Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships

Compensation Range:

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships serves as a key senior leadership position responsible for driving and expanding the success of National University Academies’ strategic sales initiatives, including high-profile, complex growth partnerships both domestically and globally. The incumbent leads a team of direct reports, including partnership managers, strategic business consultants, a Marketing Director, field marketing staff, and a global account manager. Serving as both a leader and coach, the Senor Director plays a central role in partnership development, management, and the cultivation of strategic relationships with key advisors. This individual will also leverage the Educational Advisory Group, national associations such as Council for Great City Schools, ALAS, NAESP, and develop tailored strategies to penetrate large complex accounts at the national, state, and district levels. As a vital member of the senior leadership team, the Senior Director collaborates closely with colleagues across sales, client success, global, and marketing to drive alignment and achieve shared goals. Additionally, holds a senior leadership role responsible for driving success across three key functional areas within National University Academies: Strategic Accounts Leadership and Management, Marketing Oversight and Leadership, and Harmony Global Strategy and Expansion.

Essential Functions:

Strategic Accounts Leadership & Management

• Team Leadership & Development: Manage and coach the Strategic Account Executive (SAE) while scaling the Strategic Accounts team to align with organizational growth.
• Sales Strategy Collaboration: Partner with the Senior Director of Sales for the Academies to develop and execute the overall sales strategy, ensuring alignment between strategic and regional sales teams.
• Strategic Advisor Relationships: Cultivate and maintain relationships with key strategic advisors, advocacy groups, and stakeholders to support key initiatives and partnerships.
• National & State Strategy Development: Create and execute strategies to penetrate high-value accounts, including state education agencies, large districts, and national organizations.
• Market & Competitive Analysis: Continuously analyze K-12 education trends, funding opportunities, policy changes, and competitor strategies to refine sales tactics.
• Account Ownership: Oversee the relationships with strategic accounts, ensuring long-term success and alignment with organizational goals.
• Pipeline & Deal Management: Manage account pipelines and deal cycles using Salesforce CRM, ensuring visibility, forecasting accuracy, and team alignment.
• Complex Deal Negotiation: Lead multi-year, high-value deal negotiations, coordinating efforts across stakeholders, regions, and organizational levels.
• National Presence: Represent the company at high-profile events, conferences, and initiatives to expand relationships and enhance brand visibility.

Marketing Oversight & Leadership:

• Marketing Team Management: Lead Director-level marketing leaders and a field marketing team, overseeing day-to-day marketing operations, including field marketing services.
• Integrated Marketing Strategy: Develop and execute integrated marketing strategies to support growth, brand positioning, and business objectives.
• Campaign & Content Development: Oversee the creation of impactful marketing campaigns, digital content, and collateral to engage target audiences and build brand awareness.
• Event Marketing & Engagement: Lead event marketing efforts, including conferences, webinars, and industry events to strengthen relationships and drive brand presence.
• Brand Consistency & Messaging: Ensure consistent brand messaging across all marketing channels, aligned with organizational mission and values.
• Customer Acquisition & Retention: Direct marketing strategies focused on customer acquisition and long-term retention, using data-driven insights to optimize engagement.
• Marketing Performance & Analytics: Measure and analyze the performance of marketing initiatives, adjusting strategies to drive results and improve efficiency.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with sales, client success, and strategic account teams to create marketing solutions that support engagement and business objectives.
• Educational Advisory Group Engagement: Leverage the Educational Advisory Group to build relationships with national and state-level organizations and support thought leadership in the education sector.
• High Profile National Education Associations: Manage key associations, build relationships with key stakeholders, and develop strategic playbooks that drive ROI based on sponsorship-grant investments.

