We are seeking an experienced Strategic Client Partner – Sales / Strategic Expansion to drive organic growth across a portfolio of existing US universities, higher education institutions, online learning organizations, and EdTech platforms.
This is a senior, highly strategic individual-contributor role focused on expanding existing client relationships beyond traditional curriculum, content, and learning stakeholders and establishing new relationships with CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, Chief Online/Digital Learning Officers, Provosts, and senior academic and technology leaders.
The primary mandate is to identify, create, shape, and close new opportunities within existing education accounts, with AI, data, learning technology, digital transformation, student experience, and technology services as core areas of focus.
The ideal candidate will be a strong CXO-level relationship builder, consultative enterprise seller, and strategic account leader who understands how US higher education institutions buy technology and services.
You will independently identify whitespace, build account-growth strategies, create executive-level conversations, shape complex opportunities, and take deals from initial discovery through proposal, negotiation, and closure.
This role requires someone who can operate with minimal supervision and high ownership, build a qualified pipeline from scratch, and convert strategic institutional relationships into significant revenue growth.
The role will be measured on pipeline creation, new buying-center penetration, deal closures, booked revenue, account expansion, AI opportunity creation, and long-term client growth, rather than activity metrics alone.
The expectation is to generate $3–5M+ in booked revenue in Year 1 across the assigned portfolio.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Strategic Account Growth & Expansion
● Own the end-to-end growth strategy for a portfolio of existing US universities, higher education institutions, online learning organizations, and EdTech platforms.
● Identify and develop new revenue opportunities within existing client organizations.
● Move beyond existing curriculum and content buyers and establish relationships across new technology, digital, and institutional buying centers, including:
○ CIO
○ CTO
○ CDO
○ Chief Digital Officer
○ Chief Online Learning Officer
○ Chief Digital Learning Officer
○ Provost
○ VP/Head of Online Learning
○ VP Technology
○ VP Digital Transformation
○ Data & AI leadership
○ Enterprise Architecture
○ Student Experience leadership
● Identify whitespace opportunities across institutions and develop strategies to penetrate new departments, schools, programs, business units, and buying centers.
● Build strong relationships with senior institutional stakeholders and become a trusted advisor on their AI, technology, learning, and digital transformation priorities.
● Understand each institution's:
○ Strategic plan
○ Academic priorities
○ Technology roadmap
○ Digital learning strategy
○ AI initiatives
○ Student experience priorities
○ Operational challenges
○ Budget cycles
○ Funding sources
○ Procurement processes
○ Governance structure
○ Decision-making structure
○ Current and future buying priorities
● Develop a clear and actionable growth plan for each strategic account.
● Map key decision-makers, influencers, budget owners, academic stakeholders, technology stakeholders, procurement teams, and potential internal champions.
● Continuously identify opportunities to increase account penetration and share of wallet.
● Convert existing engagements into broader, multi-year strategic partnerships.
2. CXO & Academic Relationship Management
● Build and maintain strong relationships with CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, Chief Online/Digital Learning Officers, Provosts, and senior academic and technology leaders.
● Establish credibility as a strategic business, education, and technology advisor rather than operating purely as a transactional sales representative.
● Lead executive-level conversations around:
○ AI in Education
○ Generative AI
○ AI-powered Learning
○ Student Experience
○ Digital Learning
○ Learning Platforms
○ Data & Analytics
○ Learning Analytics
○ Digital Transformation
○ Academic Technology
○ Automation
○ Online Program Transformation
○ Technology Modernization
● Understand the strategic priorities of academic and technology leaders and translate them into relevant business and technology opportunities.
● Build relationships across multiple levels within the institution to reduce dependency on a single buyer or champion.
● Create executive sponsorship and maintain strong stakeholder engagement throughout the sales cycle.
● Develop long-term relationships that create opportunities for repeat and expansion business.
● Represent the company confidently in senior-level client meetings, executive briefings, institutional workshops, conferences, and strategic discussions.
3. AI, Learning & Technology Services Sales
● Drive sales conversations around AI, data, learning technology, digital transformation, and technology services.
● Identify enterprise and institutional AI use cases and translate them into commercially viable opportunities.
● Engage institutions around opportunities such as:
○ Generative AI for Learning
○ AI-powered Student Experience
○ AI-enabled Content Development
○ AI-assisted Instruction
○ Learning Analytics
○ Student Success Analytics
○ Intelligent Automation
○ Digital Learning Transformation
○ Learning Platform Modernization
○ Data Modernization
○ Technology Transformation
○ Online Learning Infrastructure
○ Digital Student Services
● Understand the institution's academic or operational problem before positioning a solution.
