Partnership Consultant

Vertex Education; United States; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Industry-leading pay

Rewards

Referral bonuses

Unlimited flexible paid time-off

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) with 6% employer match

Job summary

Vertex Education is seeking a high-energy sales professional to drive growth in the US education sector. The role focuses on identifying prospective clients, building executive-level relationships, and qualifying needs to tailor Vertex Education’s services to client goals.

You will present Vertex capabilities, collaborate with multiple departments, and manage cross-sell opportunities while traveling to conferences and client sites as required.

Qualifications

• Must have 3-5 years of direct sales experience to organizational leadership including C-level staff and Boards, demonstrated track record of achieving and exceeding goals, experience with opening new markets appreciated, experience with nonprofits and/ or charter schools is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify potential clients using various comprehensive sales research strategies and compile a list of prospective clients and top targets in their given territory.
• Develop relationships with multiple contacts in targeted organizations including school leaders, department heads, and Board members.
• Qualify prospect’s needs through a consultative sales process with questioning to drive discovery and handle objections.
• Develop and implement a strategic sales plan to align potential clients’ needs with Vertex Education’s services.
• Provide a broad overview of Vertex Education’s solutions and capabilities to key contacts within each client account and seek cross-sell opportunities.
• Continually perform research on prospect websites, Board notes, news articles, and other social media to refine understanding of the prospect’s goals.
• Proactively manage client satisfaction and service delivery by anticipating potential problems and monitoring resolutions.
• Partner with other Vertex Education representatives to build relationships with influencers and drive referrals.
• Travel to conferences and events to assist with booth setup and engage with attendees for next steps.
• Regularly report market findings to DNSP and leadership to update messaging and BI.

Skills

Communication

Presentation

Persuasion

Negotiation

Relationship building

Time management

Attention to detail

Team player

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent

Job description

Be the one who makes a difference!

At Vertex Education we are a team of high achievers, courageous leaders, and passionate believers in changing lives through education. As a purpose-led education services provider, our mission is destined to benefit many and yet it starts with just one person inspired to work together with us to make a memorable and meaningful difference for our clients, schools, students, and communities. Be the one who makes a difference—and us.

The successful PC will:

1. Identify potential clients using various comprehensive sales research strategies and compile a list of prospective clients and top targets in their given territory, including potentially working cross-selling opportunities with companies Vertex has acquired. Work hand in hand with their assigned Partnership Consultant to conduct effective outreach to those targets and turn qualified leads into opportunities.
2. Quickly develop relationships with multiple contacts in targeted organizations including school leaders, department heads, and Board members in order to understand the client’s goals, initiatives, and pain points.
3. Qualify prospect’s needs through a consultative sales process that involves questioning to drive deeper discovery and handle objections quickly and concisely with sound reasoning.
4. Develop and implement a strategic sales plan to align potential clients’ needs/goals with Vertex Education’s services.
5. Provide a broad overview of Vertex support services in an effort to create new clients. Such services will likely include the following (but may include any service Vertex provides):

• Marketing / enrollment support
• Finance / accounting
• HR support
• Talent acquisition
• NSLP administration
• IT Support
• Campus Development

1. Continually perform research on prospect websites, Board notes, news articles, and other social media to refine and update their understanding of the prospect’s mission, potential needs, and goals.
2. Proactively manage client satisfaction and service delivery by anticipating potential problems, and monitoring resolutions.
3. Provide a crisp articulation of Vertex Education’s solutions and capabilities to key contacts within each client account and maintain the ability to cross sell additional product offerings.
4. Actively and collaboratively engage with multiple department leads at Vertex throughout the sales process in order deliver solutions that are of the highest quality and meet the stated needs of our potential clients.
5. Partner with other Vertex Education representatives in their territory to build relationships with influencers and drive new referrals.
6. Manage all inbound and outbound prospect communication and organize or elevate issues appropriately.
7. Ensure Hubspot is kept up to date with account data, activities, opportunities, and forecasting.
8. Partake in travel to customer locations for presentations, meetings, and conferences.
9. Travel to conferences and events as needed to assist with booth set-up and take down, interact with clients, prospects, and influencers in an effort to build relationships, quickly assess their needs, capture contact information, and drive the needed next steps to create tangible opportunities.
10. Conduct personalized outreach to conference attendees, booth visitors, webinar registrants and attendees using multiple means of communication to initiate conversations and drive new business.
11. Regularly report market findings to DNSP so that organizational messaging and business intelligence can be updated accordingly.
12. Regularly prepare reports showing sales volume, potential sales, and areas of proposed client base expansion and deliver them to the DNSP and Executive team to seek their input and support.
13. For any accounts that are assigned for long-term management:

