Business Development & Growth Assistant

Junior Business Development & Growth Assistant

Company: Genius UP

Location: Remote First / Johannesburg

Employment Type: Full-time

About Genius UP

Genius UP is an education and student-success company focused on helping university students improve their academic performance and overall success.

Alongside our academic support offering, we are building GeniusOS, a Student Success Platform designed to help bursaries, scholarship organisations and universities better monitor student performance, identify students who may need support, manage interventions and improve student outcomes.

We are looking for a Business Development & Growth Assistant to help us build partnerships, manage our business development pipeline and grow the Genius UP student network.

About the Role

This is a hands-on growth role for someone who is proactive, organised, comfortable speaking to people and willing to learn quickly.

You will work closely with the Founder to identify and engage potential partners, including bursary organisations, scholarship programmes, universities and student societies.

You will also help manage our CRM and ensure that opportunities are properly tracked, followed up and moved through the pipeline.

You will not initially be expected to close large institutional deals yourself. Your role will primarily be to research opportunities, initiate conversations, follow up consistently and book qualified meetings for the Founder.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development

• Research bursaries, scholarship organisations, universities and other potential institutional partners.
• Identify relevant decision-makers and build accurate prospect lists.
• Conduct outreach through email, LinkedIn and other relevant channels.
• Follow up consistently with prospective partners.
• Book discovery meetings and product demonstrations for the Founder.
• Keep track of conversations, next steps and opportunities.

University & Student Partnerships

• Identify relevant university societies, student organisations and campus communities.
• Reach out to societies to explore partnerships, events, workshops and collaborations.
• Assist with coordinating Genius UP events and partnership activities.
• Help turn university partnerships into measurable student growth for Genius UP.

CRM & Pipeline Management

• Maintain an organised and accurate CRM.
• Ensure every lead has a clear status, next action and follow-up date.
• Update contact information, meeting notes and opportunity stages.
• Make sure no important lead or follow-up falls through the cracks.
• Help improve our business development processes and systems over time.

Growth Support

• Track the number of leads, conversations, meetings and partnerships generated.
• Assist with student lead capture from events, campaigns and partnerships.
• Support experiments aimed at growing the Genius UP student network.

Who We Are Looking For

We care more about your ability to execute, learn and take ownership than the number of years on your CV.

You may be a good fit if you:

• Are highly organised and reliable.
• Have a strong work ethic and take initiative without constantly needing to be chased.
• Are comfortable reaching out to and speaking with new people.
• Are confident communicating professionally through email, calls and meetings.
• Are comfortable with sales and are not afraid of rejection or follow-ups.
• Can research companies and people effectively.
• Pay attention to detail.
• Learn new systems and tools quickly.
• Are comfortable working independently in a remote environment.
• Enjoy building relationships and creating new opportunities.

Advantageous, But Not Required

Experience in any of the following would be beneficial:

• Business development
• Sales or lead generation
• CRM systems
• B2B outreach
• Partnerships
• University societies or student organisations
• Customer relationship management
• LinkedIn outreach
• Email prospecting
• Startup or small-business environments

Tools You May Work With

Depending on the workflow, you may work with tools such as:

• CRM platforms
• LinkedIn
• Email outreach tools
• Google Workspace
• Google Sheets
• ClickUp
• Lead-generation and prospecting tools

Prior experience with these tools is helpful, but we can teach the right person how to use them.

What Success Looks Like

You will be successful in this role if you consistently:

• Build a strong pipeline of relevant institutional prospects.
• Start conversations with bursaries, scholarships, universities and student organisations.
• Book qualified meetings for the Founder.
• Maintain an accurate and well-managed CRM.
• Follow up consistently without opportunities being forgotten.
• Build relationships with university societies and student organisations.
• Help partnerships translate into measurable growth in the Genius UP student network.

Who This Role Is Best Suited For

This role could suit a recent graduate, ambitious junior professional or intern who wants practical experience in: business development, sales, partnerships, startups, education and technology.

You will be given responsibility early and will work closely with the Founder, making this a strong opportunity for someone who wants to learn how businesses acquire customers, build partnerships and grow.

How to Apply

Please appy through Form Below:

https://forms.gle/WosRJBPoswPV7x2z7