Business Development & Partnerships Associate

Develop the pipeline of employers, institutions, communities and strategic partners who can benefit from Kognitiv Academy’s in-person education offering. Own prospect research, outreach, discovery, meetings, proposal coordination and partnership activation, with clear CRM discipline and a focus on opportunities that result in learner seats, programme revenue or distribution.

What you will own Prospecting & pipeline creation

• Research and prioritise target corporates, SMEs, universities, associations, communities, venues and ecosystem partners in UAE and relevant regional markets.
• Build targeted account lists, identify decision makers and execute thoughtful outreach by email, phone, LinkedIn and in person.
• Qualify needs for corporate learning, sponsored learner seats, memberships, workshops and co-hosted programmes.
• Maintain reliable CRM data, opportunity stages, next steps, expected value and follow-up dates. Commercial conversations & proposals
• Arrange and conduct discovery calls and meetings; articulate Academy value and programme formats clearly.
• Coordinate tailored proposals, pricing inputs, meeting materials and partnership outlines with internal owners.
• Support commercial negotiations and contract follow-up, escalating approvals and legal terms appropriately.
• Represent the Academy at community, networking and industry events when needed. Partnership activation & account development
• Coordinate onboarding of signed partners and internal handoffs to programme, marketing and faculty teams.
• Develop activation plans including referrals, employee enrolment, co-branded events and joint promotion.
• Track partner deliverables, lead referrals, learner conversions and recurring opportunities.
• Maintain relationships after launch and identify expansion or renewal opportunities.

What we are looking for

• 2+ years in B2B business development, partnerships, account management or consultative sales.
• Comfort with outbound prospecting, relationship building, presentations and follow-up.
• Excellent spoken and written English; Arabic is strongly preferred for regional relationship development.
• Disciplined CRM use, pipeline forecasting and proposal coordination.
• Knowledge of Dubai/UAE business ecosystems; an established network is an advantage.
• Willingness to travel locally and attend relevant meetings or events. First 90 days: expected outcomes
• Segmented target-account lists with named decision makers and outreach plans.
• An accurate, active pipeline and weekly business-development report.
• Partner activation plans and documented handoffs for every signed agreement. Performance measures
• Qualified meetings, sales-accepted opportunities and pipeline value created.
• Proposal-to-close and lead-to-meeting conversion rates.
• New signed partnerships, activated partners and partner-sourced enrolments/revenue.
• CRM completeness, timely follow-up and retention/expansion opportunities. About Kognitiv Academy Kognitiv Academy delivers practical, in-person professional learning through courses, workshops, coaching and multi-week journeys. We work with individual learners, faculty, companies and ecosystem partners to make learning immediately applicable in the workplace. We value ownership, curiosity, operational excellence, thoughtful collaboration and measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

may evolve as the Academy grows.