President

BDES Executive Search; United States; On-site; USD 200,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

A growth-focused K-12 educational publisher seeks a President to translate its strategic vision into operational plans and measurable results. The President will oversee day-to-day execution across content development, sales, marketing, operations, business systems, IT, and customer-facing teams to deliver high-quality customer experiences.

Candidates must be on-site in California one week per month. Key responsibilities include leading operations, partnering with the CEO on annual plans and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Experience leading an education or publishing business or unit.
• 10+ years leading teams and executing strategic plans in a creative environment.
• Operational excellence and technology fluency to scale the business.
• Experience driving systems improvements (CRM upgrades, data quality).
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams.
• Ability to lead through organizational change.
• Leadership aligned with company values and growth vision.
• Strong leadership, communication and collaboration skills.
• Budget and financial management experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations and ensure departments execute against goals, budgets, timelines, and targets.
• Partner with the CEO to develop annual operating plans, priorities, revenue goals, and KPIs.
• Hold teams accountable to KPIs to ensure strategic goals are met.
• Oversee publishing operations, editorial schedules, production timelines, and inventory planning.
• Coordinate sales, marketing, customer success, and fulfillment to drive adoption and retention.
• Monitor performance and implement process improvements for quality, speed and profitability.
• Oversee key business systems (NetSuite, Salesforce) to drive data-led decisions.
• Manage and develop senior leaders, department heads, and cross-functional teams.
• Support partnerships with authors, schools, distributors, and providers.
• Review financial and operating reports and recommend performance actions.
• Represent the company externally with customers, partners, and stakeholders when needed.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Operations management

Cross-functional leadership

Change management

Budgeting

Financial management

Communication

Problem solving

Collaboration

Technology fluency

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

NetSuite

Salesforce

Job description

Growth-oriented K-12 educational publisher is seeking a President to translate its strategic vision into operational plans and measurable results. The President will collaborate to develop the company's strategic plan – balancing multi-year growth goals with disciplined execution against benchmarks.

The President will oversee day-to-day execution across all core business functions, ensuring content development, sales, marketing, operations, business systems, IT development, and customer-facing teams work together to deliver high-quality customer experiences.

*Candidates must be on-site in California one week per month.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead daily operations and ensure company departments execute against strategic goals, budgets, timelines, and performance targets.
• Partner with the CEO to develop annual operating plans, departmental priorities, revenue goals, and key performance indicators.
• Hold employees and departments accountable to KPIs to ensure the business is fulfilling strategic goals.
• Oversee publishing operations, including editorial schedules, product development workflows, production timelines, inventory planning, and launch readiness.
• Coordinate sales, marketing, customer success, and fulfillment teams to support adoption, retention, renewals, and customer satisfaction.
• Monitor operational performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement process improvements that increase quality, speed, efficiency, and profitability.
• Monitor key business systems – including NetSuite and Salesforce – to ensure they align with business goals, provide data to drive decision-making, and support company growth.
• Manage and develop senior leaders, department heads, and cross-functional teams.
• Support major partnerships with authors, consultants, school systems, distributors, educational organizations, and technology providers.
• Review financial and operating reports and recommend actions to improve performance.
• Serve as an internal leader and, when delegated by the CEO, represent the company externally with customers, partners, and industry stakeholders.

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Experience leading an education or publishing business or business unit, with broad management of multiple departments and functional areas.
• At least 10 years of experience leading teams and overseeing strategy, operations, and execution of plans, projects, and initiatives in a creative business environment.
• Operational excellence and technology fluency to support and scale the business.
• Experience driving systems improvements – e.g., CRM upgrades, metadata and customer data quality initiatives.
• Proven ability to manage and motivate cross-functional teams.
• Ability to lead through organizational change.
• Leadership style aligned with the company’s core values – love of learning, collaboration, hard work, pride, and fun/celebration – and its vision to create a world in which children love to learn.
• Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, change management, and collaboration skills.
• Budget and financial management experience.