Business Development Manager, Institutional Partnerships

Frontiers; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research publisher seeks a Business Development Manager to manage partnerships with academic institutions in the London area. Responsibilities include engaging institutions, designing pilot programs, and collaborating with various teams. Ideal candidate should possess a Bachelor’s degree, strong analytical and communication skills, and experience in B2B development. This role offers a hybrid working model with opportunities for growth and contribution to open access publishing initiatives.

Benefits

Additional wellbeing days

Access to learning platforms

Employee assistance plan

Volunteer days

Pension plan and private medical care

Qualifications

• 2–4 years’ experience in business development or related role.
• Experience in academic publishing and strategic partnerships.
• Proven success in B2B business development.

Responsibilities

• Manage pilot partnerships with academic institutions.
• Design and execute stakeholder events for market needs.
• Lead outreach and relationship-building with universities.

Skills

Analytical skills

Entrepreneurial mindset

Communication skills

Project management

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s in Business or related field

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Excel

PowerPoint

Tableau

Jira

Job description

Who we are

We are on a mission to make all science open, enabling the research community to develop the solutions we all need to live healthy lives on a healthy planet.

Frontiers is one of the world’s largest and most impactful research publishers, dedicated to making peer-reviewed, quality-certified science openly accessible. Our articles have been viewed 4 billion times, reflecting the power of research that is open for all.

Follow the links below to learn more about our work.

www.frontiersin.org/about/annual-reports

www.youtube.com/watch?v=87ejFfnQzko

What we can offer you

At Frontiers, our working model for new roles includes a balanced approach that fosters collaboration through regular engagement at our office hubs in key locations. While we value flexibility, we also believe that shared in-person time strengthens team culture, trust, and productivity.

We provide a range of benefits across our global locations, including but not limited to:

• 4 additional wellbeing days in addition to existing annual leave allowance
• Access to learning platforms and dedicated learning & development time
• A range of wellbeing initiatives, including free online yoga classes and an employee assistance plan
• Employees can dedicate three days each year to volunteer
• Additional benefits depending on your location (e.g. pension plan and private medical care)

About Frontiers Institutional Partnerships

Our Institutional Partnerships team is at the forefront of the rapidly evolving open access publishing sector, enabling Frontiers’ close collaborations with leading universities, funders, consortia, libraries, and other research organisations – making it easier for their researchers to publish open access. We are building for scale by transforming our traditional B2C strengths into a dynamic B2B strategy.

The role reports to:

Head of Institutional Business Development
Location: London, Madrid or Warsaw (hybrid) - work from home 2 days per week

Why Join Us?

At Frontiers, you will be part of a fast-moving global team committed to transforming scholarly publishing. This role offers the opportunity to work at the cutting edge of open access business models, to engage directly with leading academic institutions, and to see your work shape the broader research ecosystem.

This is a unique opportunity for a motivated professional to take a hands-on role in building and testing innovative partnership models that drive the global transition to open access.

Innovate with 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.

Please inform us if you require any special accommodations to participate fully in our recruitment experience. You can contact us at [e-mail] for any additional support.

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.