Poonam Namjoshi
Edtech Leader
Bengaluru,KA
Summary
Strategic education and EdTech leader with 22+ years of experience across academic administration, online higher education, digital learning, content operations, university partnerships, government project execution, admissions enablement, and largescale programme delivery. Proven record of building and scaling education businesses through strategic planning, operational excellence, partnership development, revenue-focused execution, cost optimisation, regulatory alignment, and learner-centred programme design. Experienced in managing high-value academic and content budgets of up to Rs. 150 crore, achieving measurable cost savings through resource optimisation, vendor negotiations, process redesign, and disciplined operational planning. Demonstrated ability to contribute directly to business growth, including securing Rs. 30 crore in government project revenue through tendering, RFP strategy, compliance-led bidding, and stakeholder engagement. Strong background in leading cross-functional teams across Academics, Content, Product, Admissions, Marketing, LMS/VLE Operations, Technology, Finance, and University Partnerships. Adept at working with senior leadership, founders, boards, university partners, government stakeholders, vendors, and distributed academic talent pools to deliver scalable, compliant, and commercially viable education programmes. Well positioned for a senior leadership role at ____________with relevant experience in online learning, academic operations, learner engagement, admission growth, digital content delivery, counsellor enablement, international programme development, and remote workforce coordination. Brings a mission-aligned approach to language access, employability, global mobility, immigration-linked learning outcomes, and skill-based education delivery.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Director - Online Higher Education, Academics
BEPL - College Vidya
03.2025 - 05.2026
- Led academic strategy, programme operations, online higher education delivery, and university partnership execution for domestic and international online programmes.
- Operated at the intersection of academics, admissions, marketing, product, compliance, and learner experience to improve programme quality, enrolment growth, and operational efficiency.
- Managed a Rs. 50 crore academic budget and achieved 7% cost savings through resource optimisation, structured planning, vendor coordination, and disciplined allocation of academic resources.
- Oversaw academic quality, compliance, regulatory adherence, and operational delivery across multiple university partnerships, maintaining high levels of stakeholder confidence.
- Led the design, development, and launch of Online MBA, Global MBA, DBA, and executive education programmes for domestic and international partners.
- Collaborated with international universities on programme conceptualisation, curriculum design, assessment frameworks, accreditation alignment, and learner journey mapping.
- Worked closely with Admissions, Marketing, Product, and University teams to drive enrolment growth from approximately 50 admissions in six months to 50+ admissions per month across flagship programmes.
- Designed and delivered programme and product training for admission counsellors, improving counselling effectiveness, learner need diagnosis, programme explanation quality, and lead-to-enrolment conversion.
- Partnered with Digital Marketing teams to create lead-generation initiatives including webinars, masterclasses, lead magnets, alumni stories, student testimonials, reels, and faculty showcases.
- Contributed to student acquisition funnel optimisation by supporting improved targeting, conversion-focused content, differentiated value propositions, and counsellor enablement.
- Supported CAC and LAC reduction through stronger organic engagement, clearer programme messaging, better student counselling, referral-focused engagement, and customer-delight initiatives.
- Created learner engagement and customer-delight initiatives that improved student satisfaction, increased referrals, and reduced dependency on paid acquisition.
- Developed differentiated value propositions for Global MBA, DBA, and executive education programmes in collaboration with universities and marketing stakeholders.
- Worked across academic, operational, and commercial teams to align learner outcomes with market expectations, employability needs, and institutional positioning.
Deputy Director - e-Learning
DSU Online
08.2024 - 02.2025
- Led online programme development across divisions, contributing to 7% enrolment growth and supporting institutional online education goals.
- Managed resource allocation for EdTech tools, LMS, and VLE platforms, achieving 15% cost savings through structured planning and technology optimisation.
- Provided strategic leadership in expanding online offerings across divisions, improving instructional design quality, student engagement, and digital learning readiness.
- Worked with academic and administrative stakeholders to improve programme delivery models, learning design, and digital education processes.
- Supported scalable online learning systems through stronger process discipline, platform usage, and learner experience planning.
- Ensured academic operations were aligned with institutional quality expectations, student engagement priorities, and technology-enabled education goals.
Associate Director - Content and Operations
UNext Learning Pvt. Ltd.
