The client is hiring for a Sales Director role focused on driving growth in the US higher education and academic sectors. This is an individual contributor position responsible for spearheading expansion by building strategic relationships, navigating complex university procurement processes, and independently closing high-value deals.
Key responsibilities include owning the full enterprise sales cycle for US universities—from prospecting and initial outreach through contract negotiation and deal closure—while developing account strategies to expand adoption and revenue. The role requires engaging senior stakeholders such as Provosts, CIOs, Deans, and academic directors, representing the client at higher education conferences and events, delivering consultative presentations and demos aligned with institutional priorities, and serving as a voice of the customer to share market and academic sector insights that inform product and strategy. The Sales Director will also collaborate with marketing and product teams to refine messaging and outreach, and maintain accurate pipeline data and forecasting in a CRM.
The ideal candidate has extensive enterprise SaaS sales experience, including a substantial track record selling to higher education and academic segments in the US, and experience across diverse university types, including public, private, and online-first or hybrid institutions. They should be familiar with selling solutions related to teaching and learning technologies, student lifecycle or administration, and accreditation and compliance, and bring an established network within US universities, along with strong consultative selling, presentation, and contract negotiation skills. Proficiency with common CRM platforms is expected, and the role typically involves travel within the US (with potential for some international travel) to meet clients and attend conferences.