Description

The Regional Higher Ed Lead is the single point of ownership for AWS Academy within an assigned geographic territory. This role is accountable for growing and managing a portfolio of higher education institutions, advising on technical curriculum and cloud/AI strategy, and serving as the trusted advisor connecting institutions to the right combination of AWS education programs. You will own the institutional relationship end-to-end — from pipeline development through onboarding through long-term account health — while defining the technical standards and requirements that ensure institutions successfully implement and deliver Academy courses. You will work across AWS teams (sales, public sector, partner organizations, curriculum, and platform engineering) to bring coordinated value to higher education institutions in your region.


Key job responsibilities
Institution Pipeline & Business Development

Identify, prospect, and onboard new institutions into AWS Academy. Build and manage a pipeline of prospective institutions from inquiry through active enrollment. Grow adoption within existing accounts by expanding program presence into new departments and degree programs. Coordinate with AWS Sales field teams on Academy opportunities and identify areas of collaboration with public sector, public policy, and partner organizations to create scalability.

Account Management & Relationship Ownership

Serve as the primary point of contact for all institutions within the territory. Drive retention, expansion, and educator readiness across assigned accounts. Build long-term relationships with institutional stakeholders — department chairs, deans, and provost-level leadership. Shepherd dormant institutions back to active status. Ensure educator nominations and readiness-to-teach milestones are met. Track regional KPIs including learner completions, institution growth, and educator engagement.

Technical Advisory & Curriculum Strategy

Advise institutions and educators on AWS cloud and AI curriculum architecture, course sequencing, and how Academy programs map to degree requirements. Communicate technical training standards and curriculum development best practices to institutional partners. Understand and articulate technical aspects of LMS integration (LTI protocols, Canvas configuration, SSO/SAML), lab environment requirements (Vocareum, AWS Labs), and platform capabilities. Define technical requirements for institution setup and ensure institutions can successfully deploy and deliver Academy courses.
Program Execution & Cross-Functional Coordination

Execute global business development and event playbooks locally — including AWS Jams, hackathons, and vibe coding sessions. Coordinate with the Technical Enablement Lead on content standards and educator readiness requirements. Work with the Business Development & Strategy Lead on go-to-market motions and marketing activities in-region. Advocate internally for institutional needs across AWS teams. Connect institutions to the right combination of AWS programs — Academy, Education Equity Initiative, Cloud Clubs, Skills to Jobs — based on institutional needs.


A day in the life
As a Regional Higher Ed Lead, you own AWS Academy across your territory. You start by reviewing portfolio health—pipeline, learner completions, educator readiness. You advise a department chair on how AWS cloud and AI curriculum maps to their degree programs, then dive into technical setup: LMS integration, SSO/SAML, and lab environments in Vocareum. In the afternoon, you sync with Sales on a joint opportunity, align with the Technical Enablement Lead on educator readiness, and plan an in-region AWS Jam. You re-engage a dormant institution and connect a new prospect to the right AWS programs. You own each relationship end-to-end.


About the team
AWS Academy helps higher education institutions prepare students for in-demand cloud and AI careers by providing ready-to-teach curriculum, hands-on labs, and industry-recognized certifications—free to institutions worldwide. We partner with universities and colleges to embed cloud skills into degree programs, equipping educators to teach the technologies shaping the future.