04.2022 - 07.2024
- Led and mentored a 45-member team including Instructional Designers, Graphic Designers, Project Managers, and content professionals.
- Improved content production efficiency by 21% through workflow optimisation, team mentoring, process redesign, quality review systems, and delivery tracking.
- Managed a Rs. 150 crore content development budget and achieved 20% savings through resource optimisation, vendor negotiations, structured production planning, and operational controls.
- Developed 6,000+ hours of academic content across online programmes, ensuring quality, scalability, learner relevance, and delivery readiness.
- Oversaw content development and delivery for 3 universities and 15 online programmes.
- Supported learning delivery for 25,000 learners at a given time across programmes and batches using LMS, VLE, and EdTech tools.
- Ensured high-quality learning experiences through instructional design standards, learner outcome alignment, academic quality checks, and multimedia learning resources.
- Coordinated with academic experts, production teams, project managers, university stakeholders, and technology teams to ensure timely delivery.
- Strengthened operational dashboards, performance reviews, quality controls, and production systems to improve output consistency.
- Supported compliance with online programme requirements, academic content standards, assessment readiness, and university delivery expectations.
Head - Content
UNext Learning Pvt. Ltd.
12.2021 - 05.2024
- Managed a Rs. 50 crore content development budget, achieving 8% savings through resource optimisation and vendor negotiations.
- Developed 1,200 hours of academic content in a record time of 5 months.
- Built scalable production workflows for digital learning content, assessment support, multimedia modules, and learner-facing academic assets.
- Worked closely with academic SMEs, instructional designers, media teams, vendors, and university stakeholders to maintain quality and delivery discipline.
- Leadership endorsement: Ms. Sarita Digumarti, CLO, UNext Learning Pvt. Ltd., described Poonam as a well-networked academic expert with strong command over content creation, regulatory requirements, pedagogy, learner outcomes, and a strong can-do attitude.
Associate Vice President - Content Development
META-i Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
07.2020 - 12.2021
- Spearheaded bidding for government projects by preparing winning tender submissions, RFP documents, compliance documentation, and project proposals.
- Secured Rs. 30 crore in revenue within 1.5 years through successful government project bidding and L1 bidder positioning.
- Managed Content Management and Question Paper Delivery teams for Engineering, Medical, BFSI, and Management sectors.
- Ensured on-time exam delivery, question bank enhancement, academic quality, operational compliance, and delivery discipline.
- Led process improvement initiatives using technology to improve workflow efficiency, tracking, accountability, and delivery quality.
- Managed and coordinated a talent pool of 1,000+ freelance SMEs across academic and assessment-related assignments.
- Worked with internal teams, external experts, institutional stakeholders, and government-facing processes to ensure documentation accuracy and delivery reliability.
- Strengthened compliance-oriented workflows for high-stakes academic and examination environments.
Education
Certification - Leadership
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Bangalore 08.2023 - 12.2023
Certification - Online And Distance Eductaion
IGNOU
Delhi 02.2024 - 02.2024
Master of Commerce - Accounting And Taxation
Institute of Distance Education
Mumbai 06.2000 - 05.2002
Bachelor of Commerce - Accounting And Taxation
BES College of Commerce
Mumbai 07.1997 - 05.2000
Skills
- Strategy
- Business Growth
- Academic Operations
- P&L-Oriented Leadership
- Partnerships
- Governance
- Digital Learning Scale-Up
Websites
Leadership Value Proposition
- Ability to translate founder and board vision into annual and multi-year business plans, operational priorities, and measurable growth outcomes.
- Strong experience in scaling online education offerings across domestic and international markets through programme design, admissions enablement, digital marketing support, and learner journey mapping.
- Budget ownership experience across Rs. 50 crore and Rs. 150 crore portfolios, with proven savings of 7%, 8%, 15%, and 20% in different assignments.
- Revenue orientation demonstrated through Rs. 30 crore government project wins and significant enrolment growth in online higher education programmes.
- Experience managing large distributed academic ecosystems, including 45-member internal teams and 1,000+ freelance SME networks.
- Strong grounding in regulatory compliance, academic quality, accreditation requirements, audit readiness, and governance-linked education operations.
- Proven ability to collaborate with admissions, marketing, product, academic, finance, technology, and university teams to improve conversion, reduce acquisition costs, strengthen programme positioning, and enhance learner satisfaction.
