Senior Manager of Canadian Partnership Sales, Riipen
CA$115-165k
More information about location
Experiential learning platform and marketplace
Open for applications
Experiential learning platform and marketplace
101-200 employees
Open for applications
CA$115-165k
More information about location
101-200 employees
Company mission
To help students of all backgrounds and geographies boost their skills, gain career clarity, network with potential employers, and find jobs they love.
Role
Who you are
- Significant experience in strategic business development, ecosystem partnership management, and engaging with key stakeholders across public, private, and academic sectors; this must include extensive experience with Canadian institution and partners
- A proven track record in successfully shaping or selling high-value, multi-year agreements with senior decision-makers across a range of partners, including government agencies, non-profits, academic institutions, and industry leaders
- A history of building trust with senior academic and workforce leaders quickly, including comfort navigating politics, ambiguity, and competing institutional priorities
- Evidence of strong commercial judgment—balancing revenue opportunity, risk, operational feasibility, and institutional readiness
- Demonstrated expertise in drafting and securing government funding, grant applications, and high-level partnership proposals, contributing significantly to organizational growth
- Understanding of the dynamics that shape postsecondary, economic and workforce development ecosystems—including funding cycles, governance structures, institutional readiness, and employer-aligned program needs
- Excel at engaging with senior leaders and stakeholders, with exceptional written and verbal communication skills that elevate the conversation at the executive level and foster conviction
- Have a well-established network of senior-level contacts across various sectors and a strong ability to leverage this network to create impactful, long-term partnerships, ideally inclusive of Western Canada
- A track record of performing in evolving, fast-moving environments, bringing clarity, momentum, and astute judgment to opportunities without waiting for perfect structure
- A true independent contributor; there will be no bench of hands on enablement and support - you need to be excited about carrying a quota and executing and owning a sale at every stage
What the job involves
- The Senior Manager, Canadian Ecosystem plays a pivotal role in driving Riipen’s national ecosystem strategy by leading and cultivating high-impact partnerships with key sectors, workforce development organizations, industry and postsecondary institutions
- This senior role is critical in ensuring Riipen's contributions align with national talent development priorities, positioning the company as a leader in the development of innovative talent pathways
- The right candidate will be an expert in academic life cycles and the intricate mechanics and layers of influence in a Canadian college or university
- You need to be able to open doors and speak with authority from the Provost’s Office to Career Service, and this fluency needs to reach beyond the walls of the institution
- Riipen’s value is in bridging the gap between school and work and selling it requires a deep understanding of the municipal, provincial, and federal ecosystems of educators, administrators, employers, policy-makers, and public and private organizations with a shared stake in workforce development
- This is a quota-carrying, strategic sales role, leading a dedicated portfolio of sales engagements across postsecondary and workforce organizations —pursuing and securing transformative, multi-year partnerships aligned to institutional priorities and workforce impact goals
- As a senior individual contributor, you will own the full lifecycle of strategic pursuits from pipeline build to final close: identifying opportunities, shaping value propositions, engaging executive stakeholders, and mobilizing internal teams to secure high-value partnerships
- You will operate with authority, rigor, and presence, contributing meaningfully and ensuring that partnerships are aligned with broader organizational objectives
- Reporting To Caroline Konrad, VP, Canadian Ecosystem
- Sell into the Canadian higher-education and workforce ecosystems with credibility and depth—navigating executive-level decision cycles, funding models, procurement constraints, and complex stakeholder dynamics
- Build and advance a healthy pipeline of strategic opportunities through a mix of direct engagement, ecosystem relationships, and targeted outreach
- Lead the development of comprehensive ecosystem strategies that drive national partnership growth, leveraging your deep understanding of postsecondary, industry and regional needs
- Identify and create new markets and initiatives by strategically cultivating relationships with senior partners, securing funding, and driving licensing opportunities
- Engage senior institutional, industry and workforce leaders —to build trust and position Riipen as a long-term strategic partner
- Run world-class discovery, translating institutional priorities, constraints, and policy drivers into compelling partnership narratives and proposal structures
- Shape and present compelling narratives to senior stakeholders, leveraging data-driven insights to showcase the long-term value of partnerships and ensure future engagement
- Spearhead the development and submission of high-impact government funding proposals, grant applications, and strategic pitches to both public and private sector partners ensuring tailored, outcome-focused proposals that reflect institutional goals and measurable impact
- Deliver against an individual new business quota, ensuring growth is aligned to partner readiness, impact goals, and long-term success
- Collaborate with internal partners—pulling in expertise at the right moments to strengthen solution fit and accelerate partnership momentum. Ensure data, insights, and messaging are cohesive and aligned with partner needs, while also establishing Riipen’s thought leadership in the ecosystem
- Establish yourself as a leading figure within designated sector and regional ecosystems, proactively engaging with senior industry leaders and policymakers to identify opportunities for advancing Riipen’s mission
Our take
It’s a problem many graduates are painfully familiar with: you need experience to get a job, but you can’t land a job without experience. Riipen is a company helping to tackle this issue. Their platform offers post-secondary institutions the ability to connect their students to real-world problems and training, and to companies in search of new talent.
The company have helped over 100,000 students engage in applied learning, which historically might only have been accessed through an internship - typically freezing out students without the connections or resources to land one. So Riipen’s addressing inequality of opportunity in the post-secondary demographic, alongside streamlining the work of companies in sourcing talent.
With the economy still in recovery, and traditional ‘first job’ positions in certain industries curtailed, there’s an urgent need to reimagine what stepping onto the career ladder looks like. Riipen’s solution has been refined over the past several years and is now well set to take advantage of this opportunity.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Jan 2021
$1.5m
LATE VC
Dec 2019
$3.8m
EARLY VC
Total funding: $6m
Company benefits
- Enhanced health & dental benefits
- Generous time off
- Choose your work environment
- Paid parental leave
- Paid learning opportunities
Company HQ
Chinatown, Vancouver, BC
Leadership
Dave Savory
(Co-Founder & VP of Experiential Learning)Previously a Franchise Manager at College Pro Painters, before moving on to work in Sales and Business Development at Travergence Interactive, and then Softree Technical Systems.
Dana Stephenson
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously held various managerial roles in recruitment, marketing, and business at The Acquisition Group Enterprises, Advanced Air Supply, and The Moore Law Group. Subsequently worked as a sales rep at Beldon Home Solutions.
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