Director of Market Development

About Alliance Strategies: Alliance Strategies is the parent company behind the brands we know and work with every day. Alliance Abroad, GeoVisions, Stepwest, Stepabroad, Wild Packs, and Teacher Lounge. Together, we're part of a global team committed to creating life-changing work, study, and cultural exchange experiences. Across our offices in 10 countries, we support participants, partners, and host organizations by connecting great people with meaningful opportunities. Whether it's helping a teacher move to the US, a student land their first internship abroad, or a resort fill key roles with international talent, everything we do is about building pathways that make a real difference. Position Summary Please note that this role will be advertised individually across LATAM markets (including Mexico and Colombia) as LinkedIn does not support collective regional postings. We're looking for a hands-on Director of Market Development to lead and accelerate Alliance Abroad's growth across Latin America. This role owns the development and performance of institutional (university and feeder-institution) recruitment pipelines and alumni engagement across the region. The Director is expected to lead from the front by personally building and managing key relationships with culinary and hospitality schools, universities, and training institutions, and by re-energizing the alumni and participant community to support recruitment outcomes. This role works closely with existing regional sales leadership and teams, and is accountable for ensuring that market development efforts translate into measurable pipeline growth and improved conversion. While strategic thinking is required, this is a highly execution-focused role, particularly in its early stages. Duties & Responsibilities: Primary Functions Feeder Institutions & Partnerships Build, own and actively manage priority partnerships with culinary schools, hospitality colleges, universities, and training institutions across Latin America. Personally develop and maintain deep, multi-year relationships with key institutions, focusing on repeat cohorts rather than one-off recruitment. Design and actively drive structured recruitment flows through institutional relationships, including repeatable campus engagement models. Establish, own, and continuously strengthen long-term relationships with career services, international offices, and academic departments. Regularly review and optimize institutional partnerships based on performance, engagement, and outcomes. Represent Alliance Abroad at campus events, institutional meetings, and industry engagements. Sales Collaboration and Funnel Discipline Work in close partnership with regional sales leadership to support recruitment and placement targets across programs. Strengthen the candidate journey and improve conversion across the funnel through higher-quality institutional and alumni pipelines. Ensure disciplined use of CRM systems and consistent reporting (HubSpot) across market development activities. Track key funnel performance indicators and support continuous improvement based on results. Collaboration & Insight Work closely with global marketing, operations, and regional teams to align messaging and improve outcomes. Share market insights, trends, and partnership opportunities to support overall growth. Contribute to the development of partnership models that can be replicated across multiple LATAM markets. Provide feedback on student readiness and institutional needs to continuously refine recruitment approaches. Essential Qualifications & Experience Required – minimum Experience in international education, recruitment, hospitality, employability, or mobility programs. Experience building and maintaining partnerships with universities, schools, or training institutions. Experience engaging with alumni or community networks. Strong relationship-building and communication skills. Demonstrated ability to operate in hands-on, execution-driven environments. Ability to manage multiple partnerships and priorities independently. Desirable – preferred Strong background in business development, partnerships, or market growth. Confidence working with CRM systems and performance data (HubSpot). Experience collaborating with sales teams to improve funnel performance and conversion. Knowledge of the Latin American education or talent landscape. Prior leadership or mentoring experience. Ability to balance strategic planning with day-to-day execution.