibilities, communication strategies, and implementation milestones.
• Coordinate with Marketing, Enrollment, and other University departments to develop employee-facing communication materials, information sessions, and referral processes.
• Support the transition of signed agreements into active, operational employer partnerships.
• Identify and resolve implementation barriers through effective coordination and timely escalation.
• Complete documented handoffs when ongoing partnership management responsibilities are reassigned.
• Ensure employer partners receive accurate information regarding university programs, educational benefits, eligibility, and participation processes.

Employer Engagement & Partnership Growth

• Maintain professional relationships with assigned employer partners following partnership activation.
• Monitor partnership engagement, employee participation, and progress toward established objectives.
• Identify opportunities to increase employer awareness and employee utilization of available educational programs.
• Coordinate employer communication activities, educational presentations, and engagement initiatives.
• Collaborate with Enrollment and Marketing to support employee outreach and partnership-related enrollment activities.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing partnerships into additional programs, locations, departments, or employee populations.
• Address declining participation, stalled activity, or partnership concerns through proactive engagement.
• Support long-term partnership, sustainability and institutional growth.

Pipeline Management, CRM & Reporting

• Maintain accurate, complete, and timely employer partnership records within HubSpot or the University's designated Customer Relationship Management system.
• Document employer contacts, stakeholder relationships, qualification findings, opportunity stages, next steps, responsible parties, and anticipated decision dates.
• Monitor pipeline development, opportunity progression, proposal activity, agreement execution, and partnership activation.
• Prepare regular pipeline updates, forecasts, and performance reports for the Vice President of Partnership Development.
• Identify obstacles affecting partnership development and present recommended solutions.
• Monitor sales-cycle timelines, conversion rates, forecast accuracy, and partnership outcomes.
• Collaborate with Enrollment to support accurate tracking of partnership-generated inquiries, applications, and enrollments.
• Utilize performance data to evaluate business development effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain disciplined follow-through and accountability for assigned business development activities.

Market Development & Business Planning

• Research assigned employer markets, workforce trends, industry needs, and potential partnership opportunities.
• Identify industries and organizations with workforce development needs aligned with Salem University's academic offerings.
• Develop and refine territory strategies based on employer demand, market opportunities, and demonstrated results.
• Recommend new outreach approaches, employer engagement strategies, and partnership opportunities.
• Provide market intelligence and employer feedback to University leadership.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify opportunities for new or expanded employer education solutions.
• Maintain awareness of relevant employer education benefits, tuition assistance programs, and workforce development initiatives.
• Evaluate business development activities based on potential institutional impact and available resources.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Enrollment, Marketing, Academic Affairs, and other University departments to support employer partnership development and implementation.
• Communicate employer needs, partnership commitments, and operational requirements clearly to appropriate stakeholders.
• Ensure internal teams are engaged before commitments are made that require their resources or approval.
• Support coordinated employer communication and employee enrollment processes.
• Maintain professional working relationships across departments.
• Escalate operational, contractual, or implementation concerns when appropriate.
• Represent Salem University professionally in employer meetings, industry events, conferences, and community activities.

Budget & Resource Management

• Manage assigned travel and business development expenses within approved budgets.
• Evaluate travel and outreach expenditures based on opportunity quality and anticipated partnership value.
• Maintain appropriate documentation of business development expenses.
• Utilize University resources responsibly and in accordance with applicable policies.
• Recommend resource allocation adjustments when supported by business development results.

Professional & University Responsibilities

• Represent Salem University's mission, values, academic programs, and institutional priorities professionally.
• Maintain accurate and ethical representations of University programs, costs, eligibility requirements, and educational opportunities.
• Exercise sound judgment when communicating with prospective and existing employer partners.
• Maintain confidentiality of employer, employee, student, and institutional information.
• Follow established University policies and procedures.
• Participate in required meetings, professional-development activities, and University initiatives.
• Maintain a high degree of professionalism, initiative, accountability, and responsiveness.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant professional experience.
• Minimum of three years of successful business-to-business sales, business development, employer partnerships, or workforce solutions experience.
• Demonstrated responsibility for independently generating and closing new organizational accounts or partnerships.
• Documented success developing qualified business pipelines, securing new accounts, executing agreements, or producing measurable account growth.
• Experience conducting proactive prospecting and navigating organizational decision-making processes involving multiple stakeholders.
• Strong consultative selling, business writing, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
• Experience using CRM systems to maintain business development records, manage opportunities, and support forecasting.
• Demonstrated ability to independently develop new business opportunities without relying exclusively on established lead sources.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently in a remote professional environment.
• Ability to travel approximately 30%, including occasional overnight travel and evening or weekend events.

