Business Development Officer (IELTS) at IDP Education Ltd

Role purpose

• The Business Development Officer – Student Placement and IELTS is responsible for driving business growth across IDP Education’s student placement and IELTS testing services. The role focuses on attracting prospective students, increasing student placement enquiries and applications, growing IELTS test registrations, and developing strategic relationships with educational institutions, corporate organisations, study abroad consultants, and other relevant stakeholders.
• The role holder will identify new business opportunities, strengthen existing partnerships, implement targeted sales and promotional initiatives, and provide prospective students and clients with accurate information about IDP’s services. Working closely with the Student Placement, IELTS Operations, Marketing, and other relevant teams, the Business Development Officer will contribute to revenue growth, market expansion, customer satisfaction, and the achievement of country business objectives.

Key accountabilities

• Develop and implement business development strategies to drive student recruitment, successful placements, IELTS test registrations, and revenue growth across assigned markets.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities through market research, lead generation, networking, school visits, education fairs, and direct client engagement.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with educational institutions, international universities, study abroad consultants, corporate organisations, schools, and other strategic partners to expand market reach and generate referrals.
• Promote IDP’s student placement and IELTS services through presentations, information sessions, promotional campaigns, digital channels, and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Generate, manage, and convert prospective student and IELTS candidate leads into applications, placements, registrations, and other measurable business outcomes.
• Collaborate with Student Placement, IELTS Operations, Marketing, and other internal teams to coordinate recruitment initiatives, promotional activities, partner engagement, and customer service.
• Prepare and deliver compelling business proposals, presentations, and partnership plans to prospective clients and institutional partners.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activities, customer needs, and industry developments to identify growth opportunities and recommend appropriate business strategies.
• Provide timely and professional support to prospective students, IELTS candidates, clients, and partners, ensuring effective follow-up, issue resolution, and a positive customer experience.
• Track business development activities and key performance indicators, maintain accurate CRM records, and prepare regular reports on leads, conversions, registrations, student placements, partnerships, and revenue performance.
• Ensure all business development and promotional activities comply with IDP policies, brand guidelines, data protection requirements, and applicable regulations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Management, International Relations, Education, or another relevant discipline.
• An MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification will be an added advantage.
• Demonstrable experience in business development, sales, marketing, student recruitment, customer acquisition, or a related commercial role.
• Experience in international education, student placement, educational services, IELTS, English language testing, or a related sector will be an advantage.
• Proven experience in lead generation, sales pipeline management, client acquisition, partnership development, and achieving measurable business targets.
• Experience engaging educational institutions, prospective students, corporate clients, consultants, and diverse stakeholder groups.
• Familiarity with international student recruitment processes, study abroad services, and IELTS testing services will be an advantage.