Business Development Representative, Public Sector

Canva; Texas; Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Canva in Austin, Texas is growing its Higher Education sales team. This launchpad role focuses on building a foundation in SaaS sales, working with universities, educators and students.

You’ll learn the Canva platform, connect with faculty and campus leaders, and collaborate with marketing, product, and customer success to drive adoption. You’ll join a hybrid setup with in-office days Tue–Thu and optional remote days, gaining hands-on training in sales, career progression, and meaningful campus

Qualifications

• Recent graduate or early in career seeking to start in tech sales.
• Strong interest in education, technology and helping organizations work creatively.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; comfortable talking to new people.
• Organized with good time management and attention to detail.
• Experience with cold outreach or campus leadership is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Sales to identify and pursue strategic Higher Education opportunities.
• Build pipeline through outbound strategies like cold calling, emailing, and social selling.
• Learn how universities operate and align Canva solutions to their needs.
• Gain deep knowledge of Canva’s platform for students, educators, and staff.
• Work cross-functionally with marketing, product, and customer success teams to support campaigns.
• Leverage Salesforce, Outreach, LinkedIn Navigator, ZoomInfo, Gong to manage pipeline.

Skills

Cold outreach

Relationship building

Communication skills

Prospecting

Education interest

Tools

Salesforce

Outreach

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

ZoomInfo

Job description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design — including how students, educators, and universities bring ideas to life.

Hello, hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship office is in Sydney, Australia, but we've made our way from down under, to a campus in Austin, Texas which is now home to our US operations. We are in office Tuesday-Thursday with the option to work remote or in office on Mondays and Fridays.

What you’d be doing in this role

As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. This will give you a flavor of what you’ll work on — and it will evolve as you grow.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Collaborate closely with Sales teams to identify and pursue strategic opportunities within Higher Education institutions (universities, colleges, and academic systems)

• Build pipeline through outbound strategies like cold calling, emailing, and social selling — connecting with stakeholders such as faculty, marketing teams, and campus leadership

• Learn how universities operate, including key priorities like student engagement, digital transformation, and accessibility, and align Canva’s solutions to those needs

• Gain in-depth knowledge of Canva’s platform and how it empowers students, educators, and staff to design, collaborate, and communicate visually

• Work cross-functionally with marketing, product, and customer success teams to support campaigns and initiatives tailored to the Public Sector

• Learn and apply sales strategies that connect Canva’s solutions to real-world use cases on campus (presentations, coursework, branding, internal communications, and more)

• Utilize tools like Salesforce, Pocus, Outreach, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, and Gong to build and manage pipeline

• Deliver on weekly, monthly, and quarterly performance goals while continuously learning and improving

You're probably a match if

• You’re a recent graduate or early in your career, excited to break into tech, sales, or startups

• You have a strong interest in education, technology, or helping organizations work more creatively and efficiently

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills — you’re comfortable talking to new people and building relationships

• Organized with strong time management skills and attention to detail

• Goal-oriented and motivated by hitting targets, learning quickly, and growing your career

• Experience with cold outreach, internships, campus leadership, or customer-facing roles is a plus

• Familiarity with tools like Salesforce or outreach platforms is helpful but not required — we’ll teach you

About the Role

As a Business Development Representative at Canva focused on Higher Education, you’ll play a key role in helping universities unlock creativity across their campuses. You’ll introduce Canva to educators, students, and administrators, showing how it can simplify workflows, enhance learning experiences, and bring ideas to life.
This is a launchpad role — you’ll build foundational sales skills, gain exposure to the full customer lifecycle, and develop expertise in one of Canva’s fastest-growing segments. You’ll partner closely with Account Executives and Customer Success Managers to grow adoption across institutions and make a real impact in education.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard — and we do — but you’ll also experience moments of connection, growth, and fun along the way.

For recent grads especially, this role offers:

• Hands-on training in sales, business development, and the SaaS industry

• Clear career progression opportunities (many of our BDRs grow into Account Executive and leadership roles)

• The chance to work on meaningful projects that impact students and educators

We also offer a stack of benefits to support you inside and outside of work:

• Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too

• Health benefits plans to support you and your wellbeing

• 401(k) retirement plan with company contribution

• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers

• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more

• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills, merit and business needs, in compliance with applicable local laws.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above - we still want to hear from you!

When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process. Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.