Senior Business Development Manager, Duolingo English Test

1 Month ago • 8 Years + • Business Development

About the job

Job Description

Duolingo is seeking a Senior Business Development Manager to drive partnerships in China for the Duolingo English Test (DET). You'll develop a go-to-market strategy, negotiate partnerships, and expand DET's reach in the study abroad ecosystem. 8+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, consulting, or finance is required.
Must have:
  • Partnerships Experience
  • Business Development
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Cross-Functional
Good to have:
  • MBA from top-tier
  • Partner Marketing
  • Study Abroad
  • Global Tech Platform
Perks:
  • Holistic Well-being
  • Equal Opportunity
Not hearing back from companies?
Unlock the secrets to a successful job application and accelerate your journey to your next opportunity.

Our mission at Duolingo is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. It’s a big mission, and that’s where you come in!

At Duolingo, you’ll join a team that cares about educating our users, experimenting with big ideas, making fact-based decisions, and finding innovative solutions to complex problems. You’ll have limitless learning opportunities and daily collaborations with world-class minds — while doing work that’s both meaningful and fun.

Join our life-changing mission to develop education for our half a billion (and growing!) learners around the world. 

Read our blog to learn more.


About the role

The Duolingo English Test (DET) is an alternative to traditional high-stakes testing — through a Duolingo-style experience: convenient, fast, and affordable. Students interested in studying abroad can certify their English with the Duolingo English Test instead of other standardized tests like the TOEFL and IELTS. We are now accepted by 5,000+ higher education institutions worldwide. Using AI and remote proctoring, we enable students to take the test online, on-demand, anywhere in the world. If you love making a difference in education through technology, this is your place.

We are looking for a strategic, resourceful, and analytical leader to drive partnerships with key players in the study abroad and consumer tech ecosystem. You will define DET’s go-to-market partnership strategy in China and take a structured and proactive approach to implementation. The ideal candidate fluidly toggles between strategy and execution and thrives in a fast feedback-loop environment.

Reporting to the Head of Global Growth for the Duolingo English Test, this is a position based in Duolingo’s Beijing office. You will work closely with team members located across Asia as well as in the US, with regular business travel expected.

 

  You will...

  • Define a partnership strategy in China, including mapping partners in the study abroad ecosystem, identifying engagement tactics, and prioritizing for execution
  • Pursue, negotiate and drive high-impact strategic and commercial partnerships
  • Evaluate the economic and strategic business case of partnerships and new initiatives
  • Develop scalable global programs and offerings that incentivize and enable partners, working closely with cross-functional teams and internal collaborators
  • Explore expansion into new use cases and markets

 

  You have...

  • Demonstrated track record of achievement in fast-paced, global work environments, collaborating with cross-functional and executive stakeholders
  • 8+ years of relevant work experience across partnerships, business development, corporate development, consulting, or finance
  • Ability to combine critical thinking with rapid iteration, hands-on execution
  • Excellent communication and analytical skills
  • Self-starter capable of working across timezones and independently
  • Willingness to immerse yourself in the study abroad ecosystem, and explore way to collaborate with educational agents, test-prep organizations and other organizations
  • Willingness to travel (as frequently as monthly) across China and to the US

 

  Exceptional candidates will have...

  • MBA from top-tier program
  • Partnerships/partner-marketing experience at a leading global tech platform
  • Study abroad experience at the undergraduate or graduate level, and an intrinsic interest in redefining the traditional English testing model

Take a peek at how we care for our employees' holistic well-being with our benefits here.

We will do everything we can within reason to make sure that your interview takes place in an environment that fairly and accurately assesses your skills. If you need assistance or accommodation, please contact your recruiter.

Duolingo is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

By applying for this position your data will be processed as per the Duolingo Applicant Privacy Notice.

View Full Job Description

About The Company

Duolingo is the world’s most popular way to learn a language. Our mission is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.


Founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker, Duolingo is the most downloaded education app in the history of the App Store and in 2019 became the top-grossing education app worldwide. The app has been awarded Apple's iPhone App of the Year and Android's Best of the Best.


Learning a new language used to be expensive; we believe it should be free. Over 1.2 billion people are learning a second language and most of them are learning English to improve their lives.


Learning a new language is hard; we believe it can be fun. We use bite-sized lessons that feel like playing a game to keep our learners motivated. 


With over 500 million learners we have unprecedented data insights on how people learn. Our teams of language learning scientists, machine learning engineers, and AI experts use this data to constantly improve our effectiveness. We’re building a future in which the highest-quality education is accessible to all. 


Duolingo has raised US $138 million from investors including Union Square Ventures, Capital G (formerly Google Capital), NewView Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Drive Capital, Ashton Kutcher and Tim Ferriss.


Duolingo has been named to: BuiltIn's Best Places to Work (2023), Fast Company Best Workplaces for Innovators (2022), Fast Company 10 Most Innovative Education Company (2022), Best Machine Learning Startups for by Glassdoor (2020), Forbes' "Next Billion Dollar Startups" (2019), CNBC's Disruptor 50 (2018, 2019), Fortune's "Change the World" list (2019), TIME Magazine's Genius Companies (2018), Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies" (2017, 2018, 2020), Inc.'s "Best Places to Work" (2018), Entrepreneur's "Top Company Cultures" (2018).

Pennsylvania, United States (On-Site)

Pennsylvania, United States (On-Site)

Pennsylvania, United States (On-Site)

Washington, United States (On-Site)

New York, United States (On-Site)

Pennsylvania, United States (On-Site)

Pennsylvania, United States (On-Site)

Washington, United States (On-Site)

View All Jobs

Level Up Your Career in Game Development!

Transform Your Passion into Profession with Our Comprehensive Courses for Aspiring Game Developers.

Job Common Plug