Director, Higher Education Sales
(Ref #D2LDHES)
General Description:
The Director, Higher Education Sales will lead all sales activity for new client business in Higher Education in North America. The candidate will be a highly knowledgeable and capable senior sales leader with a proven track record of selling high-value complex solutions to the Higher Education vertical. They will be a senior member of the sales organization and an active participant in defining overall strategy and direction to rapidly grow the business.
The candidate will spend the majority of their time building and mentoring a team, developing and cultivating prospects, moving them through the sales process, closing new business and building and managing substantive relationships with key industry partners and associations in our core markets.
The Director will possess a deep working knowledge of the North American Higher Education vertical and have significant expertise in building, leading and managing successful sales operations at a senior level.
The individual will be expected to understand value drivers, solution offering, company differentiators, competitors and work closely with industry and marketing resources to ensure the Higher Education sales organization is supported with all necessary enablers to ensure success.
Division/Department: Sales & Marketing
Type of Position: Full-time
Location: Kitchener, Ontario
Main Duties:
- Participate in developing, implementing and evaluating sales strategies and goals for the North America market
- Implement and oversee appropriate sales processes and procedures needed to augment and increase sales force effectiveness and achieve annual sales objectives
- Work closely with senior leadership to develop and implement strategies and plans to rapidly grow our North American higher education business
- Work closely with Marketing and Professional Services in the identification, development and execution of marketing and services strategies and plans to support expected growth in the higher education vertical
- Recruiting, hiring, training, and mentoring a highly effective team to achieve annual goals and objectives
- Identifying and providing leadership on strategic sales opportunities with prospective customers and involving appropriate corporate resources to move them through the sales process
- Prospecting, building a pipeline, moving opportunities through the sales cycle; proposing, presenting and discussing solutions with C-level and other decision-makers; playing a direct and active role in the sales cycle
- Providing weekly, monthly and quarterly KPI reports to senior leadership
- Understand competitive landscape and trends affecting the higher education marketplace
- Management duties as required
Work Experience and Qualifications:
- 10+ years' sales experience in the education industry and/or selling enterprise software and solutions within the global IT industry
- Knowledge of eLearning and education industry strongly preferred
- 10+ years' sales management experience leading teams including field and inside sales teams
- 10+ years' experience recruiting, training, leading and managing a team in a sales capacity in a high growth organization ideally focused on the Higher Education space
- Experience in establishing, growing and managing channel business in the Higher Education market
- Demonstrated and consistent track record of hitting quotas, ideally in both a sales leadership and in direct contributor roles
- Proven experience running geographically dispersed teams
- Ability to craft a solution with appropriate products and services that meets business goals based on client discussions
- Working knowledge of web-based applications, including Web 2.0, software design and architecture, databases including MS SQL, application servers, and .NET technologies
- Must possess strong leadership, motivational, and presentation skills
- Additional language skills desired but not required
- Must be able to travel 50% of the time
Education Recommendations:
- Bachelor's degree or advanced degree
We thank all applicants in advance for their interest. To make the best use of your time and ours, only those applicants whose profiles closely match our requirements will be contacted directly.
