Head of University Partnerships (Cape Town)

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 Head of University Partnerships, you will lead the management and delivery of HyperionDev’s university partnerships, fostering relationships, identifying growth opportunities, and building trust in our products and performance. Working closely with the Department Head, your role will bridge business development, project management, and cross-functional collaboration to drive strategic growth.

Ideal candidates bring experience in account management, client success, and a strong project management mindset, with an ability to navigate higher education structures and make an impact in a fast-paced, start-up environment. You will leverage a deep understanding of partnership dynamics to support university partners and will excel at managing multiple stakeholders, communicating effectively, and driving new business opportunities.

In this role, you will also contribute to building HyperionDev’s culture, helping shape strategies for talent acquisition, planning, and collaboration across teams. Passionate about online education, you are motivated to change lives through learning and eager to be a core part of a rapidly growing organisation.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the overall success of university partnerships by expertly managing partner relationships and striving for a best-in-class approach to everything we do.
• Identify and pursue growth opportunities within the university ecosystem through proactive outreach, consultative selling and a long-term strategic view towards growing the partnerships.
• Create a systematic, process-driven approach to partner relationship management
• Oversee operational planning and risk management across key phases of the engagement with the partner, and problem-solving issues as they arise.
• Serve as the primary point of escalation when issues arise, troubleshooting, and ensuring quick resolution.
• Provide quantitative/qualitative analysis to inform team decision-making and product roadmap
• Ensure the HyperionDev team is following up on its commitments, is coordinated in its activities, and responds in a timely way to achieve positive outcomes.
• Conducting business reviews and sharing insights and best practices.

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communication or a related field. Advanced degree preferred.
• 5+ years of account management experience, customer success or client servicing experience, with at least 3 years spent in edtech/higher education.
• Demonstrated history in high partner retention and growth and a track record of supporting institutions make a step change in their academic adoption of e-learning.
• An ability to act as a trusted external advisor to institutional senior staff, developing strong partnership relationships and influencing across institutional boundaries.
• High level communication and presentation skills including executive level presentations.
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities, with a proactive approach to identifying opportunities for innovation and growth.
• An ability to manage complex decision-making processes involving numerous stakeholders with varying backgrounds and interests.

Preferred

• Prior experience in a high-growth, tech-focused environment
• Prior experience with OPM models in Universities beyond South Africa, eg Australia, UK or European Markets.
• Experience in conducting highly rigorous market analysis and due diligence.

BENEFITS

Hybrid work: We are a hybrid work organisation offering flexibility on your schedule. Remote working options are available for candidates not in proximity of a HyperionDev Campus

Learn new tech skills: We offer our employees the opportunity to enrol part-time in our Coding Bootcamps.

Join the heart of tech in Africa, Europe and the US: You'll work with the best of the best and rub shoulders with the world leaders in edtech, developer education, and developer assessments. Join one of the most ambitious and highest performing tech companies in the space, with a management team that draws their former experience from top tech companies.

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.