Business Development Manager

ApplyBoard Inc; Ernakulam; Remote; INR 3,334,000 - 6,668,000; Full time

Job summary

ApplyBoard Inc. seeks an independent contractor to lead business development, partner management, and operational support for recruitment partners across international education markets.

You will engage recruiters, education agents, and institutions to promote ApplyBoard’s platform, drive partner enablement, and improve application quality and volume. This role emphasizes autonomy, relationship-building, and results in a global marketplace.

Qualifications

• 2-3 years managing recruitment or enterprise accounts, ideally within the international education sector.
• Previous B2B experience preferred
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Business, Marketing, Education) is preferred.
• Fluent in English; additional language skills are an asset.
• Ability to engage and motivate diverse stakeholders, from students to educational agents, with clear and persuasive communication.
• A self-starter who thrives in a collaborative, team-based environment and works effectively independently.
• Excellent organizational skills with a talent for managing priorities and ensuring accuracy in information and communications.
• Resourceful problem-solver capable of navigating complex situations to deliver positive outcomes for students and partners.
• Proficient in CRM systems; experience with social media and other digital engagement tools is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Represent ApplyBoard to recruitment partners and education agents in a professional, accurate manner.
• Develop and maintain relationships with recruitment partners to boost engagement and platform adoption.
• Onboard, activate, train, and enable recruitment partners on ApplyBoard processes and standards.
• Provide guidance to improve quality and quantity of student applications submitted via the platform.
• Support market development activities: outreach, research, territory analysis, events.
• Develop business development initiatives to increase partner engagement and conversions.
• Use CRM, scripts, and materials to manage partner interactions and record updates.
• Coordinate with teams on partner-related matters, including compliance and training needs.
• Escalate misconduct or risk as needed.
• Attend meetings, partner visits, and official events as required.
• Prepare partner-facing updates, presentations, and market notes.
• Ensure external communications align with approved messaging.
• Provide periodic updates and pipeline information for planning.
• Perform other services within scope of the engagement.

Skills

Stakeholder management

English fluency

Communication

Self-starter

Organizational skills

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Marketing/Education

Tools

CRM systems

Social media tools

Job description

ApplyBoard simplifies the study abroad application process by connecting international students, international student advisors, and educational institutions on one personalized platform. For more than a decade, ApplyBoard’s team members have been dedicated to breaking down barriers to international education, while thriving at a company that invests in their career growth. Our six core values guide us in our mission to educate the world, and are the foundation of our company culture. As an organization built on diversity, our team members are representative of the students we support.

The Opportunity

The Business Development Manager will provide independent contractor services to support ApplyBoard’s B2B recruitment partner development, market engagement, partner enablement, and related commercial operations in the applicable territory. The Contractor will support ApplyBoard’s mission by helping recruitment partners better understand, promote, and use ApplyBoard’s platform, services, processes, and partner standards. The engagement is intended to support recruitment partner growth and operational effectiveness, and does not create an employment relationship, agency relationship, or authority to bind ApplyBoard.

The Contractor will provide the services described below, together with any incidental, ancillary, or reasonably related services that are necessary to support the effective performance of the engagement, as may be mutually discussed with or reasonably communicated by ApplyBoard from time to time.

What you’ll be doing every day

The Contractor will be responsible for providing business development, partner management, and operational support services, including the following:

• Represent ApplyBoard’s mission, services, platform capabilities, partner standards, and commercial objectives to recruitment partners, education agents, institutional contacts, and other relevant B2B stakeholders in a professional and accurate manner.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with existing and prospective recruitment partners, with a focus on improving partner engagement, platform adoption, application quality, and commercial performance.
• Support the identification, onboard­ing, activation, training, and ongoing enablement of recruitment partners, including by explaining ApplyBoard’s processes, platform usage, documentation expectations, quality standards, and compliance requirements.
• Provide guidance and training to recruitment partners to improve the quality, completeness, and volume of student applications submitted through ApplyBoard’s platform, while ensuring that such guidance remains aligned with ApplyBoard’s approved processes, standards, and B2B operating model.
• Support market development activities, including partner outreach, market research, territory analysis, competitor awareness, event participation, and preparation of market insights that may assist ApplyBoard in strengthening its local presence and recruitment partner network.
• Develop and implement practical business development initiatives to increase recruitment partner engagement, improve conversion opportunities, and support ApplyBoard’s broader international education objectives.
• Use ApplyBoard-approved systems, CRM tools, communication channels, content, scripts, and materials to manage partner interactions, maintain accurate records, share relevant updates, and support business development activities.
• Coordinate with ApplyBoard teams on partner-related matters, including commercial updates, operational issues, application quality concerns, compliance escalations, partner training needs, and market feedback.
• Support compliance-related activities connected to recruitment partner management, including assisting with partner due diligence, documentation follow-ups, code of conduct awareness, training completion, issue escalation, and monitoring of partner conduct where relevant.
• Promptly escalation to ApplyBoard any suspected misconduct, misrepresentation, mis-selling, unauthorized counselling, improper partner conduct, data protection concern, regulatory inquiry, complaint, or any issue that may create legal, compliance, operational, financial, or reputational risk for ApplyBoard.
• Attend meetings, events, partner visits, institutional discussions, regulatory or authority-facing meetings, and other business engagements where reasonably required for the performance of the services and where authorized by ApplyBoard.
• Support ApplyBoard in preparing partner-facing updates, presentations, training materials, market notes, reports, and other business documents reasonably connected to the services.
• Ensure that all external communications are accurate, professional, consistent with ApplyBoard-approved messaging, and do not include any unauthorized commitments, guarantees, representations, or statements on behalf of ApplyBoard.
• Provide periodic updates, reports, pipeline information, market feedback, and performance-related information as reasonably required by ApplyBoard for business planning, partner management, compliance, and operational purposes.
• Perform any other services that are reasonably incidental or related to the above business development, recruitment partner management, compliance support, and market engagement activities, provided such services are within the scope of the independent contractor engagement and are not inconsistent with the contractor’s status.

What You Bring to the Table

• 2-3 years managing recruitment or enterprise accounts, ideally within the international education sector.
• Previous B2B experience preferred
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Business, Marketing, Education) is preferred.
• Fluent in English; additional language skills are an asset.
• Ability to engage and motivate diverse stakeholders, from students to educational agents, with clear and persuasive communication.
• A self-starter who thrives in a collaborative, team-based environment and works effectively independently.
• Excellent organizational skills with a talent for managing priorities and ensuring accuracy in information and communications.
• Resourceful problem-solver capable of navigating complex situations to deliver positive outcomes for students and partners.
• Proficient in CRM systems; experience with social media and other digital engagement tools is an advantage.

About ApplyBoard

ApplyBoard empowers students around the world to access international education. Our global team leverages cutting-edge technology to build innovative tools and share sector insights that support our network of international students and 1,500+ partner institutions. We’ve helped more than 1,300,000 students from over 180 countries with their study abroad journey so far, and we’re just getting started.

ApplyBoard welcomes applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates in all aspects of the hiring and selection process.