Manager - Partnerships (College Advisory Program)

Role Snapshot

Toprankers is a coaching-focused edtech company headquartered in Bhopal, running 64 company-owned centres across 32 Indian cities. It is best known for preparing students for CLAT, IPMAT and other competitive entrances.

The College Advisory Program is Toprankers' newest offering. It helps students choose the right college and course, and builds structured partnerships with schools and higher-education institutions across India.

Role Purpose

The Manager - Partnerships will build and grow the institutional partner network for the College Advisory Program. The role sources, signs and manages partnerships with schools and colleges across India, and turns each one into steady student engagement and revenue.

Key Responsibilities

Partnership development

• Find, approach and sign schools, junior colleges, universities and higher-education institutions across India.
• Build a ranked target list by region, institution tier and student fit.
• Lead pitches, presentations and negotiations with principals, directors, deans and management.
• Draft and close MoUs and partnership agreements, working with legal and finance.

Partner management

• Own each signed partnership: onboarding, rollout of the advisory programme, and ongoing engagement.
• Plan and run on-campus sessions, workshops, counselling drives and events with partners.
• Hold regular reviews with partners and fix issues fast to keep renewal rates high.

Strategy and growth

• Help design the partnership models, pricing and value proposition for the programme.
• Track competitor programmes and market trends in college admissions advisory.
• Spot new segments and regions and propose expansion plans.

Internal coordination

• Work with academics, counselling, marketing and Toprankers' 64-centre network to deliver on partner commitments.
• Keep the CRM current and share weekly pipeline and performance reports with leadership.

Travel

• Travel across India often to meet partners, attend education fairs and run on-ground activities.

Qualifications and Experience

• Graduate or postgraduate degree from a National Law University (NLU) or an Indian Institute of Management (IIM). Candidates from other top-tier institutes with strong relevant experience will be considered.
• 2-4 years in partnerships, institutional sales, business development, alliances or education consulting.
• Experience working with schools, colleges or universities is a strong advantage.
• Good understanding of India's higher-education and admissions landscape.
• Willing and able to travel extensively across India.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong spoken and written communication in English and Hindi; other regional languages are a plus.
• Confident presenting to, and negotiating with, senior institutional leaders.
• Can build relationships with many stakeholders and keep them over time.
• Self-driven and target-oriented; comfortable working independently while travelling.
• Structured thinker with sound planning, reporting and data skills.
• Working knowledge of a CRM, MS Excel or Google Sheets, and presentation tools.

Key Performance Indicators

• Number of new school and college partnerships signed per quarter
• Revenue and student enrolments generated through partner institutions
• Partner activation rate: share of signed partners running at least one programme activity
• Partner retention and renewal rate
• Pipeline health: qualified leads, meetings held and conversion rate

Targets for each KPI to be set with the reporting manager at onboarding.

What We Offer

• A founding role in a new programme, with a direct say in how it scales
• Exposure to senior leadership and to Toprankers' pan-India centre network
• Competitive compensation with performance-linked incentives
• Travel expenses covered as per company policy