Ecosystem Partner Director

Axim Collaborative, Inc.; Cambridge, Northern (MA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Axim Collaborative is seeking an Ecosystem Partner Director to lead Open edX ecosystem partnerships from our Cambridge, MA base. You will own lead development, manage a network of providers, and shape programs that expand project adoption and ensure quality across a global ecosystem.

The role blends business development, partner success, and ecosystem strategy, with travel 6–8 events per year and periodic in-person sessions at our Cambridge office.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of experience in partner management, business development, channel management, or ecosystem development.
• Proven experience managing a portfolio of partners with lead distribution and partner performance management.
• Outstanding relationship-building skills with executive-level engagement.
• Experience designing lead generation and qualification processes in a B2B context.
• Excellent communication, written and public speaking abilities.
• Strong analytical skills to drive data-based decisions.
• Strong project management discipline.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow the pipeline of Open edX leads across channels (inbound, events, tenders, RFPs).
• Collaborate with marketing to optimize the website for adopter interest and lead routing.
• Identify RFP and tender opportunities and support partners in responses.
• Define and refine lead-qualification criteria with leadership.
• Lead negotiation and refinement of lead distribution with ecosystem partners.
• Serve as product owner for Axim's CRM and coordinate with admins.
• Develop and maintain dashboards on lead volume, qualification, and conversion.
• Build strong relationships with service providers; conduct regular reviews and onboarding.
• Provide market intelligence to product, engineering, marketing, and community teams.
• Contribute to ecosystem strategy, partner programs, and cross-functional initiatives.

Skills

Lead generation

Partner management

Business development

Ecosystem development

Relationship building

Lead qualification

CRM management

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Salesforce

HubSpot

Job description

Axim Collaborative is a nonprofit that transforms education to work pathways by facilitating collaboration and innovations to build an ecosystem of solutions to drive better outcomes for millions of learners. Axim is a joint endeavor between Harvard and MIT that evolved from the edX® project, the pioneering online learning project that launched in 2012. Axim also stewards the Open edX® project, a highly scalable, free-to-use, open-source learning project with the aim of making education accessible to everyone, everywhere. Today, the project powers high-quality, innovative online learning for higher education institutions, governments, NGOs, and enterprises worldwide.

ABOUT THE ECOSYSTEM PARTNER DIRECTOR ROLE

The Open edX® project is supported by a global ecosystem of commercial and mission-driven partners that offer hosting, implementation, customization, content development, training, and support to adopting organizations. Reporting to the Vice President of Partnerships and Ecosystem Growth, the Ecosystem Partner Director owns Axim’s relationship with the provider network. The role’s core mission is to grow the Open edX® project's reach and impact by ensuring providers offer high-quality services, generating and managing adopter leads, overseeing the preferred provider program, and safeguarding the end-user experience and brand reputation across the ecosystem.

This is a strategic, externally-focused role that sits at the intersection of business development, partner success, and ecosystem growth, focused on building and managing commercial and mission-driven partner relationships that drive project adoption. Axim is headquartered in the heart of Technology Square in Cambridge, MA. This role may be hybrid (for an employee based in MA, ME, NH, RI or VT) or remote (for an employee based in CO, MD or MI). This role requires travel to 6-8 events per year, including some international travel. Additionally, all staff are required to attend in-person programming in Axim’s Cambridge, MA office three times a year.

Requirements

General Expectations of all Axim Staff

• Contribute to the advancement of Axim’s mission by living our values. Keep our mission central by orienting on how our partners can realize better outcomes for students they serve.
• Foster collaboration within your own team and across teams, be open to feedback, and seek input from others to solve problems and uncover opportunities.
• Model the values of inclusive excellence; foster environments that facilitate more diverse and inclusive spaces and actively encourage a diversity of perspectives on teams.
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in responding to changing circumstances and evolving priorities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Lead Generation, Qualification & Systems