● Work with internal solution and delivery teams to translate institutional requirements into relevant solutions.
● Help clients move from:
Initial AI / Technology Use Case → Discovery → Pilot / POC → Program → Enterprise / Institution-Wide Scale
● Identify opportunities to expand successful initial engagements into broader, multi-program and multi-year relationships.
● Stay current on emerging AI, EdTech, learning technology, and higher education technology trends and understand how they can create institutional value.
4. Enterprise & Institutional Sales / Deal Shaping
● Own opportunities from the initial client conversation through proposal, negotiation, and closure.
● Lead consultative discovery to understand:
○ Institutional challenges
○ Academic priorities
○ Technology requirements
○ Student outcomes
○ Operational outcomes
○ Budget availability
○ Funding cycles
○ Decision criteria
○ Buying process
○ Governance requirements
○ Expected outcomes
● Frame the institutional problem and develop a compelling value proposition.
● Build business cases that demonstrate:
○ Student impact
○ Operational efficiency
○ Cost efficiency
○ Revenue opportunity
○ Scalability
○ Institutional value
○ Technology modernization
● Shape opportunities in collaboration with solution architects, technology leaders, delivery teams, AI experts, and education subject-matter experts.
● Manage complex enterprise and institutional sales cycles involving multiple academic, technology, administrative, and procurement stakeholders.
● Lead commercial discussions, proposals, pricing conversations, and negotiations.
● Navigate:
○ RFPs
○ RFIs
○ Procurement
○ Legal review
○ Security requirements
○ Vendor onboarding
○ Governance
○ Institutional approvals
● Drive opportunities toward closure while maintaining commercial discipline and profitability.
● Build and close opportunities of $500K+, with the ability to manage significantly larger strategic deals.
5. New Technology Buying Center Development
● Identify technology and digital buying centers that are currently not engaged with the company.
● Build targeted strategies to enter new institutional departments and stakeholder groups.
● Develop relationships with:
○ CIO organizations
○ CTO organizations
○ Digital Learning teams
○ Online Learning teams
○ Data & AI teams
○ Enterprise Architecture
○ Technology Transformation
○ Student Experience
○ Digital Student Services
○ Academic Technology teams
● Identify opportunities to expand beyond traditional curriculum, content, and instructional stakeholders.
● Research institutional structures and identify high-value whitespace opportunities.
● Create account penetration strategies based on institutional priorities, funding cycles, strategic plans, and technology roadmaps.
● Build relationships before an active RFP or formal buying process begins.
● Generate demand through executive conversations, strategic insight, industry knowledge,and consultative selling.
● Turn new buying-center relationships into qualified opportunities and revenue.
6. Account Planning & Pipeline Development
● Develop detailed strategic account plans for assigned US higher education and EdTech accounts.
● Define account-level:
○ Revenue targets
○ Growth opportunities
○ Buying centers
○ Key stakeholders
○ Academic priorities
○ Technology priorities
○ Funding cycles
○ Strategic initiatives
○ Active opportunities
○ Whitespace opportunities
○ Competitive landscape
○ Engagement strategy
● Build a qualified pipeline from scratch to support annual revenue targets.
● Maintain a healthy pipeline across multiple stages of the sales funnel.
● Continuously identify new opportunities rather than relying solely on existing account revenue.
● Maintain accurate and current opportunity data in CRM systems.
● Ensure pipeline coverage is sufficient to achieve annual revenue objectives.
● Prioritize opportunities based on:
○ Revenue potential
○ Strategic importance
○ Probability of closure
○ Institutional urgency
○ Funding availability
○ Business value
○ Relationship strength
7. RFP, Proposal, Commercial & Negotiation Management
● Lead the development of strategic proposals in collaboration with internal teams.
● Translate institutional requirements into clear commercial propositions.
● Coordinate with solution architects and delivery leaders to build technically and commercially viable solutions.
● Lead pricing and commercial discussions with institutional stakeholders.
● Develop compelling responses to RFPs and formal procurement processes.
● Negotiate contracts while protecting business value and margins.
● Manage proposal strategy, timelines, client presentations, solution discussions, and commercial negotiations.
● Anticipate institutional objections and develop appropriate responses.
● Navigate formal procurement, governance, legal, security, and approval processes.
