Director of Academia at Prolific

Director of Academia 

Note: we are advertising the same role in multiple locations—London, San Francisco & New York

Prolific

At Prolific, our marketplace is rooted in academia, and that commitment runs deep. Alongside our work to accelerate the future of AI, we’re continuing to redefine how the world conducts academic research.

What started as a research-driven idea has evolved into the world’s most trusted infrastructure for human data. Today, tens of thousands of researchers from top universities across the globe rely on Prolific to power their work, from peer-reviewed studies to the next generation of technological breakthroughs.

We're doubling down on our mission to serve the academic community, deepening relationships, building smarter tools, and making high-quality human data more accessible than ever.

The role

You'll lead Prolific's academic research segment as a fully empowered leader, owning strategy and operations for one of the most established and respected communities in online research. This is a pivotal moment for the segment: we're evolving our go-to-market approach to better serve institutions while strengthening our market position and deepening relationships with the research community. Your impact will be defining how we serve academia for the next decade.

This is a strategy and operating role. You'll run sales and customer success, build institutional partnerships, design new packaging and programs, and make real-time decisions about where to invest for growth. You'll work alongside a strong Sciences team who provide thought leadership, directing how that expertise translates into community engagement and market positioning. You'll have genuine autonomy and the resources to execute boldly.

The right person relishes combining intellectual credibility with commercial discipline. You'll be equally comfortable presenting at research methods conferences and dissecting retention cohorts, building trust in academic communities while driving business outcomes.

What you’ll bring to the role

• Deep academic market fluency: working in or selling research technology to academic/research markets. You understand researcher motivations, university dynamics, procurement processes, and how academic credibility is built.
• Proven business ownership: managing a business unit or revenue segment at $10M+ scale. You've been accountable for growth, not just advised on it.
• Commercial leadership: Direct experience building or managing customer-facing teams of 10+ people. You know how to structure for scale, define metrics that matter, and balance high-touch with tech-touch support to optimize customer journeys.
• Enterprise/institutional sales experience: You've designed value propositions for institutional buyers, navigated multi-stakeholder sales, or led a self-serve to enterprise transition. You know how to package products for centralized procurement.
• Commercial rigor: Fluent in unit economics (CAC, LTV, retention, expansion). You diagnose growth problems through data and make resource allocation decisions with confidence.
• Strategic independence: You're comfortable operating with minimal oversight, solving ambiguous problems and building cross-functional alignment.

Even better if you have

• Experience in both US and UK higher education markets
• PhD, active involvement in academic research or earned trust through deep market experience
• Track record in competitive or disrupted markets, counter-positioning, or defending market leadership

What you’ll be doing in the role 

Own the business:

• Accountability for the academic segment with ambitious growth targets
• Lead and develop the customer-facing team, setting strategy for retention, activation, and expansion
• Allocate resources and make investment decisions across growth levers and geographies
• Define and track key metrics: retention curves, NPS, activation rates, institutional pipeline

Drive adoption via institutional contracts:

• Design and validate packaging, pricing, and value propositions for central university contracts
• Build pipeline and pilot institutional contracts, proving the model and navigating complex buying committees
• Develop sales playbook and enablement materials to scale institutional motion over time

Strengthen market position:

• Deepen engagement with the research community through advisory boards, partnerships, and advocacy programs
• Direct the science team's thought leadership to reinforce our differentiation and credibility
• Build and maintain relationships with senior academics and research community leaders
• Monitor competitive landscape and provide strategic recommendations on partnerships and positioning

Operate cross-functionally:

• Partner with product to prioritize roadmap for academic use cases and institutional needs
• Collaborate with marketing on positioning, campaigns, and community engagement
• Work with data/analytics to surface insights on researcher behavior and segment health
• Represent academic segment needs in executive strategy discussions

Links to more information on Prolific

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