• Own and grow the pipeline of Open edX® leads available to commercial and mission-driven ecosystem partners, expanding volume across channels including inbound inquiries, organic discovery, events, tenders, and RFPs.
• Work with Axim's marketing and communications teams and optimize the website to effectively capture and route prospective adopter interest.
• Identify and pursue RFP and tender opportunities, and support ecosystem partners in developing and submitting competitive responses.
• Define and continuously refine lead qualification criteria, in collaboration with Axim leadership, to improve lead quality as measured by deal size and likelihood to close, ensuring partners receive leads well-matched to their capabilities and capacity.
• Lead negotiation and ongoing refinement of the lead distribution process with ecosystem partners, balancing partner capacity and specialization with Axim's quality and fairness objectives.
• Serve as product owner for Axim's CRM, defining requirements, prioritizing improvements, and coordinating with system administrators to ensure the project effectively supports lead tracking, qualification, and distribution.
• Develop and maintain reporting on lead volume, qualification rates, deal size, and conversion outcomes, using data to identify gaps and drive pipeline improvements.

Service Provider Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact between Axim and commercial and mission-driven partners in the Open edX® project ecosystem.
• Develop a strong working knowledge of each service provider's business model, capabilities, target markets, and growth goals, using that understanding to improve lead matching and distribution outcomes.
• Conduct regular check-ins and business reviews with service providers to share pipeline data, gather feedback on lead quality and distribution, and align on mutual priorities.
• Onboard new service providers to the ecosystem, ensuring they understand the Open edX® project, Axim's expectations, and the resources and programs available to them.
• Develop and maintain a framework for assessing service provider quality, incorporating end-user feedback, project outcomes, deal conversion data, and other relevant signals.
• Work constructively with service providers to address quality issues, offering guidance and support to help them improve.
• Establish and maintain clear standards and expectations for ecosystem participation, including any tiering, certification, or recognition programs.
• Monitor ecosystem health across geographies, languages, and service types, identifying coverage gaps that may require recruiting new service providers or expanding existing service provider capabilities.
• Work with commercial and mission-driven partners to identify key events, coordinate attendance and co-marketing at trade events, industry conferences, and other opportunities to expand awareness of the Open edX® project.
• Represent Axim and the Open edX® project at select industry events, cultivating relationships with prospective adopters and partners.
• Collaborate with service providers to create co-branded materials, case studies, and other assets that support joint business development.

Strategic Planning & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Provide market intelligence and ecosystem feedback to Axim's product, engineering, marketing, and community teams, including competitive landscape insights, adopter needs, and service provider priorities.
• Contribute to the development and evolution of Axim's ecosystem strategy, including service provider program structure, incentive models, partnership tiers, and gap identification.
• Actively engage with and contribute to the Open edX® project open-source community, with the opportunity to grow into a core contributor role over time.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of experience in partner management, business development, channel management, or ecosystem development, with demonstrated progression in responsibility.
• Proven experience managing a portfolio of commercial and mission-driven partners or channel relationships, including lead distribution, joint business planning, and partner performance management.
• Outstanding relationship-building skills, with a strong track record of cultivating trust-based partnerships with external stakeholders at the executive and operational level.
• Experience designing or managing lead generation and qualification processes in a B2B context and track record of quantifiable lead growth and conversion to sales.
• Excellent communication skills, written, verbal, and public speaking, with the ability to represent an organization credibly to senior external audiences.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort using data to drive decisions, measure performance, and tell a compelling story.
• Strong project management discipline: able to manage multiple concurrent relationships, initiatives, and priorities effectively.

Additional Qualifications and Skills:

• Experience working within or alongside an open-source software ecosystem, including familiarity with the dynamics of commercial and mission-driven partners building businesses around open-source projects.
• Experience in the education technology (edtech) sector and familiarity with the Open edX® project or similar open-source learning projects, particularly learning management systems or higher education institutions.
• Experience developing partner programs, including tiering, certification, or quality assurance frameworks.
• Experience with CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) for managing partner pipelines and reporting.
• International experience or cultural fluency, given the global nature of the Open edX® project service provider ecosystem.
• Passion for education access and equity, and alignment with Axim's mission.

This role is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.