- Capacity to represent the organisation externally with universities, institutional clients, government bodies, vendors, academic experts, and strategic partners.
Core Competencies
Vision execution, Multi-year planning, Growth strategy, Market expansion, Business model development, Strategic partnerships, Revenue planning, Pricing support, Board-level reporting, Founder-aligned execution, Budget ownership, Cost optimisation, EBITDA orientation, Capital allocation support, Vendor negotiations, Resource planning, Revenue-linked programme planning, Financial forecasting support, Operational efficiency, Admissions enablement, Counsellor training, Lead-to-enrolment conversion, Programme positioning, Digital marketing collaboration, Student acquisition funnel optimisation, CAC and LAC reduction, Webinars, Masterclasses, Lead magnets, Referral-led growth, Regulatory compliance, Academic governance, Accreditation support, Internal controls, Audit readiness, Quality assurance, RFP compliance, Statutory process awareness, Documentation discipline, Risk mitigation, Senior team leadership, Cross-functional execution, Remote workforce coordination, Performance management, Succession planning support, Employee engagement, Team mentoring, Distributed academic talent management, High-performance culture, Online programme management, LMS/VLE administration, Content production, Learner engagement, Student support, Assessment frameworks, E-examination content, Academic operations, Process scalability, Technology-enabled delivery, University partnerships, Institutional relationships, Government project engagement, Investor/stakeholder communication support, Vendor management, Strategic alliances, Community and mission representation
Additional Professional Associations
- Institute of Product Leadership
- TimesPro
- INurture
- GOLS
- 24x7 Avagmah
- Dexler Information Solutions
- Jain University
- IBS
- Welingkar Institute
- Other universities and academic institutions
Selected Leadership Impact
22, Rs. 150 crore, 20%, Rs. 50 crore, 7%, Rs. 50 crore, 8%, 15%, Rs. 30 crore, 45, 1000, 25000, 6000, 5 months, 15, 50+ admissions/month, 7%
Functional Alignment With Role
- Vision and Strategic Leadership: Experienced in translating institutional and business priorities into programme strategy, operational plans, learner-focused offerings, and growth initiatives.
- Business Growth and Financial Ownership: Has managed budgets of Rs. 50 crore and Rs. 150 crore, achieved measurable savings, contributed to enrolment growth, supported acquisition funnel optimisation, and generated Rs. 30 crore revenue through government project wins.
- Governance, Compliance, and Board-Level Readiness: Strong experience in regulatory compliance, accreditation alignment, academic governance, RFP compliance, audit-oriented documentation, quality assurance, and stakeholder reporting.
- Organisational Leadership and Culture: Has led 45-member internal teams and coordinated with 1,000+ external SMEs. Demonstrated ability to build performance-oriented teams, mentor professionals, and manage distributed academic operations.
- Operational Oversight: Experienced in overseeing academic operations, content production, LMS/VLE systems, admissions enablement, marketing collaboration, learner engagement, programme launches, vendor coordination, and quality assurance.
- External Representation and Stakeholder Management: Has worked with universities, international academic partners, government project stakeholders, vendors, SMEs, admission teams, marketing teams, product teams, and institutional clients.
Professional Positioning Statement
A senior education and EdTech business leader with deep experience in scaling online learning operations, managing large budgets, driving enrolment growth, building high-performing teams, strengthening governance, and creating learner-centred academic products. Brings the strategic, operational, financial, and stakeholder-management capabilities required to support.
Timeline
Director - Online Higher Education, Academics
BEPL - College Vidya
03.2025 - 05.2026
Deputy Director - e-Learning
DSU Online
08.2024 - 02.2025
Certification - Online And Distance Eductaion
IGNOU
02.2024 - 02.2024
Certification - Leadership
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
08.2023 - 12.2023
Associate Director - Content and Operations
UNext Learning Pvt. Ltd.
04.2022 - 07.2024
Head - Content
UNext Learning Pvt. Ltd.
12.2021 - 05.2024
Associate Vice President - Content Development
META-i Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
07.2020 - 12.2021
Master of Commerce - Accounting And Taxation
Institute of Distance Education
06.2000 - 05.2002
Bachelor of Commerce - Accounting And Taxation
BES College of Commerce
07.1997 - 05.2000