Business Development Officer (2 Positions) at Kenya Red Cross Society

JOB SUMMARY:

• Build and manage pipelines that generate revenue from professional development programmes, executive education, corporate training, consulting, and advisory services. You will focus on identifying prospective individual and institutional clients, understanding their development needs, recommending suitable programmes or customized solutions, and converting qualified opportunities into enrolments and signed commercial agreements.

Scope of the role:

• Corporate Partnerships, Training, and Consultancy
• Professional Development & Executive Education Admissions
• Market Development & Relationship Management
• Reporting, Administration, and Pipeline Coordination

 KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Corporate Partnerships, Training & Consultancy:

• Identify and approach hotels, hospitality businesses, corporate organizations, industry associations, and prospective clients requiring staff training, executive education, consulting, or advisory services.
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of corporate training, consulting, and advisory opportunities.
• Conduct or support needs-assessment meetings with HR, operations, learning and development, and senior management teams.
• Translate identified organizational needs into clear briefs for customized training, consulting, and advisory proposals.
• Recommend suitable open-enrolment or customized professional development and executive education programmes.
• Manage the business development cycle end-to-end: outreach, meetings, follow-ups, proposal submission, negotiation, and signing MOUs or service agreements.
• Coordinate closely with academic, training, and consulting teams to ensure proposed solutions respond effectively to client needs.
• Maintain active client relationships through regular check-ins, service reviews, feedback sessions, renewal discussions, and upselling/cross-selling.
• Represent the institution professionally at hospitality, corporate, and industry networking events.

Professional Development & Executive Education Admissions:

• Identify and engage prospective participants for professional development, executive education, and short-course programmes.
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of individual professionals, managers, executives, entrepreneurs, and organizational nominees.
• Provide accurate and timely information on programme content, schedules, entry requirements, fees, application procedures, and expected learning outcomes.
• Guide prospective participants and organizational nominees through the enquiry, application, admission, and enrolment process.
• Follow up consistently with qualified prospects to convert enquiries and applications into confirmed enrolments.
• Support corporate clients in identifying and registering suitable employees for open-enrolment and customized programmes.
• Maintain a structured calendar of programme cohorts, recruitment campaigns, application deadlines, and follow-up activities.
• Track conversion performance across the admissions pipeline (enquiry-to-application, application-to-admission, admission-to-enrolment).

Market Development & Relationship Management

• Build relationships with professional bodies, business networks, industry associations, chambers of commerce, employers, and relevant community organizations.
• Identify opportunities for institutional collaborations, programme sponsorships, group enrolments, and long-term training agreements.
• Develop referral networks that generate qualified leads for professional development, executive education, corporate training, and consultancy.
• Monitor market demand and identify emerging skills, leadership, management, and organizational development needs.
• Represent the institution at conferences, exhibitions, forums, networking events, and industry meetings.

Reporting, Administration & Coordination

• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date business development and admissions database using CRM systems or approved spreadsheets.
• Record client contacts, meeting notes, opportunity stages, proposals, agreements, participant leads, applications, follow-up actions, and outcomes.
• Ensure each commercial opportunity and prospective-participant lead has a clearly documented status, next action, timeline, expected value, and owner.
• Prepare weekly activity updates and monthly performance reports covering leads, meetings, proposals, applications, enrolments, contracts, conversions, revenue, and client satisfaction.
• Share market intelligence with leadership regarding competitor activity, demand trends, pricing insights, and emerging programme/partnership opportunities.
• Participate in planning, pipeline review, and performance meetings with main campus teams.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Sales, Hospitality Management, Education, Public Relations, or a related field.
• At least three (3) years of relevant experience in business development, institutional partnerships, sales, account management, or community outreach.
• Demonstrated ability to build professional networks, develop qualified pipelines, and secure partnership/commercial agreements in Kenya.
• Demonstrated ability to convert individual and institutional prospects into programme enrolments or commercial engagements.
• Experience engaging HR managers, hotel managers, operations leaders, school proprietors, principals, and senior decision-makers.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office or Google Workspace applications. Preferred
• Previous experience in the hospitality sector is strongly preferred.
• Previous experience in business development or admissions for executive education, short courses, or professional development programmes is highly preferred.
• Existing networks within Kenya’s hotel, tourism, hospitality, education, professional services, or corporate sectors.
• Experience selling corporate training, consulting, advisory, executive education, or professional development services.

Key Competencies

• Experience selling corporate training, consulting, advisory, executive education, or professional development services.
• Experience managing admissions or enrolment pipelines for executive education, short courses, or professional development programmes.
• Existing networks within Kenya’s hotel, tourism, hospitality, education, professional services, or corporate sectors.
• Knowledge of Kenya’s executive education, professional development, corporate training, and consultancy markets.
• Previous experience in the hospitality sector is strongly preferred.
• Previous experience in business development or admissions for executive education programmes is highly preferred