Industry Partnerships Manager (Business Development)

FutureLearn; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

FutureLearn is seeking an Industry Partnerships Manager to expand our portfolio of world-leading industry collaborations and develop compelling partnership opportunities. You’ll work closely with partners to bring high-quality learning content to life on the FutureLearn platform.

You’ll own the full partnership journey—from securing partnerships to programme development—collaborating with Learning Design, Product, Marketing and Technology to create engaging, career-enhancing learning experiences

Qualifications

• 3+ years' experience in business development, partnerships, account management or strategic growth.
• Experience identifying, pitching and closing commercial partnerships.
• Strong commercial awareness and experience negotiating mutually beneficial agreements.
• A strategic and consultative approach to problem solving.
• The ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels, including senior executives.
• Experience developing business cases, proposals and partnership strategies.
• Strong analytical skills with market insights to drive decisions.
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.
• Previous line management experience.
• A proactive, self-motivated approach in a dynamic environment.

Responsibilities

• Identifying, engaging and securing partnerships with leading global organisations and major companies.
• Developing compelling partnership proposals and negotiating agreements that create value for both FutureLearn and partners.
• Driving content acquisition and expanding FutureLearn's portfolio across key industry sectors.
• Building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Researching market trends and emerging skills needs to inform strategy and content development.
• Collaborating with internal teams to design, develop and launch innovative learning programmes.
• Creating joint business plans with partners to drive learner engagement and commercial growth.
• Monitoring programme performance and implementing improvements to maximise impact.
• Supporting the growth of the Industry Partnerships function, including potential line management.

Skills

Relationship-building

Negotiation

Strategic thinking

Business development

Account management

Job description

At FutureLearn, we’re passionate about the power of lifelong learning. We help learners from all over the world progress in their careers – and invest in their futures. We truly believe that up‑skilling is a worthy investment, and we hope to empower our learners to take control of their careers through personalised learning pathways – giving them progress at their fingertips. Partnering with 260+ world‑class educational partners, including prestigious universities, global brands and industry partners, we offer our 20 million‑strong learner community the opportunity to discover and access flexible, high‑quality online courses and degrees. We’re not here just to teach new skills (although we do that well), we want to help transform lives. FutureLearn is looking to build our teams with people who share our passion for lifelong learning, career empowerment and education for all. If that sounds like you, get in touch. You could help us achieve our biggest goal yet – becoming the world’s best AI‑powered, career‑based learning platform and OPM.

About The Role

As an Industry Partnerships Manager, you will play a key role in expanding FutureLearn’s portfolio of industry partnerships. You’ll identify and engage world‑leading organisations, develop compelling partnership opportunities and work closely with partners to bring high‑quality learning content to life on the FutureLearn platform.

From securing new partnerships and negotiating commercial agreements to overseeing programme development and growth, you’ll own the full partnership journey. Working alongside colleagues across Learning Design, Product, Marketing and Technology, you’ll help create engaging learning experiences that empower learners around the world to upskill, reskill and advance their careers.

You will confidently have the ability to combine strategic thinking with strong relationship‑building and commercial skills, who thrives in a fast‑paced, collaborative environment.

What You'll Be Doing

• Identifying, engaging and securing partnerships with leading global organisations and some of the biggest companies in the world.
• Developing compelling partnership proposals and negotiating agreements that create value for both FutureLearn and our partners.
• Driving content acquisition and expanding FutureLearn’s portfolio across key industry sectors.
• Building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, subject matter experts and decision‑makers.
• Researching market trends and emerging skills needs to inform partnership strategy and content development.
• Collaborating with internal teams to design, develop and launch innovative learning programmes.
• Creating joint business plans with partners to drive learner engagement, programme success and commercial growth.
• Monitoring programme performance and implementing continuous improvements to maximise impact.
• Supporting the growth of the Industry Partnerships function, including line management responsibilities as the team expands.

About You

You’ll be a confident relationship builder with a track record of securing and growing strategic partnerships.

You’ll Bring

• 3+ years' experience in business development, partnerships, account management or strategic growth.
• Experience identifying, pitching and closing commercial partnerships.
• Strong commercial awareness and experience negotiating mutually beneficial agreements.
• A strategic and consultative approach to problem solving.
• The ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels, including senior executives.
• Experience developing business cases, proposals and partnership strategies.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use market insights to drive decision‑making.
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.
• Previous line management experience.
• A proactive, self‑motivated approach and the ability to thrive in a dynamic environment.

Desirable Experience

• Experience within education, EdTech, digital learning or content‑led businesses.
• Industry partnership experience.
• Knowledge of sectors such as technology, healthcare or business.
• Experience building long‑term strategic partnerships with enterprise organisations.
• A passion for addressing global skills gaps and improving learner outcomes through education.

Why FutureLearn?

This is an opportunity to join a mission‑driven organisation at the forefront of online learning. You’ll work with globally recognised brands, help create innovative educational experiences and play a direct role in helping learners around the world unlock new opportunities and achieve their career ambitions.

Diversity Statement

We value all the great benefits that diversity brings and encourage everyone to bring their whole self to work – At FutureLearn we are proud to have Diversity and Inclusion at the centre of everything we do. We are committed to Equal Employment Opportunity regardless of race, colour, national origin, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion.

We can’t wait to meet you!