Role Overview
Three brands, one long view, and, so far, one route to funding them. This role adds a second: capital that does not cost us equity. You will build the partnerships and secure the grant, programme, and institutional funding that carry Veycl, Apply2unis, and Sellable Marketing through their next stage.
About Virtual Nation
Virtual Nation is an operating platform behind three independent brands. Veycl helps people navigate international movement (visa requirements, scholarship databases, job listings, settlement guides, and a marketplace of immigration professionals). Apply2unis is a university admissions companion for students discovering, comparing, and applying to institutions worldwide. Sellable Marketing is an AI-assisted growth agency for businesses that need branding, build, and demand in one place.
We keep our own name in the background so each brand stays focused on what matters without the noise of a shared one. We build for the decade, not the quarter.
Job Description
You will own the two things that sit closest to revenue without being revenue: who we are in the room with, and where non-dilutive capital comes from. This is a build-it role. There is no existing donor list, no CRM full of warm contacts, and no grants calendar. You will create all three.
Key Responsibilities
Network expansion:
Build and own active channels with universities, agent networks, immigration and legal professionals, NGOs, multilateral programmes, and government bodies across our priority corridors
Qualify partners against each brand''s real numbers (visa grants, applications, paying users, traffic) rather than logo value
Negotiate and close partnership, referral, and revenue-share agreements, then manage them through to renewal
Non-dilutive capital:
Research and map institutional funders (foundations, development finance institutions, multilateral programmes, government innovation and export schemes, equity-free fellowships and accelerators) into a maintained pipeline with fit scores, indicative amounts, windows, and decision timelines
Own the calendar of open calls and rolling submissions. Decide what we go after and, more importantly, what we let pass
Secure grant, programme, and sponsorship funding that extends runway without touching the cap table
Proposal and pitch creation:
Write proposals, concept notes, and expressions of interest end to end (problem statement, theory of change, results framework, budget and budget narrative, monitoring plan)
Build tailored financial models, partnership agreements, and pitch decks for funders, partners, and, alongside the Director, prospective investors
Translate what our brands actually do into language each funder recognises, without overstating it
Grant compliance and stewardship:
Own post-award obligations: reporting calendars, milestone evidence, spend against budget lines, variation requests, and audit-ready records
Keep source records traceable (admissions and visa confirmations, billing and payment-processor data, platform analytics) so every claim in a report can be evidenced
Manage funder relationships between reports, so renewals are earned before they are asked for
Performance tracking and forecasting:
Define and report the KPIs for this function: pipeline value, conversion and win rate, cost per unit of capital raised, and partner-attributed activity per brand
Forecast future capital requirements with the Director and flag funding gaps early enough to act on them
Maintain one honest source of truth. We would rather see a shrinking pipeline early than a healthy one late