Job Description – Manager, Strategic Partnerships & Outreach
Company: Ikigai School of AI
Position: Manager – Strategic Partnerships & Outreach
Role Type: Strategic Partnerships +Outreach+ Junior Academic Counselling
Employment Type: Full-time
Location: Lucknow
Experience: 1–5 years
Industry: Education / EdTech / Artificial Intelligence
About Ikigai School of AI
Ikigai School of AI is focused on making AI and emerging technology skills accessible to students, working professionals, entrepreneurs and organizations through practical, career-oriented training programs.
We are looking for an energetic, confident and target-oriented Manager – Strategic Partnerships & Outreach who can build relationships with schools, colleges, universities, government institutions, private organizations and other potential partners.
This is a field-oriented, business development and revenue-focused role. The candidate will be responsible for meeting institutional decision-makers, pitching our programs, securing permissions for seminars and workshops, developing partnerships and representing Ikigai School of AI at outreach and promotional activities.
The role will also include Junior Academic Counselling responsibilities, including calling leads, counselling prospective students, following up with prospects and converting leads into course admissions.
Key Responsibilities
1. Institutional Outreach & Strategic Partnerships
- Identify and approach schools, colleges, universities, government departments, private institutions and other potential partners.
- Regularly visit institutions and build professional relationships with key decision-makers.
- Meet and communicate with Principals, HODs, Deans, Directors, Placement Officers, Training & Placement Teams, Faculty Members and Management.
- Introduce Ikigai School of AI and pitch relevant AI and technology programs.
- Convince institutions to conduct seminars, workshops, AI awareness sessions, career sessions and training programs.
- Identify opportunities for institutional tie-ups and long-term partnerships.
- Develop partnerships that can generate student enrolments and revenue for Ikigai School of AI.
- Arrange meetings between institutional decision-makers and the management/academic team.
- Follow up consistently until meetings, approvals, events or partnerships are successfully closed.
2. Seminars, Workshops & Student Outreach
- Identify opportunities to conduct seminars, workshops and AI awareness programs in schools, colleges and universities.
- Approach relevant authorities and obtain permissions for conducting such activities.
- Coordinate with HODs, faculty members and institutional management for event planning.
- Coordinate with the academic team regarding trainers, topics, schedules and student requirements.
- Ensure smooth execution of seminars, workshops and student engagement activities.
- Generate student leads from seminars, workshops and institutional activities.
- Identify opportunities to convert institutional events into paid training programs and course admissions.
3. Business Development & Revenue Generation
- Generate new institutional business and partnership opportunities.
- Pitch AI courses, professional training programs and institutional training solutions.
- Convert institutional discussions into paid training programs, partnerships and student enrolments.
- Maintain a strong pipeline of prospective institutional partners.
- Follow up on proposals, meetings, quotations and commercial discussions.
- Work towards defined monthly and quarterly revenue and partnership targets.
- Develop long-term relationships that can result in recurring business, referrals and new opportunities.
4. Junior Academic Counselling & Lead Conversion
Along with institutional outreach, the candidate will support the counselling team and will be responsible for:
- Calling leads generated through digital marketing, seminars, workshops and other channels.
- Understanding the student's or working professional's background, career goals and requirements.
- Explaining Ikigai School of AI's courses, curriculum, duration, fees and career relevance.
- Counselling prospective students and recommending suitable programs.
- Following up with interested and undecided leads.
- Handling objections and helping prospects make informed enrolment decisions.
- Converting leads into course registrations and admissions.
- Achieving individual and team-based admission and revenue targets.
- Maintaining accurate lead, follow-up and conversion records.
5. Outward Branding & Company Representation
The candidate will be one of the key representatives of Ikigai School of AI in the market.
Responsibilities include:
- Representing the company at seminars, conferences, exhibitions, college events and promotional activities.
- Managing and representing Ikigai School of AI at kiosks, stalls, campus activations and marketing campaigns.
- Interacting confidently with students, parents, faculty members and institutional representatives.
- Explaining the company's programs and offerings to prospective students and partners.
- Ensuring professional presentation and communication of the Ikigai School of AI brand.
- Supporting offline marketing and brand-building activities.
- Being willing to travel for institutional visits, events and outreach activities.
6. Coordination with Internal Teams
- Coordinate with the Marketing Team regarding campaigns, lead generation, institutional outreach and promotional activities.
- Coordinate with the Academic/Trainer Team for seminars, workshops, demonstrations and training programs.
- Coordinate with the counselling team for lead handover and student conversions.
- Share feedback with the marketing team regarding lead quality, institutional response and campaign effectiveness.
- Ensure smooth coordination between external partners and internal teams.
7. Reporting & Documentation
Maintain and regularly update:
- Institution and partner database
- Contact details of HODs, Principals and other decision-makers
- Meeting schedules and follow-ups
- Seminar and workshop pipeline
- Partnership pipeline
- Proposals and commercial discussions
- Leads generated through outreach activities
- Admissions and revenue generated
- Event and campaign performance
Submit regular reports on outreach activities, meetings, conversions, partnerships and revenue.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate should be:
- Confident, outgoing and comfortable meeting senior people.
- Excellent in spoken and written communication.
- Comfortable approaching new institutions and initiating conversations.
- Strong in persuasion, negotiation and relationship building.
- Comfortable making cold calls and conducting regular follow-ups.
- Able to pitch products and services confidently to HODs, Principals and institutional decision-makers.
- Target-oriented and comfortable working with sales and revenue targets.
- Willing to travel locally and occasionally outside Lucknow.
- Comfortable representing the company at public events and promotional activities.
- Organized and capable of managing multiple meetings, leads and follow-ups.
- Comfortable using Google Sheets, Excel, CRM tools and basic digital communication platforms.
- Willing to learn about AI, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, and other emerging technology programs.
Education & Experience
- Graduate in any discipline.
- 1–5 years of experience in business development, institutional sales, EdTech, academic counselling, education sales, corporate relations, outreach or partnership development.
- Experience dealing with schools, colleges, universities or government/private institutions will be an advantage.
- Candidates with strong communication, sales and networking skills are encouraged to apply.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Performance will primarily be measured on:
- Number of institutions approached
- Meetings secured with decision-makers
- Seminars and workshops organized
- Institutional partnerships developed
- Revenue generated through institutional partnerships
- Student leads generated through outreach
- Lead-to-admission conversion
- Course enrolments and revenue
- Follow-up effectiveness
- Successful execution of outreach and promotional activities
Travel Requirement
Local travel will be required, which will be reimbursed.
The candidate should be comfortable visiting schools, colleges, universities, government/private institutions and other organizations as part of institutional outreach and partnership development.
Salary & Incentives
Salary: ₹20000-₹25000 per month
Performance Incentives: Applicable based on admissions, revenue and partnership performance.
Why Join Ikigai School of AI?
- Work in the rapidly growing AI and emerging technology education sector.
- Build relationships with leading educational institutions and organizations.
- Gain exposure to outreach, partnerships, sales, marketing and AI education.
- Opportunity for performance-based career growth.
- Represent an emerging AI education brand across institutions and organizations.
Pay: ₹20,000.00 - ₹25,000.00 per month
Benefits:
- Cell phone reimbursement
- Leave encashment
Work Location: In person
