Partner Operations Lead

Rize Education Overview

• Mission: fundamentally transform higher education and provide every student with an enjoyable and riskless pathway to a fulfilling career

• Initial Problem: colleges desperately need to increase enrollment & improve outcomes, but can’t afford the upfront investment & costs for new degree programs

• Solution: high-quality, flexible degree programs that dramatically reduce cost and risk. By allowing colleges to add new online courses taught by other institutions, Rize provides non-profit, accredited colleges & universities with the fastest and most affordable way to add skills-based majors & minors for college credit

• Funding: raised Series B in 2024 from Thrive, Founders Fund, Flume, Strada, and other investors to pursue significant growth and product improvements. Projected to be profitable by Fall 2026 with no need for additional funding

• Team: 50+ person team that includes college athletes, educators, Jeopardy! participants, Ivy Leaguers, and hustlers who paid their own way through community college, all with the shared goal of improving education for current and future generations

The Role

At Rize, we believe every student deserves access to a career-connected, high-ROI education and we’re betting that colleges can rise to meet this moment. But today, most institutions are being asked to do the impossible: grow enrollment, improve outcomes, and modernize their academic offerings, all while navigating budget cuts, talent shortages, and declining public trust.

It’s a complex challenge and one of the most important in education today. That’s where you come in.

We are looking for a Partner Operations Lead to help transform the way colleges serve students. In this role, you’ll work directly with higher ed leaders and faculty at dozens of institutions to ensure Rize programs launch seamlessly, scale effectively, and create real value for students and campuses alike. You’ll be at the front lines of helping colleges innovate faster and smarter. 

You’ll also collaborate closely with our Instructional Design team and on-campus faculty to shape the academic requirements that directly impact the student learning experience, which gives you a rare opportunity to make a lasting impact on students’ lives.

You'll report to our VP of Partner Success as a member of the Revenue team. Partner Success is responsible for ensuring our clients thrive and is critical to Rize’s long-term growth and profitability. We want (and need) you to be part of that story.

Responsibilities

• Relationship Management - Working alongside a Partner Strategy Lead to execute an account growth strategy while proactively addressing daily needs, resolving issues efficiently, and fostering partner self-sufficiency. 

• Onboarding Execution - Lead account onboarding, making sure client stakeholders (registrars, advisors, faculty, etc.) are equipped to work with Rize from day one

• Program Implementation - Project manage implementation of our collaborative academic programs, ensuring key milestones (e.g., program approval, course listings) are met on time for successful student registrations. 

• Data Insights & Optimization - Manage and translate client partner data into insights that help inform account strategy and unlock opportunities for growth.

• Operational Strategy & Process Improvement - Identify and implement scalable process improvements to streamline onboarding, program launches, and operational workflows, driving greater efficiency and partner success.

Primary KPIs

• Team Efficiency (Dollars managed per portfolio)

• Time to Value (Time from contract signing to program readiness for student enrollment)

• Year 1 Activation (10+ student registrations per program in first year)

• Partner Satisfaction

KPIs You Will Impact

Since you will join an internal account team alongside a Partner Success Lead and an Enrollment Consultant, you’ll play a critical role in ensuring the following team KPIs are met:

• Net Revenue Retention

• Logo Retention

• Student Enrollments into Shared Programs

• Course Registrations

Qualifications

You’ll thrive in this role if you’ve spent 2+ years in consulting, banking, account management, or customer success, and want to move into a more mission-driven role. Our ideal candidate will have the following qualities:

• You love jumping on calls and working directly with clients, energizing partners with solutions and ensuring their success

• You have a proven ability to manage complex processes, coordinating across stakeholders to drive outcomes

• You see data as a tool for action, leveraging insights to track performance, identify trends, and inform strategy

• You excel at organization, structuring tasks and workflows to maximize efficiency and impact

• You take ownership and hold yourself to a high standard, always pushing to deliver results

• You thrive in autonomy, seeking opportunities for growth, responsibility, and impact

• You are low ego, humble, and eager to learn, excited to collaborate and grow alongside a high-performing team

• You are excited to help shape the future of higher education and change students’ lives in the process

We are a remote-friendly company with most of our NYC-based team working from our office space in Flatiron 3+ days a week!

Compensation

Compensation will vary with experience, but a rough range will be:

• On-Target Earnings: $100,000 - $120,000

• Equity: 1,000 - 2,000 shares

Press and Publications

The Higher Education Model is Broken. Together We Can Fix It.

Expert View: Sharing courses could help small private colleges survive

What To Do About The High Costs Of Higher Education: One Model Of School Collaboration