Vice President of Business Development, 2U
$170-180k
+ Potential bonus eligibility
Global online learning platform
Be an early applicant
Global online learning platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$170-180k
+ Potential bonus eligibility
1001+ employees
Company mission
To help their partners create educational opportunities that enable lifelong learners to unlock their human potential and solve society’s critical needs.
Role
Who you are
- If you get energy from complex multi-stakeholder deals, and want to do work that genuinely shapes the future of education, this role was built for you
- 10+ years of enterprise sales or strategic business development experience with a consistent track record of meeting or exceeding revenue targets in a complex, consultative selling environment
- Proven C-suite selling experience. You have personally built relationships with and sold to CEOs, CFOs, COOs, or equivalent senior executives. You are credible and composed in high-stakes executive conversations
- Experience managing long, complex sales cycles (6–18+ months) with multiple stakeholders, competing interests, and sophisticated deal structures
- Sales technology fluency. You actively use modern tools to build pipeline, manage deals, and work more efficiently. You are eager to adopt new technology that gives you an edge
- Cross-functional leadership skills. You know how to mobilize internal teams—without direct authority—to get deals done
- Bachelor's degree
- Experience selling into higher education, academic medicine, or other complex institutional environments
- Familiarity with the economics of online program management, revenue share models, or education partnerships
- MBA or relevant advanced degree
- Executive Presence. You command attention in a room of senior leaders. Your communication—verbal, written, and in presentation—is sharp, clear, and confident
- Strategic Problem Solver. You connect the dots between a partner's long-term vision and a concrete commercial structure. Ambiguity energizes you rather than paralyzes you
- Intellectually Curious. You genuinely care about the challenges facing universities today and stay current on trends in higher education, workforce development, and digital learning
- Modern Seller. You do not rely solely on relationships and referrals. You embrace data, technology, and new methodologies to find and win opportunities faster
- Resilient and Self-Directed. You manage your own time, hold yourself accountable, and push through the inevitable setbacks of long-cycle enterprise selling
What the job involves
- We are looking for a senior Business Development individual contributor who will own the full sales cycle from first conversation to signed contract. This is not a support role. You will be the primary relationship holder with Presidents, Provosts, and Deans, acting as a strategic thought partner who helps them connect 2U's capabilities to their most pressing institutional priorities
- Internally, you will operate as the "quarterback" of every deal—pulling together teams across Finance, Legal, Product, Marketing, and Learning Design to build and deliver compelling, tailored partnership proposals
- Drive new university partnerships from prospecting and discovery through negotiation and close
- Develop and execute a territory strategy targeting high-value institutional prospects
- Lead complex contract negotiations involving multi-year, multi-stakeholder agreements and nuanced financial structures (e.g., revenue share, fee-for-service)
- Maintain disciplined pipeline management and accurate forecasting within Salesforce
- Act as the internal "general manager" for each deal, coordinating across Product, Finance, Legal, Marketing, and Learning Design to assemble the right solution and move it through internal approvals
- Proactively surface and resolve roadblocks, competing priorities, and process gaps. Influence without authority to keep deals on track
- Serve as the voice of the partner internally, ensuring proposals reflect both market reality and institutional need
- Leverage modern sales technology and intelligence tools (e.g., Salesforce, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Outreach, AI-enabled research tools) to identify prospects, map decision-making structures, and scale outreach
- Use data to prioritize targets, personalize engagement, and continuously improve conversion at every stage of the funnel
- Engage directly with Presidents, Provosts, Deans, and other senior academic leaders to deeply understand their strategic vision, enrollment challenges, and digital transformation goals
- Translate institutional priorities into tailored partnership concepts that align 2U's portfolio—degree programs, executive education, and professional certificates—with the university's strengths and market opportunities
- Bring market intelligence, competitive insight, and a point of view to every conversation. You are not an order-taker; you help partners see what is possible
Our take
Enabling education providers to offer students anything from free courses to full degrees, the leading global online learning platform 2U has positioned itself to provide high-quality education at scale.
Following its acquisition of edX, the company has made edX the face of its products and services, taking on more of a parent company role. This acquisition was a major shift compared to the company’s typical focus on partnering with universities to offer master’s degrees. However, edX has enabled it to expand into other projects, providing its 230+ partners with thousands of digital education offerings.
Though 2U established itself as a leader in the space, with over 40 million learners using the platform, it filed for bankruptcy in 2024. A significant financial restructuring and leadership change saw it bounce back in 2025 with new partnerships with the likes of Lancaster University.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
-6% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
Oct 2013
$5.1m
SERIES D
Apr 2012
$26m
SERIES D
Total funding: $95.9m
Company benefits
- Medical, Vision, and Dental
- Parental Leave
- Wellness Programs
- Employee Stock Purchase Program
- Leadership Training
- Volunteer Time Off
- LinkedIn Learning
- Referral Bonus
- Military Leave
Company HQ
Crystal City, Arlington, VA
Leadership
Kees Bol
(CEO)Previously CEO at Boundless Learning, was the Managing Director at Pearson, Chief Marketing Officer at Strategic Education Inc and was a Senior Business Director at Capital One.
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