Head Of Business Development (K-12 School Network)

Head of Business Development Industry: Education Services | Institutional Sales | B2B

Target Market: K-12 School Networks | Education Groups | Large Campuses

Location: India

Experience: 15+ Years

Role Type: Full-Time Senior Leadership / Individual Contributor

Reporting To: Founders / Senior Leadership

Joining: Immediate joiners preferred; candidates available within 30 days will be considered

Role Purpose We are looking for a high-performing Head of Business Development to build and lead the institutional business development function for a growing organization serving K-12 school networks, education groups and large campuses .

This is a founding, high-ownership mandate . The successful candidate will be the first dedicated business development leader for this vertical, personally owning the sales pipeline, developing relationships with senior decision-makers and closing high-value institutional accounts.

In parallel, the individual will establish the strategy, go-to-market approach, sales playbook, pipeline discipline and positioning required to eventually build and scale a dedicated Business Development team.

This is an active selling role , not a purely strategic or managerial position.

Success will initially be measured by the quality and pace of new institutional accounts acquired and, over time, by the creation of a repeatable and scalable Business Development model.

Strategic Mandate

• Develop the Business Development strategy and go-to-market approach for institutional and key-account growth.
• Personally own the sales pipeline and close anchor institutional accounts.
• Build a Key Account and new-client acquisition playbook specifically for education institutions.
• Develop differentiated positioning and value propositions for institutional customers.
• Establish the processes, pipeline discipline and commercial proof points required to scale the Business Development function.
• Identify high-value institutional opportunities rather than focusing on high-volume transactional sales.

Key Accountabilities 1. New Client & Strategic Account Acquisition

• Identify and acquire marquee institutional accounts, including large school groups, school chains and education networks.
• Build CXO-level relationships with founders, trustees, promoters and senior decision-makers.
• Identify target institutions and develop account-specific acquisition strategies.
• Lead the complete sales lifecycle from prospecting and initial engagement through pitching, negotiation and closure.
• Build a strong pipeline of high-value institutional opportunities.

• Secure anchor clients that can become strategic long-term partnerships and reference accounts.

• Key Account Management & Growth
• Own strategic institutional relationships from acquisition through expansion and renewal.
• Develop multi-year engagement plans with key accounts.
• Identify opportunities for account expansion and additional business.
• Build strong relationships across promoters, trustees, procurement, administration and operations teams.
• Ensure high customer retention and long-term account value.
• Track account-level revenue, profitability and commercial performance.
• Business Development Strategy & Playbook
• Own the Business Development charter for the institutional segment.
• Define target segments, account-selection criteria, sales strategy and market-entry approach.
• Develop a structured Key Account acquisition playbook.
• Establish sales processes, CRM discipline, forecasting and pipeline reporting from day one.
• Create repeatable approaches for prospecting, qualification, pitching, negotiation and closure.
• Continuously refine the playbook based on market feedback and actual sales results.
• Stakeholder & Relationship Management
• Act as the primary relationship owner for strategic institutional accounts.

• Build trusted relationships with:

• School Founders
• Promoters
• Trustees
• CXOs
• Procurement Heads
• Operations Leaders

• Administrative Leadership

• Understand institutional requirements and translate them into commercially viable solutions.
• Lead senior-level negotiations and relationship-building initiatives.
• Market Expansion
• Map and prioritize high-potential education clusters across metros and Tier 1/2 cities.
• Identify major school networks, education groups and institutional prospects.
• …