Vice President, Business Development

POSITION SPECIFICATION – Vice President, Business Development

Corporate Overview

A pioneer in the lifelong-learning market, The Teaching Company is a popular and growing media company that produces The Great Courses: a series of comprehensive and engaging, university-level, video and audio courses taught by the world’s greatest professors without the pressure of schedules, homework, or exams.

The Great Courses cover a wide variety of topics ranging from traditional liberal arts subjects, such as philosophy, history, literature, and the sciences, to practical classes, in photography, foreign languages, health and wellness, business skills, and much more. The company has ongoing partnerships with venerable educational brands such as the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Mayo Clinic, The Culinary Institute of America, and others.

The Teaching Company has developed a catalog of over 700 courses comprising over 8,900 hours of content. The Great Courses are delivered to customers via digital streaming, DVD, and CD sales on the e-commerce site http://www.TheGreatCourses.com; and, most recently, through The Great Courses Plus, a digital subscription platform that PC Magazine has called “Netflix for Learning.” The Great Courses can be found on Amazon Instant Video, Amazon Channels, Comcast Xfinity Video on Demand, Audible.com, Recorded Books, Kanopy, Hoopla, and more.

The Great Courses also has highly rated apps available across most major app platforms, including iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Amazon Alexa.

Since its establishment in 1990, The Teaching Company has sold more than 25 million courses and prominent and loyal customers of The Teaching Company include Bill Gates, Charles Schwab, and George Lucas, to name a few.

Position Summary:

The primary role of the Vice President, Business Development is generating, qualifying, and closing new business with a focus on content partnerships and/or acquisitions, domestic and international distribution partnerships, as well as education market opportunities. This position reports to the CEO and is a member of the leadership team.

Major Responsibilities:

• Pioneer company growth into new audiences and content areas by identifying, defining, analyzing, and negotiating content partnerships and/or possible acquisitions
• Lead business development initiatives related to domestic and international markets, including international partnerships and JVs

• Lead and manage a pipeline of partner prospects from identification through structure, negotiation, and launch to yield new revenue within the “for credit” education market using current and future content
• Ensure seamless transition of all partnerships to internal account management teams
• Create compelling and persuasive presentations to effectively communicate outcomes and recommendations
• Uncover and surface competitive and industry insights with the leadership team
• Think and act strategically while managing flawless execution of all business development objectives

Required Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree
• 10+ years’ experience in business development in media and education with an emphasis on online learning products
• Strong knowledge of P&L process with solid financial skills to include building financial models and business plans
• Strong knowledge of M&A process
• Strategic and creative thinking skills
• Collaborative work style with a focus on open communication and problem solving
• Strong track record of prospecting and closing new business
• Intellectual curiosity and passion for learning new markets and technologies in the US and overseas
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Entrepreneurial spirit and creative approach to business development and company growth
• Outstanding negotiation skills; including contract negotiation
• Sense of ownership; results-oriented
• Must be willing to travel (domestic and international)

Desired Experience:

• MBA highly preferred

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)