Strategic Sales Executive

Pearson; Singapore; On-site; SGD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A global education company in Singapore seeks a Strategic Sales Executive for International Higher Education. In this role, you will pursue multi-year partnerships with educational institutions and governments. The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years of enterprise sales experience with a proven record in high-value deals. You will lead sales engagements, engage senior stakeholders, and develop strategic account plans, thereby influencing decision-making at the highest levels. This full-time position offers the opportunity to create significant impact in the education sector.

Qualifications

• 8 years enterprise closing experience in EdTech SaaS or professional services.
• Proven track record in managing complex high-value deals.
• Fluency in English required, with additional languages as an asset.

Responsibilities

• Lead institutional and government sales engagements from identification to contract.
• Build relationships with senior stakeholders to position Pearson as a partner.
• Create annual account plans for strategic clients and execute against goals.
• Conduct discovery to identify institutional pain points.
• Drive RFP responses and collaborate with teams for tailored solutions.

Skills

Enterprise closing experience

Influencing C-level stakeholders

Strong project management skills

Proficiency in CRM tools

Executive presence and communication skills

Familiarity with public sector procurement

Tools

Salesforce

Tableau

Jira

MS Office

G-Suite

Job description

Description

At Pearson our mission is to help people realise the life they imagine through learning. As a Strategic Sales Executive for International Higher Education you will pursue and secure transformative multi‑year partnerships with governments, universities and enterprise clients across priority markets.

Reporting to the Director of Strategic Sales and embedded in the central team that leads Pearson’s most strategic and complex commercial agreements, you bring together the right people, processes and market intelligence, mobilising internal stakeholders and resources at the right moments to shape, pursue and win must‑win programmes. You’ll influence senior leadership and government stakeholders, navigate public‑sector procurement and manage multi‑million‑pound solutions, applying authority and credibility at the highest decision‑making levels to deliver measurable revenue growth, reference‑worthy deployments and strategic positioning for Pearson. Every deal you land helps shape our product roadmap and sector narrative.

Key Responsibilities

Lead and orchestrate institutional and government sales engagements, owning the full lifecycle from opportunity identification through contract finalisation and implementation.

Engage senior stakeholders—including Vice Chancellors, ministries and procurement bodies—to develop trusted advisory relationships that position Pearson as a strategic partner.

Create and deliver annual account plans for strategic government and institutional clients. Work with clients to define ambitious revenue targets and partnership objectives, and execute against these plans to expand Pearson’s footprint and influence.

Run world‑class discovery to uncover institutional pain points and policy drivers; translate findings into crisp problem‑solution narratives and bespoke proposals.

Create and progress pipeline through multiple channels—converting warm leads from events, conferences and marketing programmes—and proactively generate net new opportunities through insight‑driven outbound (email, phone, social). You won’t wait for leads; you’ll own pipeline creation and qualification.

Build and leverage an internal network across Pearson, knowing when to pull in the right expertise (Product Delivery, Legal, Finance, Marketing) at the right time to accelerate deal strategy and execution.

Drive RFP responses and complex bids, collaborating with cross‑functional teams to deliver tailored outcome‑focused solutions.

Close large strategic deals (7‑figure multi‑year opportunities) while building reference‑worthy deployments.

Represent Pearson with authority at policy forums, sector events and senior stakeholder meetings; act as a visible leader in higher education.

Analyse bid and sales performance, implement continuous improvements and champion enhancements to sales tools and templates.

Leverage AI as a force multiplier for account research, prospecting, prioritisation, call prep and follow‑through; share what works to uplevel the team.

What You Bring

• 8 years enterprise closing experience (EdTech SaaS or professional services) with a proven track record of 6‑figure wins and participation in 7‑figure multi‑year deals.
• Proven track record in securing and managing complex high‑value deals in institutional or government markets.
• Comfort engaging at C‑level and with senior government stakeholders to influence decision‑making.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to lead dispersed cross‑functional teams in a matrixed organization.
• Executive presence and communication skills. Be a compelling storyteller, have strong discovery discipline and the ability to convert insights into business cases.
• Familiarity with Challenger / MEDDICC methodology; rigorous qualification and consensus building.
• Experience with public sector procurement processes (RFPs, RFIs, framework agreements) is highly desirable.
• Proficiency in CRM and collaboration tools (e.g. Salesforce, Tableau, Jira, MS Office, G‑Suite).
• Fluency in English required; additional languages are an asset.

What success looks like

• Ramp quickly: Master Ideal Customer Profiles, policy priorities and talk track; run qualified discovery in months 2‑3.
• Pipeline to quota: Build a healthy self‑sourced partnered pipeline and consistently hit annual targets while maintaining high forecast accuracy through disciplined deal qualification and predictable execution.
• Flagship wins: Close multiple 6‑figure new logos and advance 12 seven‑figure strategic opportunities within the first year.
• Product impact: Deliver prioritised feedback that shapes roadmap; contribute repeatable templates and AI workflows.
• References: Land 23 deployments that become public case studies or sector benchmarks.

Employment Type: Full‑Time