Harmony Global Strategy & Expansion:

• Global Market Strategy: Develop and implement a global expansion strategy, identifying opportunities in international markets to drive growth for National University Academies.  Manage existing global partnerships in Vietnam and Africa-implement growth strategies where grant investments have been made.
• Cross-Cultural Team Leadership: Manage and support global teams, ensuring alignment across regions while fostering collaboration, cultural awareness, and global business development.
• International Partnerships: Cultivate and maintain key partnerships with international organizations, education associations, and global influencers to strengthen the company's global footprint.
• Global Account Management: Oversee high-profile global accounts, ensuring strategic alignment and success across multiple international regions and stakeholders.
• Global Brand Positioning: Shape the company’s global brand identity, ensuring consistency across regions and adapting messaging to resonate with international markets.
• Regulatory Compliance & Local Adaptation: Monitor and navigate international regulatory environments, adapting strategies and solutions to comply with local laws and educational standards.
• Market Penetration & Expansion: Drive market entry strategies for new international regions, ensuring effective positioning, customer acquisition, and long-term success in global markets.
• International Sales Enablement: Collaborate with sales teams across regions to equip them with the tools, resources, and knowledge needed to effectively sell in global markets.
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Supervisor duties to include: 6-8 direct reports, strategic accounts, global account manager, marketing director, and field marketing team.

Requirements:

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of twelve (12) + years of experience in senior management positions in Education or Ed Tech in a similar strategic role, specifically within K-12 sales, with a strong focus on managing large, complex high-profile accounts, required.
• Leadership experience required; growing and scaling sales teams, managing large functional areas team across organizational structures with strong mentorship and leadership skills to build a high-performing organization required.
• Experience using Salesforce CRM preferred.
• Experience working in a technology-driven enterprise preferred.
• All skills, abilities and education will be considered for minimum qualifications.

Competencies/Technical/Functional Skills:

• Proven success in developing and managing high-value strategic accounts at the national, state, or district levels.
• Ability to be a strategic, results-driven leader who can navigate complex account management, lead innovative marketing efforts, and expand the global footprint of National University Academies, all while ensuring alignment and success across all functional areas.
• Established network of relationships with K-12 district leaders, state officials, and national organizations.
• Experience engaging with strategic advisors and leveraging advisory groups or similar networks to advance organizational objectives.
• Ability to establish and maintain relationships with key decision-makers, including district leaders, state education agencies, and advocacy organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with senior leadership to define and align on overarching sales strategies.
• Expertise in navigating multi-stakeholder deals and long sales cycles with high levels of customization and coordination.
• Proficiency in Salesforce CRM, with experience managing pipelines, forecasting, and ensuring deal visibility across cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and build trust with high-level stakeholders.
• Experience collaborating with marketing, professional learning specialists, and other teams to deliver tailored solutions and campaigns for strategic accounts.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for creating meaningful impact in education.
• Willingness to travel nationally frequently.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Confident in representing the organization at national conferences, presenting to high-level stakeholders, and advocating for educational partnerships.

Location: Remote, USA

Travel: Frequent Travel Required; travel nationally at least 40% of the time to build relationships, support the team, and engage with key stakeholders.

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Candidate receiving offers will be offered a salary/pay rate commensurate with experience that vary based on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and competencies.  Absent exceptional circumstances, candidates will be offered a salary within this range for this position. The minimum salary will be offered based on the minimum exemption threshold based on state of residency. Base pay is one component of National University’s total rewards package, as we are dedicated to supporting the needs of the “whole you” with our holistic approach to employee benefits by offering comprehensive well-being benefits for you and your family.  For full details about our benefit plan offerings, please visit benefits.nu.edu. For Part-time benefits, please click here.

National University is committed to maintaining a high-quality workforce representative of the populations we serve. National University employs more than 4,500 faculty and staff and serves over 45,000 students. We are united in our mission to meet the global education demands of the 21st Century and are dedicated to creating a supportive academic and work environment that allows students, faculty and staff to develop their interests and talents while experiencing a sense of community. With programs available both online and at our many campus locations, National University is a leader in creating innovative solutions to education and meeting the needs of our student population, including adult learners and working professionals.

National University (NU) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant per applicable federal, state and local laws. At NU, a mix of highly talented, innovative and creative people come together to make the impact of a lifetime for each of our student learners. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment, education, and admission at National University.