Experience exclusively recruiting individual students, without organizational business development or employer partnership responsibility, does not independently satisfy the required B2B experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience selling education, workforce development, corporate learning, employee benefits, or other consultative B2B services.
• Experience establishing employer education partnerships or workforce development agreements.
• Experience working with employer tuition assistance or employee education benefit programs.
• Experience engaging employers in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, construction, skilled trades, or related industries.
• Experience developing and activating employer partnerships that result in sustained employee engagement.
• Experience working within higher education or workforce education environments.
• Experience using HubSpot for pipeline management, forecasting, and employer relationship tracking.
• Experience utilizing technology-assisted account research and business development outreach.
• Established employer relationships in Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, Ohio, or Georgia.
• Residence within an assigned or priority employer market is preferred but not required.

Performance Expectations

Success in this position will be evaluated through established quarterly goals and performance measures developed in collaboration with the Vice President of Partnership Development.

Business Development & Pipeline Growth

• Consistent generation of qualified employer partnership opportunities.
• Effective development and execution of territory and employer acquisition strategies.
• Measurable progression of employer opportunities through established pipeline stages.
• Demonstrated initiative in developing new accounts and expanding employer relationships.

Partnership Conversion & Execution

• Successful advancement of qualified opportunities into proposals, employer decisions, and executed agreements.
• Effective management of employer decision-making processes and timely follow-up.
• Appropriate coordination of partnership approval and execution requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to overcome barriers and secure organizational commitments.

Partnership Activation & Engagement

• Timely activation of executed employer partnership agreements.
• Effective coordination of employer launch plans and communication activities.
• Continued engagement and follow-through with assigned employer partners.
• Identification and implementation of opportunities to improve partnership participation and growth.

Operational Accountability

• Accurate and timely CRM documentation.
• Reliable pipeline forecasting and reporting.
• Effective management of assigned priorities and commitments.
• Timely communication of risks, obstacles, and recommended solutions.
• Responsible management of travel and business development expenses.

Institutional Growth

• Contribution to increased employer partnership activity and institutional visibility.
• Support of employer-generated student inquiries, applications, and enrollments.
• Demonstrated alignment between partnership activities and University growth objectives.
• Continuous improvement of business development strategies based on performance results.

Performance measures and quarterly goals will be established based on assigned territory maturity, employer market potential, and anticipated sales cycles.

The following expectations establish an initial framework for onboarding, business development activity, and performance accountability.

First 30 Days

• Develop working knowledge of Salem University's academic programs, employer partnership offerings, approval processes, and target markets.
• Review existing accounts, active opportunities, and assigned employer partnerships.
• Establish a prioritized employer target list in collaboration with the Vice President of Partnership Development.
• Begin direct employer prospecting, outreach, and discovery activities.
• Establish accurate CRM documentation and weekly reporting practices.
• Identify existing partnership opportunities that may be advanced or activated.

By 60 Days

• Establish a qualified employer pipeline supported by completed discovery, identified decision-makers, and documented next steps.
• Advance appropriate employer opportunities into customized proposals and organizational decision processes.
• Develop activation or reactivation plans for viable existing partnerships, where assigned.
• Demonstrate consistent employer outreach and follow-up activities.
• Utilize market feedback to refine employer targeting, messaging, and outreach strategies.

By 90 Days

• Demonstrate measurable progression from prospecting to qualified opportunities, proposals, and employer decisions.
• Secure initial partnership wins and launches against agreed 90-day performance goals.
• Document employer decisions, remaining barriers, and next steps for longer-cycle opportunities.
• Present a credible next-quarter business development forecast.
• Provide recommendations for improving employer engagement, pipeline conversion, and partnership activation.

Specific numerical goals should be established with the Vice President based on territory assignments, market conditions, and business development priorities.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Salem University is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Job Description Disclaimer

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Salem University reserves the right to modify responsibilities as institutional needs evolve.