Business Development Manager, Institutional Partnerships

Frontiers Media S.A.; Madrid; Presencial; COP 40.000.000 - 80.000.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

A leading publishing company is seeking a Business Development Manager to lead pilot partnerships and engage with academic institutions. The role involves managing the complete lifecycle of pilot projects aimed at enhancing open access publishing. Candidates should possess a Bachelor’s degree and 2–4 years of relevant experience in academic publishing or business development.

Formación

• 2–4 years’ experience in academic publishing, scholarly communications, or business development.
• Familiarity with open access publishing models and research funding policies.
• Excellent communication and presentation abilities.

Responsabilidades

• Identify and engage institutions for pilot opportunities.
• Design and execute stakeholder events to capture market needs.
• Manage pilot programmes end-to-end, supporting rollout decisions.

Conocimientos

B2B business development

Data analysis

Communication

Project management

Educación

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s preferred (e.g., Business)

Herramientas

Salesforce CRM

Excel

PowerPoint

Tableau

Jira

Descripción del empleo

Overview

Purpose

Build and lead pilot partnerships that test new institutional models and redefine how universities engage with open access.

Own the Process : From stakeholder engagement and model design to outreach and pilot execution, you’ll manage the full lifecycle of 5–10 pilots each year – turning insights into scalable offerings.

Collaborate Globally : Work cross-functionally, while engaging senior stakeholders at top research institutions globally.

What You’ll Do

As Business Development Manager, you will manage a defined portfolio of institutional business development opportunities and pilot partnerships with academic institutions, consortia, and funders. You will design, launch, and evaluate pilot models that test new approaches to institutional engagement in open access publishing.

Working closely with colleagues in Institutional Sales and Account Development, Product, Finance, Legal, Data & Analytics, External Affairs and Marketing, you will ensure pilots and new offerings are customer-focused, commercially viable, and strategically aligned. You will report to the Head of Institutional Business Development, contributing to the innovation pipeline and gaining visibility across senior leadership.

Your responsibilities will include :

• Identifying and engaging institutions for pilot opportunities and developing tailored proposals and business cases.
• Designing and executing stakeholder events – workshops, focus groups, interviews, and roundtables – to capture market needs and trends.
• Leading outreach and relationship-building with universities, consortia, and funders.
• Managing pilot programmes end-to-end, from set-up through reporting and evaluation, and supporting go / no-go decisions for wider rollout.
• Representing Frontiers at international conferences and workshops, building long-term strategic relationships with institutional decision-makers.
• Collaborating with Institutional Sales and Account Development to integrate frontline market feedback into innovation projects.
• Acting as the institutional “voice” internally, providing structured feedback into model development.
• Coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure feasibility, customer satisfaction, and alignment with policy and strategy.
• Reporting to the Head of Institutional Business Development on outreach activities, pilot progress, and assigned innovation initiatives.

What success looks like

• Outreach to around 50 institutional targets per year.
• Launching 5–10 pilot partnerships annually.
• Delivering clear, data-driven reporting on pilot performance and ROI.
• Achieving strong collaboration across internal teams and high partner satisfaction.
• Converting pilot programmes into long-term commercial offerings.

What We’re Looking For

We are seeking a collaborative, analytical, and entrepreneurial professional who thrives in a mission-driven environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (required); Master’s preferred (e.g. Business, International Relations, or Library / Information Sciences).
• 2–4 years’ experience in academic publishing, scholarly communications, higher education partnerships, or a related business development role.
• Demonstrated success in B2B business development, sales, or strategic partnerships.
• Familiarity with open access publishing models, research funding policies, or higher education structures.
• Strong skills in business case development, project management, and data analysis.
• Excellent communication and presentation abilities, with confidence engaging senior stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Salesforce CRM, Excel, and PowerPoint; knowledge of Tableau or Jira is a plus.

Additional Notes

• Travel ~10–15% (approx. 4 international events / year)
• Global scope, with evolving geographic focus

Apply now

Please click the 'apply' button on this page and submit your application in English.

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Equal opportunity statement

Frontiers actively embraces diversity and is a safe and welcoming workplace. Recruitment is free from discrimination – including based on race, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation. With employees from more than 50 different nations, our diversity creates vibrant teams and constantly challenges us to appreciate multiple perspectives.