Business Development Lead, Vietnam (Education Segment)

• Location: Hanoi/ Ho Chi Minh city

• Department: B2B Business Development

• Report to: Business Development Director, SEA & Taiwan

About Us

ELSA is a global leader in AI-powered English communication training, dedicated to transforming how people learn and speak English with confidence. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, we operate across the U.S., Vietnam, Portugal, Indonesia, Brazil and Japan.

Powered by proprietary speech-recognition technology and generative AI, ELSA delivers real-time, hyper-personalized feedback to help learners improve pronunciation, fluency, and overall communication effectiveness. With over 50 million learners and 1 billion hours of anonymized speech data, ELSAs depth of language training intelligence is unmatched in the industry.

Our B2B flagship platforms ELSA Enterprise and ELSA Schools empower organizations and educational institutions to elevate communication capabilities and unlock personal and professional opportunities for their people. We design engaging, bite-sized learning experiences that adapt to each learner's goals and context, ensuring measurable improvement and lasting confidence.

Our vision is to become the global standard for real-time English communication training, enabling 1.5 billion language learners worldwide to speak clearly, be understood, and share their stories with the world.

Backed by world-class investors including Googles Gradient Ventures, Monks Hill Ventures, and SOSV, ELSA has been recognized among the top global AI innovators:

• Forbes Top 4 Companies Using AI to Transform the World

• Research Sniper Top 5 Best AI Apps

• ASU+GSV EdTech 150

• CB Insights Top 100 AI Companies

Join us in shaping the future of language learning and empowering millions to unlock opportunity through confident communication.

Role Summary

We are seeking a dynamic, strategic, and highly driven Business Development Lead (Education) to spearhead our growth within Vietnam’s academic sector. This is a high-impact Individual Contributor role designed for a "hunter" who understands the nuances of the education industry - from K-12 and Higher Education to Language Centers and Training Institutes.

You will own the end-to-end strategy for the Vietnam education market, building senior-level partnerships and driving the adoption of ELSA’s AI-powered solutions to transform how English is taught and learned.

Key Responsibilities

1. Market Strategy & Ownership

• Go-To-Market Lead: Build and execute Vietnam’s B2B Education strategy, identifying high-growth segments (K-12, Universities, Academic English programs).

• Domain Expertise: Serve as the internal authority on Vietnam’s education landscape to inform ELSA’s product roadmap and localized solution development.

• Thought Leadership: Represent ELSA at key EdTech conferences and academic forums to strengthen brand presence among educators and policy-makers.

2. Strategic Partnerships & Sales Execution

• Full Sales Cycle: Independently drive the end-to-end sales process, from initial stakeholder mapping and "cold-to-gold" outreach to complex contract negotiations and closing.

• High-Impact Deals: Focus on securing large-scale institutional partnerships and integrating ELSA technology into core curricula.

• Relationship Management: Build and maintain deep relationships with senior decision-makers, including Rectors, Department Heads, and Academic Directors.

3. Cross-functional Collaboration

• Solution Tailoring: Partner with Product and Marketing teams to customize ELSA’s offerings for the specific needs of Vietnamese students and teachers.

• Customer Success: Work closely with the Success team to ensure seamless implementation and long-term renewal of institutional contracts.

4. Performance & Data Intelligence

• Pipeline Management: Maintain rigorous reporting of sales metrics, forecasts, and market intelligence via Hubspot.

• AI Integration: Utilize AI tools to optimize productivity, automate workflows, and enhance the consultative selling process.

What You Will Have

• Experience: Minimum 5 - 10 years of experience in Business Development or Enterprise Sales, with a proven track record of closing large-scale deals in EdTech, SaaS, or Training.

• Sector Knowledge: Deep understanding of the Vietnam education sector (Higher Ed, K-12, or Language Centers). Prior experience working within an education institution or edtech is a major plus.

• Expertise in consultative selling and navigating complex, multi-stakeholder institutional hierarchies.

  • Strong negotiation skills with the ability to handle high-value contract discussions.

  • Bilingual Proficiency: Professional fluency in both English and Vietnamese.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; a Master’s in Education, TESOL, or an MBA is a significant advantage.
  
  What We Offer

• Flexible work setup: Remote-first for Singapore, India, Indonesia, Malaysia; hybrid model for Vietnam.

• Comprehensive employee well-being benefits.

• Free ELSA Premium courses to polish your language skills

• Collaborative, international team culture.

• Opportunity to contribute to a fast-growing, well-funded Silicon Valley startup with global impact.