Manager, Sales Development

Newsela Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Benefits

Job summary

Newsela Inc. seeks a Manager of Sales Development to lead and coach a growing SDR team, designing lead-generation strategies that drive strategic conversations with district and school administrators.

You will coach onshore SDRs, optimize meetings and pipeline metrics, and partner with Sales Leaders to align on territory priorities. The role emphasizes data-driven improvements and thoughtful adoption of AI tools to boost productivity.

Qualifications

• 2-3+ years of sales experience or 1+ years of SDR management; prior people management is highly desired.
• Proven track record of hitting goals and coaching others to success metrics.
• Strong ability to develop and execute lead generation strategies across the team.
• Experience coaching with Gong, Salesloft, and Slack; proficient with Salesforce.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of onshore SDRs driving partnerships with K-12 schools and districts.
• Own SDR team performance across meetings, pipeline, conversion rates, and territory coverage using data-driven insights.
• Partner with Sales Leaders and Account Executives to align on strategy, lead follow-up, and territory priorities.
• Develop and implement scalable lead-generation playbooks, cadences, and enablement to improve SDR productivity.
• Recruit, onboard, develop, and retain top SDR talent with clear coaching and feedback.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve processes and support broader goals.
• Leverage Salesforce, Salesloft, Gong, and other tools for performance management and reporting.
• Adopt AI tools to enhance outreach, research, and workflow efficiency.

Skills

Sales experience

Coaching

SDR management

Salesforce

Gong

Salesloft

Slack

AI tools

Tools

Salesforce

Gong

Salesloft

Slack

Job description

The role:

• As the Manager of Sales Development, you will help lead the growth engine of our sales team by coaching and developing a team of Sales Development Representatives (SDRs).
• Reporting to the Director of Strategic sales, you will play a key role in designing and implementing lead generation strategies that drive success in strategic conversations with District and School Administrators.
• Your ability to continuously improve team performance and exceed territory goals will be integral to Newsela’s mission of bringing meaningful classroom learning to every student

Why you’ll love this role:

• You’ll contribute to an inspiring mission to transform teaching and learning in classrooms across the U.S.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of onshore SDRs who play a critical role in initiating partnerships with K–12 schools and districts.
• Own SDR team performance across meetings, qualified pipeline generation, conversion rates, and territory coverage; use data to identify opportunities to strengthen execution and business outcomes.
• Partner with sales leaders and Account Executives across the Customer organization to align on account strategy, lead follow-up, meeting quality, territory priorities, and shared goals.
• Develop and implement lead-generation strategies that resonate with district and school administrators and support strategic sales motions.
• Build scalable processes, outreach playbooks, cadences, and enablement that improve SDR productivity and create a consistent prospect experience.
• Recruit, onboard, develop, and retain high-performing SDR talent while providing clear coaching, feedback, and performance management.
• Collaborate with internal teams to improve cross-functional processes and execute on broader company goals.
• Leverage Salesforce, Salesloft, Gong, and other sales tools to manage team performance, workflows, and reporting effectively.
• Drive thoughtful adoption of AI tools and best practices to improve SDR productivity, personalize outreach, strengthen prospect research, and streamline inbound and outbound workflows.

Why you're a great fit:

• You bring 2-3+ years of sales experience or 1+ years of SDR management and a proven track record of coaching others. Prior people management experience is highly desired.
• Direct experience of hitting goals, and holding yourself and coaching others to be accountable to success metrics.
• You have a strong ability to develop and execute lead generation strategies across your team.
• You have a strong ability to identify and develop talent.
• You are proficient in Salesforce and other sales tools, enabling you to manage and support a remote team effectively, and have experience coaching using platforms such as Gong, Salesloft & Slack.
• You excel at inter-departmental collaboration and understand the value of partnering across teams to achieve company goals.
• You are passionate about education and share an appreciation for Newsela’s mission of transforming learning experiences for students and teachers alike.
• You are experimenting with and leveraging AI to drive greater efficiency in both outbound and inbound lead generation motions.

Compensation:

• Base salary: $80,000
• On-target commission (OTC): $40,000
• On-target earnings (OTE): $120,000

Total compensation for this role also includes incentive stock options and benefits.

Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate’s individual skills, qualifications, and experience. Total compensation for this role also includes incentive stock options and benefits. This role will also will also be eligible for variable compensation.

On-Target Earnings (OTE) Range

$80,000—$80,000 USD