● Drive opportunities through final institutional approval and closure.
● Ensure smooth transition from sales closure to delivery and account management teams.
8. Higher Education Buying Cycle & Stakeholder Management
● Develop a strong understanding of how US universities and higher education institutions purchase technology and services.
● Navigate institutional budget cycles, funding availability, procurement procedures, RFP processes, governance committees, and approval structures.
● Understand the different priorities and decision-making roles of:
○ CIOs
○ CTOs
○ CDOs
○ Provosts
○ Academic Leaders
○ Online Learning Leaders
○ IT Leadership
○ Procurement
○ Finance
○ Faculty / Academic Stakeholders
○ Student Success Teams
● Build consensus across academic, technology, administrative, and commercial stakeholders.
● Identify institutional champions and potential blockers early in the sales process.
● Develop strategies to maintain deal momentum through lengthy institutional decision-making cycles.
● Align proposals with institutional strategic plans, student outcomes, technology roadmaps, and funding priorities.
9. Cross-Functional Collaboration
● Work closely with:
○ Solution Architects
○ Delivery Leaders
○ Technology Teams
○ AI/Data Teams
○ Learning Technology Teams
○ Presales
○ Education SMEs
○ Finance
○ Legal
○ Marketing
○ Leadership
● Bring the right internal stakeholders into opportunities at the appropriate stage.
● Lead internal pursuit teams and keep opportunities moving toward closure.
● Translate institutional requirements into clear internal action plans.
● Ensure alignment between sales commitments and delivery capabilities.
● Collaborate with delivery teams to identify expansion opportunities within existing engagements.
● Build strong internal relationships to accelerate solution development and deal closure.
10. Client Engagement, Conferences & Executive Presence
● Represent the company with senior US higher education and EdTech clients.
● Lead executive briefings, strategic workshops, business reviews, solution discussions, and institutional presentations.
● Present complex technology, AI, and learning solutions clearly to both academic and technology stakeholders.
● Develop strong executive-level communication and presentation materials.
● Understand cultural and business nuances of working with US higher education organizations.
● Participate in relevant higher education, EdTech, AI, and learning technology conferences and industry events.
● Travel occasionally to the US for strategic client meetings, conferences, executive engagements, and key business opportunities.
● Maintain a high level of professionalism and credibility in all client interactions.
11. Forecasting, Reporting & Revenue Ownership
● Own revenue and growth targets across the assigned institutional portfolio.
● Maintain accurate sales forecasts and opportunity stages.
● Track:
○ Pipeline value
○ Pipeline coverage
○ Win rate
○ Deal size
○ Sales cycle
○ New buying centers
○ Account penetration
○ Expansion revenue
○ AI opportunity value
○ Booked revenue
● Provide regular updates to leadership on account growth and pipeline progress.
● Identify risks to revenue targets and proactively develop corrective actions.
● Maintain accurate CRM data and ensure forecast visibility.
● Build realistic revenue projections based on opportunity maturity, institutional engagement, funding cycles, and commercial progress.
Qualifications & Experience:
● Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Technology, Education, Engineering, or a related field. MBA is preferred.
● 10+ years of experience in technology sales, strategic account management, client partnering, enterprise sales, or business development.
● Proven experience selling to US universities, higher education institutions, large online learning organizations, or EdTech companies.
● Strong track record of growing existing accounts by entering new buying centers.
● Demonstrated success in closing $500K+ enterprise or institutional technology deals.
● Proven experience delivering significant account growth and revenue expansion.
● Strong CXO-level relationship management skills with demonstrated access to:
○ CIOs
○ CTOs
○ CDOs
○ Chief Online/Digital Learning Officers
○ Provosts
○ VP Technology
○ VP Digital Learning
○ Senior Academic Leaders
● Hands-on experience selling AI, data, learning platforms, digital transformation, and technology services.
● Strong consultative and solution-selling capabilities.
● Experience shaping complex enterprise or institutional deals from discovery through closure.
● Strong understanding of:
○ Higher education technology buying
○ Institutional procurement
○ RFP/RFI processes
○ Budget cycles
○ Funding models
○ Governance structures
○ Consultative selling
○ Account expansion
○ Opportunity qualification
○ Business case development
○ Commercial structuring
○ Pricing
○ Negotiation
● Proven ability to independently build a qualified pipeline from scratch.
● Experience managing long and complex institutional sales cycles.
● Strong understanding of higher education decision-making structures and buying centers.
● Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
● Strong presentation and executive communication capabilities.