• Develop and maintain long-term relationships with multiple contacts in each organization including school leaders, department heads, and Board members within their portfolio in order to understand the client’s goals, initiatives, pain points, and ultimately grow their account based on these findings.
• Develop partnership plans for all assigned clients by leading a joint company/client planning process that identifies client product offering needs while establishing a clear action plan as needed (quarterly or annually).
• Act as a client advocate: provide client satisfaction feedback to Vertex Education management and recommend and/or implement operational process improvements that will result in increased client satisfaction.

SUPERVISORY AND MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITY:

• This position does not currently have any direct reports.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:

Education, Licensure, or Certification:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent and experience.

Work Experience or Related Experience:

• Must have 3-5 years of direct sales experience to organizational leadership including C-level staff and Boards, demonstrated track record of achieving and exceeding goals, experience with opening new markets appreciated, experience with nonprofits and/ or charter schools is a plus.

Specialized Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Possess excellent analytical, organizational, and time management skills, have exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills including presentation, persuasion, and negotiation skills required in working with customers/coworkers and including the ability to communicate effectively and remain calm and courteous under pressure.
• Build rapport and trust quickly with school leaders and influencers.
• Strong listening and comprehension skills with the ability to deliver complex messages in a simplified manner.
• Tenacious sales mindset.
• Strong diplomacy and interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships and demonstrate a high level of service and responsiveness.
• Superb written and verbal communication skills in a variety of settings (one-on-one, small groups, large groups, varying position levels, etc.).
• Crisp presentation skills.
• Strong attention to detail as well as demonstrated ability to see the whole picture, think critically, identify issues, and create solutions.
• Proficient in Google Workspace (Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, etc.) and Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
• Highly resourceful team-player who has the ability to work cooperatively with executive team and other peers and also be effective working independently.
• Models effective collaboration with external bodies and with all Vertex departments.
• Over-communicates to ensure clarity, except in situations where discretion is necessary.
• Credits others for their contributions and accomplishments
• Follow through on commitments and takes responsibility for decisions, actions, and failures.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and work well under pressure, demonstrating persistence, perseverance, integrity and patience along the way.

BACKGROUND CHECKS:

• Individuals in this position will be required to pass a criminal history background check.
• Must be able to obtain and hold a valid IVP Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card at all times.

PHYSICAL AND TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS / WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Primary work location for this position is flexible and could be remote if the job functions can reasonably performed from outside of the main office in Chandler, AZ.
• This position will require travel throughout the US, 25- 50% of the time with heightened travel during conference season.
• This position requires the need to lift objects (up to 25 pounds) on occasion.
• This position may require sitting for long periods at times, talking on the phone, standing, kneeling, stooping and long periods of concentration.

Be excited to be a part of our team and grow your career with us!

Be the one who enables us to positively impact over 258,000 students across multiple states while driving our growth forward so we can enrich even more lives. Be the one who helps us achieve excellence for over 226 schools that we support with academics, finance, technology, human resources, communications, marketing, facilities, construction, and food services. Be the one who is a diverse thinker, a team player, a smart risk taker, an innovator, and a difference maker by encouraging others to climb higher and reach farther to further education.

• Be yourself surrounded by wonderful people who care about you, value your unique skills, and lift you up.
• Be supported in your work by caring leaders and team members who want you to succeed.
• Be empowered to make a difference and climb higher and reach farther to change lives through education.
• Be well in all aspects of your life from your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing to your finances.
• Enjoy industry-leading pay, rewards, referral bonuses, with unlimited flexible paid time-off for performance.
• Be able to care for your health and your family with comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits and invest in your future with 401(k) plans with a 6% employer match on your contributions.
• Enhance your growth and development with mentoring and money to take training classes.
• Thrive in a welcoming, supportive, and inclusive environment where we treat others with fairness and respect, celebrate diversity, and elevate equality and inclusion as an equal opportunity employer.

_ Be the one who makes a difference! _

With an innovative mind, a hungry heart, and engaging spirit you can change lives through education. Be a part of Vertex Education and let’s make a difference together.