Partnerships & Growth Associate

About Hackingly Hackingly works with colleges, universities, startups, corporates, incubators, and ecosystem partners to create opportunities for innovation and growth. Our programs include hackathons, bootcamps, hiring challenges, innovation programs, and workshops. About the role We’re looking for a commercially minded Partnerships & Growth Associate to build lasting relationships and grow Hackingly’s business through strategic partnerships. This is a target-driven Business Development & Sales role. Success will be measured by the quality of your pipeline, partnerships closed, revenue generated, and clients retained. You’ll work with decision-makers, own commercial conversations, and take opportunities from first outreach through closure and handover. What you’ll do Partnership development Identify and approach potential partners across colleges, universities, startups, incubators, corporates, and the wider innovation ecosystem. Build relationships with decision-makers, including Directors, Deans, Placement Officers, Incubation Heads, and Training & Placement teams. Understand partner goals and identify opportunities where Hackingly’s programs can create value. Develop long-term institutional and business relationships. Negotiate and close strategic partnerships and paid engagements. Business development and sales Pitch Hackingly’s offerings, including hackathons, bootcamps, hiring challenges, innovation programs, and workshops. Qualify leads, understand their requirements, and move suitable opportunities through the sales pipeline. Prepare proposals, presentations, and partnership plans. Lead commercial discussions, negotiate terms, and close deals independently. Convert prospective partners into paying clients. Revenue and pipeline ownership Own monthly revenue and sales targets. Build and maintain a healthy, well-qualified sales pipeline. Track opportunities from first contact through proposal, negotiation, payment, and closure. Improve lead-to-meeting and proposal-to-conversion rates. Maintain accurate records of pipeline activity, forecasts, and next steps. Outreach and lead management Conduct daily outreach through calls, email, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Schedule qualified meetings with prospective partners. Follow up consistently and professionally with leads and clients. Keep CRM records up to date and ensure no active opportunity is left without a clear next step. Internal coordination and partner success Coordinate with marketing, operations, and event teams after a partnership is closed. Support smooth client onboarding and program delivery handover. Stay connected with partners, address concerns, and look for opportunities to grow the relationship. Contribute to strong client retention and repeat business. What we’re looking for At least 2 years of experience in sales and at least 2 years of experience building business partnerships. A track record of meeting sales targets and closing business opportunities. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Strong negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building abilities. Confidence speaking with senior institutional and business decision-makers. A self-driven, target-oriented approach and comfort working under pressure. Ownership, resilience, and the ability to work independently. Willingness to travel for meetings and partnership development. Comfort using CRM tools and common productivity software. How success will be measured Revenue generated and monthly sales targets achieved. Qualified meetings scheduled. Lead-to-meeting and proposal-to-conversion ratios. Paid partnerships and strategic MoUs closed. Pipeline quality, accuracy, and consistency of follow-up. Client retention, relationship health, and repeat business. Smooth handover of closed partnerships to internal teams. This role could be a fit if You enjoy meeting new people and building trust over time. You’re motivated by closing deals and seeing the results of your work. You approach sales as a way to solve partner problems. You like networking, travelling, and working directly with founders and decision-makers. You want your growth to be closely connected to your performance. What makes this role different This is an active business development role with real ownership. You could be pitching a university one day, meeting a startup founder the next, and negotiating a major partnership after that. You’ll help shape how Hackingly builds its partner network and grows its programs.