● Comfortable working independently across US time zones.
● Willingness to travel internationally for key client meetings, conferences, and business engagements.
Skills & Competencies
● Strategic account management and expansion.
● US higher education sales.
● EdTech and learning technology sales.
● Enterprise technology sales.
● CXO and academic leadership relationship management.
● Consultative and value-based selling.
● AI and technology services sales.
● New technology buying-center development.
● Account planning and whitespace identification.
● Complex deal shaping and solution selling.
● Institutional business case development.
● RFP and proposal management.
● Commercial negotiation.
● Enterprise proposal management.
● Pipeline generation and management.
● Revenue forecasting.
● Strong executive presence.
● Excellent presentation and communication skills.
Nice to Have:
● Experience with large online universities.
● Experience with competency-based education programs.
● Experience working with Online Program Managers (OPMs).
● Experience with large-scale online learning platforms.
● Existing relationships with senior technology and digital learning leaders within US higher education.
● Experience selling enterprise-scale AI initiatives in education.
● Experience with Generative AI and AI transformation programs.
● Experience working with:
○ Learning Management Systems
○ Learning Experience Platforms
○ Student Information Systems
○ Learning Analytics
○ AI platforms
○ Data platforms
○ Cloud platforms
○ Digital learning platforms
● Exposure to EdTech, AI, learning technology, and cloud platform partner ecosystems.
● Experience developing multi-year strategic technology partnerships with universities.
● Experience managing global higher education accounts.
● Existing network across US higher education technology and academic leadership communities.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
● Booked Revenue: $3–5M+ Year 1 revenue across the assigned portfolio.
● Pipeline Creation: Qualified pipeline generated from new technology buying centers and institutional whitespace opportunities.
● Pipeline Coverage: Sufficient qualified pipeline to consistently support annual revenue targets.
● New Buying Centers: Number of new CIO, CTO, CDO, digital learning, online learning, Provost, and academic relationships established.
● CXO Engagement: Quality and depth of relationships with senior technology and institutional decision-makers.
● Account Expansion: Revenue growth across existing university, higher education, and EdTech accounts.
● Deal Size: Ability to originate and close significant institutional opportunities, including $500K+ deals.
● Win Rate: Conversion of qualified opportunities into closed business.
● Multi-Year Revenue: Ability to convert individual projects into long-term, multi-program institutional relationships.
● AI Revenue: Revenue generated from AI, data, learning technology, and digital transformation initiatives.
● Sales Cycle: Ability to maintain momentum and efficiently progress complex institutional opportunities.
● Forecast Accuracy: Accuracy and reliability of revenue and pipeline forecasting.
● Client Retention & Expansion: Growth and continuity of strategic institutional relationships.
Values:
● Get stuff done
● Move fast with purpose
● Win with ideas
● Sweat the details
● Deliver great customer experiences
● Make your teammate successful
Perks:
● Health Insurance
● Kwench Library (Klib)
● Employee Assistance Program (Free Counseling Service)
● Hybrid Work Model
● Flexi Reimbursement Basket
● Paid Time off
● Level up your skills with company-based sponsorship.
● Tech reimbursement
Strategic Account Management, Account Expansion, US Higher Education Sales, EdTech Sales, Enterprise Technology Sales, Strategic Client Partnering, CXO Relationship Management, Executive Stakeholder Management, Consultative Selling, Solution Selling, AI Sales, Generative AI Sales, Data Analytics Sales, Learning Technology Sales, Digital Transformation, Technology Services Sales, Enterprise Sales, Business Development, Account Planning, Whitespace Analysis, New Buying Center Development, Pipeline Generation, Pipeline Management, Revenue Growth, Revenue Forecasting, Enterprise Deal Shaping, Complex Deal Management, Institutional Sales, Higher Education Technology, Learning Management Systems, Learning Experience Platforms, Student Information Systems, Learning Analytics, AI Platforms, Data Platforms, Cloud Platforms, Technology Modernization, Digital Learning Transformation, Student Experience Solutions, RFP Management, RFI Management, Proposal Management, Commercial Negotiation, Pricing Strategy, Contract Negotiation, Business Case Development, Procurement Management, Budget Planning, Stakeholder Mapping, Strategic Partnerships, Multi-Year Account Growth, Opportunity Qualification, Sales Strategy, Account Penetration, Revenue Ownership, Client Relationship Management, Executive Presentations, Business Communication, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Forecast Accuracy, Client Retention, International Client Management