Venture Growth Manager

NelNET; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental & Vision

HSA & FSA

401K / Retirement plan

Student loan repayment

Life & AD&D insurance

Employee assistance program

Employee stock purchase program

Tuition reimbursement

Performance-based incentive pay

Short- & long-term disability

Wellness program

Job summary

Nelnet is seeking a Venture Growth Manager to drive customer acquisition, revenue growth, and market adoption for new products. You will shape go-to-market strategies, identify target customers, and lead cross-functional growth initiatives using data-driven experimentation.

You will partner with product, marketing, sales, and operations to translate insights into scalable plans, build playbooks, and establish lifecycle metrics across onboarding, retention, and expansion.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in growth, go-to-market, business development, sales, marketing, product commercialization, or related discipline.
• Experience developing and executing customer acquisition or revenue-growth strategies.
• Experience using customer, market, and performance data to inform business decisions; leading cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience launching/scaling new products or markets in B2B from $0-$1M in revenue.

Responsibilities

• Develop go-to-market strategies: target customers, positioning, messaging, pricing, packaging, channel approach.
• Build and execute customer acquisition strategies across outbound, inbound, partnerships, content, events, and other channels.
• Lead discovery, sales conversations, demos, pilots, and negotiations to validate demand and generate revenue.
• Analyze market, customer, pipeline, conversion, retention, and financial data to identify growth opportunities and improve performance.
• Design and run experiments to evaluate acquisition channels, messaging, pricing, and engagement hypotheses.
• Partner with product, marketing, sales, operations, legal to translate feedback into decisions.
• Develop onboarding, adoption, retention, expansion, and advocacy strategies across the lifecycle.
• Establish scalable growth processes, metrics, reporting, and documentation for consistent execution.
• Create playbooks and tools to enable commercialization and knowledge transfer.

Skills

Strategic Thinking

Consultative Selling / Solutioning

Customer Needs Analysis

Data Analysis & Visualization

Cross-Functional Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

Nelnet Business Services (NBS), a division of Nelnet, Inc., provides payment technology and education services to more than 1,200 higher education institutions, nearly 12,000 K-12 schools, and millions of individual students, families, and supporters across the globe. Our culture of service enables us to form long-lasting and trusted partnerships, while our focus on creativity and innovative solutions empowers our customer communities to thrive.

The Venture Growth Manager develops and executes strategies to drive customer acquisition, revenue growth, and market adoption for new and evolving products or services. This role evaluates market opportunities, defines target customers and go-to-market approaches, and translates customer and market insights into actionable growth strategies. The position leads cross-functional growth initiatives across marketing, sales, product, and customer experience while using data and experimentation to identify scalable opportunities. This role operates with a high degree of independence and provides subject-matter leadership on growth and commercialization strategies.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop go-to-market strategies, including target customer definition, positioning, messaging, pricing, packaging, and channel approach.
• Build and execute customer acquisition strategies across outbound, inbound, partnership, content, event, and other relevant channels.
• Lead customer discovery, sales conversations, demonstrations, pilots, and commercial negotiations to validate demand and generate revenue.
• Analyze market, customer, pipeline, conversion, retention, and financial data to identify growth opportunities and improve performance.
• Design and execute experiments to evaluate acquisition channels, messaging, pricing, customer engagement, and other growth hypotheses.
• Partner with product, marketing, sales, operations, legal, and other stakeholders to translate customer feedback and market insights into business decisions.
• Develop strategies that support customer onboarding, adoption, retention, expansion, and advocacy throughout the customer lifecycle.
• Establish scalable growth processes, systems, metrics, reporting, and documentation that support consistent execution and informed decision-making.
• Create and maintain playbooks, tools, and best practices that enable successful commercialization and transfer knowledge across teams.

EDUCATION:

Required:

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Economics, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Preferred:

Advanced degree or relevant professional training in business, marketing, product management, sales, or a related discipline.

EXPERIENCE:

Required:

• 6+ years of experience in growth, go-to-market, business development, sales, marketing, product commercialization, or a related discipline.
• Experience developing and executing customer acquisition or revenue-growth strategies.
• Experience using customer, market, and performance data to make business decisions.Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives with limited oversight.
• Experience launching or scaling new products, services, markets, or business models, particularly in B2B environments, from $0-$1M in revenue.

Preferred:

• Experience as a former founder or co-founder of a B2B company

COMPETENCIES/SKILLS:

• Strategic Thinking
• Consultative Selling / Solutioning
• Customer Needs Analysis
• Data Analysis & Visualization
• Cross-Functional Leadership

Pay Range for this role is - $140,000 - $150,000

Our benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA, generous earned time off, 401K/student loan repayment, life insurance & AD&D insurance, employee assistance program, employee stock purchase program, tuition reimbursement, performance-based incentive pay, short- and long-term disability, and a robust wellness program. Click here to learn more about our benefits: Benefits & Perks - Nelnet Inc

Nelnet is committed to providing a welcoming and respectful workplace where all associates have the opportunity to succeed. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we ensure that all qualified applicants are considered for employment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion/creed, national origin, gender, sex, marital status, age, disability, use of a guide dog or service animal, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. We value the unique contributions of every team member and believe that a positive work environment benefits everyone.

Qualified individuals with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations in order to apply or compete for positions at Nelnet may request such accommodations by contacting Corporate Recruiting at 402-486-5725 or [e-mail].

Nelnet is a Drug Free and Tobacco Free Workplace.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Hiring

We may use automated or artificial intelligence enabled tools to assist with the initial review of applications, such as identifying relevant skills or experience. These tools are used to support human review and do not make hiring decisions. A recruiter reviews applications and determines which candidates move forward in the hiring process. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Pre-Use Notice: Automated Tools in Hiring