Business development lead

Business Development Lead — ISDI

ISDI School of Design & Innovation |ATLAS Skill Tech University | Mumbai

Position

Business Development Lead

Location

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Level

Managerial (Non-Teaching / Professional)

School

ISDI School of Design & Innovation

Function

Business Development & Market Growth

Reports To

Pro Vice Chancellor, ISDI

The Opportunity

What if your next growth challenge wasn't another brand, but the future of an entire generation of creators? ISDI School of Design & Innovation is entering an ambitious new phase. As design converges with technology, AI, engineering, business, culture and entrepreneurship, we are building a future-facing portfolio designed for where the world is going — and for the careers that will emerge with it.

We are looking for a Business Development Lead who can take the ISDI story to the market: someone who can build relationships, open new markets, create compelling conversations, and help students and families understand the possibilities that contemporary design education can unlock. This is not a traditional education sales role — it is a market-building role.

Key Responsibilities

Build a Powerful School Ecosystem: Develop and deepen long-term relationships with school principals, counsellors, teachers and career-guidance networks across priority markets, moving beyond one-off engagements to sustained institutional partnerships. Build Student & Parent Communities: Take the ISDI story directly to students and parents, helping them understand new disciplines, emerging careers and the evolving intersection of design, technology, AI and enterprise. Develop New Markets for ISDI: Identify high-potential schools, cities, communities and partners, and create opportunities through school engagements, counsellor networks, workshops, career events, parent forums and experiential activations. Drive a Sustainable Growth Pipeline: Own relationships and opportunities from first engagement through consideration, application and enrolment, translating market activity into measurable growth outcomes. Bring Market Intelligence Back to ISDI: Track student interests, parent priorities, counsellor recommendations, competitor activity and programme resonance, and use these insights to sharpen ISDI's positioning and growth strategy.

Qualifications Required

Essential: A Bachelor's degree from a recognised university. Candidates from any discipline are welcome. Desirable: A postgraduate degree or MBA in Marketing, Business Development, Communications or a related field.

As a professional / non-teaching position, this role does not require UGC teaching qualifications (NET / SLET / SET / Ph. D.). Appointment will follow the University's Recruitment and Service Rules for administrative and professional staff.

Experience Required

A minimum of 5–8 years of relevant experience in business development, partnerships, client servicing, account management, brand activation, experiential marketing or a comparable consumer-facing field. Demonstrated success in building markets, relationships and pipelines, with clear, measurable outcomes. Prior experience in education is not essential; candidates from advertising, media, consulting or consumer businesses are strongly encouraged to apply. Experience of engaging diverse stakeholders — from young students to parents, counsellors and institutional leaders — will be an advantage.

Skills & Competencies

Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management capability. Ability to understand audiences and turn complex propositions into compelling, relatable stories. Confidence in opening doors, presenting ideas, creating partnerships and influencing decisions. Commercial instinct with clear accountability for measurable growth. Ability to engage equally well with a 17-year-old student, a parent, a counsellor and a school principal. Curiosity, energy and the drive to build something new. Willingness to travel across priority markets as required.

Come build the market for what design education becomes next.

Why This Role

If you have spent your career helping brands find audiences, build relevance and grow markets, many of the capabilities you already have are exactly what this role needs. The outcome here is different: you are helping young people make one of the most important decisions of their lives while helping build the next chapter of ISDI.

UGC & Statutory Compliance

ATLAS Skill Tech University is a State Private Self-Financed Skills University established under the applicable State Private University Act and empowered to award degrees under Section 22 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956. All appointments are governed by the UGC Regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Academic Staff (2018, as amended), the University's own Statutes and Ordinances, and the norms of the relevant statutory and regulatory councils.

This is a professional / administrative appointment and is not governed by UGC teaching-faculty qualification norms. Compensation, grade and terms of appointment will be determined by the University as per its approved Recruitment and Pay Rules.

ISDI School of Design & Innovation |ATLAS Skill Tech University | Mumbai

WHERE DESIGN MEETS EVERYTHING.