Sr. Partnership Development Specialist
Unitek Learning · San Jose
Company Description
As a leading healthcare education organization, Unitek Learning’s family of schools helps thousands of students launch and accelerate their careers every year. As a rapidly growing and highly successful company, Unitek is also a great place to pursue a rewarding and challenging career. We offer a competitive salary, generous benefits, unlimited growth potential, and a collegiate work environment.
Job Description
*** Looking for a candidate who is local to the Bay area - local travel required ***
Are you energized by meeting new people, building excellent, trusted relationships, and creating partnerships that make a meaningful difference in the community?
Do you enjoy being out in the field, visiting prospective partners, learning what matters to them, and finding the right approach that makes them want to work with you?
Do you enjoy making sure every partnership is the right fit, putting on your detective hat to understand the employer’s needs, evaluate potential partners, and confirm all requirements are met?
The Partnership Development Specialist is an engaging, field-based business development professional responsible for building excellent, trusted relationships with hospitals, healthcare organizations, clinical education departments, and other clinical providers. These partnerships create the clinical learning opportunities nursing students need to complete their education and enter the healthcare workforce.
This is a consultative outside sales role for someone who is personable, persuasive, persistent, and comfortable developing relationships face to face. You will represent Unitek in the community, establish long-term relationships with clinical education leaders and healthcare decision-makers, and clearly communicate how partnering with Unitek benefits their organization, their patients, and the future healthcare workforce.
Why Join Unitek
At Unitek Learning, your work will help shape the future of healthcare. By creating partnerships that open doors for students and strengthen the healthcare workforce, you will help change lives, improve access to care, and make communities healthier and stronger.
Job Responsibilities:
Business Development, Partnership Relationship Management, Client Engagement
- Build excellent, trusted relationships with clinical education departments, healthcare leaders, and key decision-makers through regular face-to-face visits, thoughtful communication, and consistent follow-up. Maintain strong partnerships and ensure current partners feel valued, supported, and confident working with Unitek.
- Identify and pursue new clinical partnership opportunities within an assigned territory, expand existing partnerships to create additional clinical learning opportunities, and independently prioritize opportunities to consistently meet goals.
- your approach accordingly. Create a positive and memorable partner experience that differentiates Unitek from other schools competing for clinical placements. Maintain consistent, thoughtful follow-up that keeps Unitek memorable and moves opportunities forward.
- Secure signed affiliation agreements and clinical placement opportunities needed to support students and program growth.
- Present partnership proposals, address questions and concerns, and negotiate agreements with clinical and operational leaders. Clearly communicate how partnering with Unitek supports students, healthcare organizations, patients, and the future healthcare workforce.
- Conduct regular in-person visits with hospitals, clinics, skilled nursing facilities, and other healthcare organizations. Collaborate with nursing leadership to evaluate prospective sites, coordinate visits, confirm they support student learning needs, and secure signed affiliation agreements and clinical placement opportunities.
- Support employer engagement and business development by representing Unitek at advisory boards, hosted and community events, conferences, networking opportunities, and marketing initiatives that strengthen Unitek’s industry presence.
- Support clinical partnership documentation, onboarding, and ongoing education program compliance activities to ensure sites meet and maintain academic, regulatory, and accreditation requirements.
- Track outreach, meetings, opportunities, agreements, and follow-up activity in the company CRM.
- Travel and Field Expectations: This is a field-based role that regularly travels throughout the assigned territory. At least 70% of working time will be spent meeting prospective and existing partners in person.
You May Be a Great Fit If You:
- Prefer meeting people face to face, enjoy driving and travel, and like building a visible presence in the community.
- Easily start conversations, build rapport, and make a strong, positive, and memorable impression.
- Naturally and creatively build genuine, authentic, trusted relationships with different personalities and professional audiences.
- Listen closely, understand what motivates each prospective partner, and communicate a clear, compelling value proposition tailored to their needs.
- Are comfortable with prospecting, cold outreach, consistent follow-up, negotiation, and closing, while remaining persistent without being overly aggressive.
- Are motivated by goals, enjoy turning conversations into results, and want your work to help students succeed and strengthen the healthcare workforce.
What Success Looks Like:
- Clinical and healthcare education partners know you, trust you, and value their relationship with Unitek.
- Prospective partners remember you, respond to your outreach, and view you as genuine, responsive, and professional.
- You understand what motivates each partner, adapt your approach, and clearly communicate the value of working with Unitek.
- You remain persistent and creative throughout the sales cycle and move opportunities from the first conversation to a signed agreement.
- You work effectively with academic leadership and personnel, connect the right leaders, and develop partnerships and agreements that support program and compliance needs.
- You consistently meet goals for new agreements, expanded clinical placements, and long-term partner relationships.
Qualifications
Minimum Requirements:
- 5 or more years of experience in sales, outside sales, business development, recruiting, account management, client relations, workforce development, employer relations, healthcare partnerships, or a comparable relationship-based role is preferred.
- Candidates with strong experience in outside sales, recruiting, employer relations, staffing, account management, medical sales, or other relationship-based business development roles are encouraged to apply. Healthcare or education experience is helpful but not required.
- Demonstrated ability to build excellent, trusted relationships and maintain long-term professional partnerships, with strong consultative sales, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
- Excellent verbal, written, organizational, and interpersonal skills
- Willing and able to travel frequently throughout the assigned geographic area. Dependable transportation and a safe driving record are required.
- Comfortable using Microsoft Office, spreadsheets, databases, and CRM systems.
Must Have:
- An engaging, confident, and persuasive communication style, with the ability to comfortably initiate conversations with new contacts.
- Ability to communicate a concise, compelling value proposition and adapt the message to different audiences.
- Persistence and creativity in following up, re-engaging contacts, and moving prospective partnerships forward.
- Comfortable meeting and communicating with executives, clinical education leaders, directors, and other healthcare decision-makers.
- Able to collaborate effectively with academic leaders, clinical coordinators, administrative staff, and other internal and external partners.
- Able to work independently, manage an assigned territory, prioritize opportunities, and consistently meet goals.
- A genuine interest in face-to-face relationship building, frequent local travel, and representing Unitek in the community.
Additional Information
We Offer:
- Medical, Dental and Vision starting the 1st of the month following 30 days of employment
- 2 Weeks’ starting Vacation per year. Increasing based on years of service with company
- 12 paid Holidays and 2 Floating Holiday
- Company Paid Life Insurance at 1x’s your annual salary
- Leadership development and training for career advancement
- Tuition assistance and Forgiveness for you and your family up to 100% depending on the program