Director of University Partnerships

ABOUT US

HyperionDev is one of the largest providers of accelerated tech education in EMEA and one of the oldest providers of 'coding bootcamps' in the world. We work with top universities such as Imperial College London, The London School of Economics, The University of Edinburgh, and Stellenbosch University to deliver structured technical courses and bootcamps that accelerate people into fulfilling tech careers. We have been recognised as one of the top education technology scaleups in the world and gained the financial backing of Meta (previously Facebook) which recognised us as the most socially impactful startup operating in Africa, where we initially started our work.

We are dedicated to closing the global tech skills gap and we achieve this by integrating tech education with human mentorship and expert code review powered by a workforce in Southern Africa, which lowers the cost of an accessible education in technology. This model has been successful, allowing us to reach millions of learners a year from over 60 countries. We have also partnered with government bodies such as the UK's Department for Education who provide scholarships for students to study on our bootcamps and gain employment at companies such as AstraZeneca and the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS).

We're backed by nearly 2000 investors, having raised the largest crowdfunding round of funding for an edtech company in history. As a primarily bootstrapped, profitable, and scale-up tech business join us as we play our part in making the world a more stable, safer, and fair place.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As the Director of University Partnerships at HyperionDev, you will lead in shaping and managing our strategic relationships with universities and tertiary institutions globally. Reporting to the CEO, you’ll oversee a distributed team focused on expanding our impact in the higher education sector, aligning our university collaborations with broader organisational goals.

Your primary role will involve crafting and executing the strategic direction for partnerships, ensuring seamless project management from initiation to implementation. You will focus on maintaining and developing existing relationships while steering projects that align with our mission to enhance education access through technology-driven solutions.

As a key leader, you’ll also work closely with the senior management team to ensure that partnership strategies are cohesive, scalable, and reflective of HyperionDev’s long-term objectives.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and implement a strategic roadmap for university partnerships that align with our mission and business goals.
• Oversee the execution of partnership projects from start to finish, ensuring timely delivery, high-quality outcomes, and alignment with the organisation’s growth strategy.
• Manage a distributed team of professionals, providing guidance and support to meet both individual and collective goals.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration between internal teams and external university stakeholders, ensuring efficient project workflows and communication.
• Establish a framework for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on the success of partnership initiatives, ensuring that projects remain aligned with organisational KPIs.
• Work with senior management to continually refine partnership strategies in response to market trends and institutional needs.
• Act as a key advisor to the executive team, providing insights into partnership opportunities and strategies for growth.

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum:

• At least 3 years of experience leading a team of business development professionals tasked with partnering with universities to launch educational offerings in a fee-for-service or OPM model
• At least 5 years of experience as a business development professional specifically working to pitch or account manage partnerships with universities to launch educational offerings
• Extremely strong business acumen
• Highly skilled at strategic analysis, problem-solving, negotiation and conflict resolution
• Strong leadership and people management skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Undergraduate degree in business, management, law or a relevant field

Preferred:

• Experience leading the launch of career acceleration-type partnerships with universities in the US and abroad
• Prior experience in a high-growth, tech-focused environment
• Prior experience in education or education technology

BENEFITS

Equity: As a senior leadership role within the company, you may be eligible for direct ownership in the business through our stock option scheme. The company has been approached for acquisition by a number of billion-dollar leaders in the tech education space, is backed by investors from the US, UK and South Africa, and we want you to directly share in the success of the business.

Flexible & remote working: We are a remote-friendly organisation and offer flexible work options.

Bootcamp: We offer our employees the opportunity to enrol part-time in our Coding Bootcamps.

Join the heart of tech in Africa, the US, and Europe: You'll work with the best of the best in edtech and developer education. Join one of the most ambitious and highest-performing tech companies in the space, with a founding team that draws their former experience from companies such as Google, Amazon, GetSmarter/2U, and Yoco.

Life-changing work: Solve real problems that make education and tech careers accessible to those who need it most: you're allowed to brag about it.

OUR VALUES

We're a people-forward company with a purpose that underlines everything we do. We're obsessed with the potential in people and challenge them to do their best work. We embrace a culture of growth and learning to deliver on our vision and ours is a relentless quest for improvement.