We’re Hiring: Sales & Partnership Development Manager (Remote)

Remote | Full-time or Part-time | Freelance (Invoice-based collaboration)

Join a growing European innovation company that simplifies Horizon Europe for researchers, SMEs, and changemakers.

A few words about OpenCosmos & Funding Expert Academy

We have an extensive European client portfolios and one of the strongest track records in supporting via training, matchmaking and coaching, organisations and individuals to exploit successfully their research and innovation potential. We are the founders of A) Funding Expert Academy (FEA), an academy with the most comprehensive selection of trainings on transferable/soft skills but also specialised ones in planning and management of European R&I Projects, and B) the founders of OpenCosmos platform (OC) which is a membership platform for supporting its members to exploit the European Research and Innovation Funding Programme (Horizon Europe).

OpenCosmos (www.horizoneurope.guru) is a capacity-building and matchmaking platform that helps researchers, startups, universities and innovation actors successfully access European funding programmes such as Horizon Europe, Digital Europe and others.

We do not just provide information. We provide structure, strategy and tools. Through our membership model, Proposal Lab system and live sessions, we support our members to move from confusion to clarity — and from idea to funded project.

Funding Expert Academy (www.fundingexpert.academy) is our training arm. We train researchers, consultants and organisations on how to design competitive EU proposals and build strong research management capacity. Thousands of professionals have already been trained through our programmes.

Our mission is simple:
To help more researchers and innovation actors succeed in European funding.

And this is where you come in as Sales & Partnership Development Manager.

How this role contributes to our vision

To scale our impact, we need strong partnerships and consistent sales growth.

You will lead:

• Sales of OpenCosmos memberships

• Sales of Funding Expert Academy courses and training services

• Strategic partnerships with universities, research institutes, SMEs and innovation ecosystems

• B2B collaborations linked to EU-funded projects and capacity-building initiatives

You are not selling random products.
You are offering access to funding, knowledge and growth! 

What you will actually do

1. Market research & targeting
Identify universities, research centres, innovation hubs, SMEs, consultancies and ecosystems that would benefit from OpenCosmos and FEA services.

2. Cold outreach (smart and structured)
Use LinkedIn, email campaigns, calls and networking to initiate high-quality conversations.
Clear messaging. Clear value. Clear next steps.

3. Sales meetings & demos
Present OpenCosmos and FEA via Zoom/Google Meeting.
Understand client needs and align our services with their funding goals.

4. Partnership proposal drafting
Prepare customised offers (Word/PowerPoint/Canva) including pricing, value proposition and next steps.

5. Systematic follow-up
Many deals close after the third or fourth contact.
You follow up consistently and professionally.

6. CRM discipline
Track all leads, meetings and next steps in our CRM system (pipedrive).
Clear pipeline. Clear metrics.

7. Revenue growth & EU project contribution
Support participation in EU proposals where OpenCosmos or FEA can play a strategic role (capacity building, research management support, sustainability, etc.).

8. Account management
After closing a deal, you remain the key contact and ensure renewal and upselling opportunities.

What you bring

• Experience with EU funding schemas
• Network with higher education, research or innovation ecosystems
• 3–5+ years experience in B2B sales (services, training, consulting or SaaS preferred)

• Experience in cold outreach (LinkedIn, email, calls)

• Structured way of working with CRM tools

• Ability to run professional Zoom sales meetings

• Excellent written and spoken English

• Comfortable working remotely and independently
  

You must be able to issue invoices for your services (freelance collaboration model).

What success looks like (first 90 days)

• 30–40 targeted outreach actions per week

• 6–10 qualified meetings per week

• Fully updated CRM pipeline

• 1–3 new memberships or training sales closed per month (initial phase)

• Clear partnership discussions initiated with at least 3 strategic organisations

Our T.E.A.M. Core Values

1. Think (Outside the Box)

2. Excuses Don't Count, Action and Results Do! (
3. Adopt Tools as Family

4. Mistakes are Learning Opportunities

and our three non-negotiable principles

1. Communicate with Clarity, Kindness and Purpose

2. Outcomes Matter, Not Effort

3. Feedback to ALL is strongly encouraged

If these resonate, you'll fit right in.

What You Get

• Remote work, flexible schedule

• Competitive base pay + performance bonuses

• Strategic role with autonomy

• Access to training & expert networks in EU funding

• Vested rewards system: After 3 years, get long-term profit-sharing & bonus incentives based on what you helped build

Apply Now

• Are the person we are looking for?

• Complete the online form and we will soon contact you. We are looking forward to meeting you!