SVP, Strategic Alliances

Discovery Education is seeking a Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances with an exceptional track record to lead and scale the business. This includes scaling the Career Connect (a SaaS platform with a two-sided market) product while also leading signature partnerships (ex. 3M, Verizon) and campaign initiatives (ex. STEM Careers Coalition). The SVP of Strategic Alliances will report to and work closely with the EVP of Marketing and Strategic Alliances.
 
 In This Role You Will:
• Revenue Strategy Ownership
◦ Lead and oversee all revenue-generating activities for the Strategic Alliances business, including partnership development, top-of-funnel sales, and corporate speaking engagements
◦ Drive the revenue strategy via alignment with marketing, product/engineering, curriculum, operations, and company leadership
◦ Increase ARR (annual recurring revenue) from the corporate sector

• Team Leadership
◦ Manage a diverse team of partner-facing leaders, including business development reps, consultative sales leaders, and a customer success organization
◦ Develop and mentor high-potential direct reports and prepare them for future leadership roles
◦ Ensure strong communication between pre-/post partnership sales processes and stakeholders
◦ Uphold a culture of challenger-model selling and success ethos

• Partnership and Sales Development
◦ Lead the growth and retention strategy for CEP custom partnership and recurring revenue models
◦ Execute a recurring revenue field sales model and ensure alignment and achievement of the Annual Operating Plan
◦ Explore opportunities for improvement within customized sales while ensuring the overall business model remains effective
◦ Act as a voice for the corporate impact strategy while growing the partnership model

• Cross-Functional Collaboration
◦ Build bridges across matrixed teams and leaders, and continue to drive alignment
◦ Contribute to ideation innovation, incorporating experiential and creative solutions for prospects and clients

• Cultural Stewardship
◦ Serve in a senior leadership role across the company, representing internally and externally the Strategic Alliances and corporate impact business Embed and uphold the company mission, vision, and values with the team driving high performance, team member retention, and revenue growth

Core Competencies for Success:
• Strategic Vision
◦ Proven ability to develop and execute partnership strategies aligned with organizational goals
◦ Experience with P&L ownership ranging in revenue from $25M-$75M with a comprehensive understanding of recurring revenue models

• Dynamic Leadership
◦ Strong leadership capabilities and has managed teams a large, dispersed team
◦ Ability to foster a collaborative, inclusive, and transparent culture
◦ Someone who embodies a “coaching” mindset with a blend of creativity and practicality

• Private Equity Experience
◦ Experience working at private equity-backed companies, ideally culminating in a successful sale
◦ Ability to operate in a fast-paced, metrics-oriented environment

• Relationship Management
◦ Ability to build strong, trusted relationships both internally and externally, horizontally and vertically
◦ Skilled in managing complex sales cycles and partnerships (including contract negotiation and C-suite relationship building)

• Adaptability and Curiosity
◦ Ability to learn and understand the organization's business model and the interconnected nature of the teams
◦ Comfortable in ambiguous and evolving environments

• Cultural Alignment
◦ Charismatic, confident, and able to inspire and energize teams
◦ Someone who embodies a “coaching” mindset with a blend of creativity and practicality
◦ Emphasis on respect, collaboration, and building and maintaining an inclusive environment

Credentials and Experience:
• 15+ years of experience in edtech, social impact or nonprofit, and/or working with B2B SaaS products
• 10+ years of experience in roles with direct management and/or matrix leadership
• Bachelor’s Degree required in business management, communications, marketing, or related fields or equivalent work experience
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships and influence internal and external stakeholders
• Strong negotiation, problem-solving, planning, and decision-making skills
• Accurately scopes out projects, sets objectives and goals, develops schedules and resource assignments, measures performance against goals, and evaluates results
• Ability to effectively deal with ambiguity—can effectively cope with change, can shift gears comfortably, can decide and act without having the total picture, and comfortably handles risk and uncertainty in a collaborative manner
• Demonstrated leadership and hands-on experience; strong leader and motivator with the ability to mentor team members within the organization; able to provide work direction; able to attract and retain top talent
• Demonstrated success in scaling SaaS products, developing GTM strategies, and navigating complex corporate partnerships
• Proficiency in all Microsoft Office tools including One Drive, Slack, and Outlook as well as presentation design (Keynote or PowerPoint), Microsoft Excel, Social Media, etc.
• Must be willing to travel ~40%+ of the time
• Legal right to work in the United States

This role is designed to be within Charlotte, NC, or Washington DC preferably. Will consider Remote. Must be willing to work East Coast hours on select days.
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At Discovery Education, we are fulfilling our mission of preparing learners for tomorrow by creating innovative classrooms connected to today's world.

Serving more than 4.5 million educators and 45 million students, available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms and primary schools in the UK, and more than 140 countries around the globe; we are on a journey to transform teaching and learning though innovative partnerships with school districts, states, ministries of education, and other like-minded organizations.
We have built an award-winning and highly reputable organization because of talented and driven people who work together to accelerate student achievement by tapping into students' natural curiosity and desire to learn by capturing their minds and imagination through the fascination of Discovery.

Why Join Discovery Education?
Discovery Education believes empowering each team member is vital to cultivating high performing, highly engaged teams. Being a part of our team means we partner together to achieve mutual goals. To this end, Discovery Education offers a robust and comprehensive insurance package. You can find a complete listing on our Career Page.
 
Along with traditional insurance offerings, our inclusive offerings center around:
• Career Development Ownership - Be the driver of your success!
• Continuing Education AND Tuition Reimbursement Programs
• Mentorship program and collaboration with veteran leaders
• Constant opportunities for cross-functional training and skill building
• Uncapped career growth
 
Team Member Wellness – When you feel great, you do great work!
 
• Leave for life’s moments including 7 recognized holidays
• Take PTO without the vacation guilt
• Up to 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Annual Winter Holiday Break (typically the last week of December)
 
This opportunity is perfect for people interested in joining a high-performing, collaborative team, who enjoy a dynamic industry, and are excited about high-impact, project-based work.

Inspired? We would love the opportunity to review your candidacy! Select the blue “Apply Now” button at the bottom left of the screen to begin your application.

Discovery Education is an equal opportunity employer. Discovery Education is committed to being an employer of choice, not just a good place to work, but a great and inclusive place to work. To that end, we strive to recruit and maintain a workforce that meaningfully represents the diverse and culturally rich communities that we serve. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disabled status or, genetic information.