Description

Strategic Account Manager

About this role...
As a Strategic Account Manager for NWEA, you will be responsible for managing and growing a targeted group of existing NWEA Partners by building long-term relationships and adding value to the Partner . You will specifically focus on maintaining NWEA's position with large urban school systems across the United States , focusing on relationship management with key Partners in high-visibility and strategically important states for NWEA. As a member of the Strategic Accounts team, you will report to a VP and a Regional Manager whose focus is to ensure Partner retention and satisfaction and drive increased use of NWEA Products and Services to improve our Partners ability to help all kids learn. As the key contact for our Partners, we value responsiveness and listening to our Partners to increase the value of the relationship with NWEA and to build their loyalty and satisfaction. In the Strategic Account Manager role, you will work closely with the Account Executives on your team who are responsible for the acquisition of new partners, and you will work with senior Partner Accounts leadership in identifying opportunities to leverage existing Partner relationships for the benefit of wider state-level initiatives and relationship-building.

For this role, we are seeking candidates who currently reside in the Central or Eastern region of the U.S.
Your next challenge...

• Be the primary NWEA account contact for a portfolio of existing strategically important Partners
• Ensure Partner loyalty and customer satisfaction for retention; establish Partner communication strategy to uncover needs and resolve issues
• Engage with the Sr. leaders in strategic Partner districts
• Strategically position new products and services in existing accounts; ultimately driving revenue growth, district expansion and partner loyalty
• Achieve renewal and expansion targets as defined by the regional objectives
• Effectively create and manage regional lead generation campaigns to secure renewal revenue and increase level of district penetration
• Collaborate with senior Partner Accounts leadership, and NWEA executive leadership as required, on developing and executing strategies and tactics to improve NWEA's standing with Partners in key states.
• Demonstrate effective lead follow-up into existing accounts as measured by expansion and the use of new products and services
• Provide coaching and mentoring of new Account Managers and be a positive role model for the team
• Plan and prioritize new product, expansion and retention activities in alignment with team and organizational goals, budgets and timelines
• Deliver effective webinars, introductions and other sales calls and activities as needed
• Implement effective processes, procedures and use of support materials to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in meeting each partner's unique needs
• Stay current and knowledgeable about NWEA Products and Services and the education market, including issues, trends, relevant laws and competition
• Inform Partners about features and benefits of products and services on a regular and proactive basis using consultative sales process
• Use Salesforce to manage Partner opportunities and pipeline for renewals, expansions and new products and services. Keep data accurate, up to date and comprehensive; use Salesforce for Partner, pipeline and Regional reports and dashboards and for data to drive Partner activity
• Present price, credit and terms in accordance with standard procedures and/or contractual requirements; accurately process and schedule partner transactions including quotes and orders
• Travel as needed for Regional, Partner, State-focused or NWEA events, up to 40%
• Perform other duties as assigned to ensure the success of the team and the entire organization

Traits for success...

• Ability to lead in-depth data conversations with key staff on the district's Leadership Cabinet and mid-level leadership teams in order to influence data use to improve instruction and support classroom teachers.
• Commitment to the NWEA mission and culture
• Ability to be effective in a growing organization, and handle a large volume of customer accounts and activity
• Demonstrated skill and experience with selling and managing customer relationships over the phone, maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction
• Clear communicator, strong verbal, writing skills
• General knowledge of education market, school and business operations and functions
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a wide range of individuals and independently
• Ability to meet personal and team retention, renewal and expansion goals and work well with Partner Accounts team and NWEA organization
• Demonstrated ability to manage sales opportunities and pipeline and sell additional products and services to existing customers
• Ability to frequently assess the effectiveness of processes and procedures and recommend improvements. Act as a facilitator and team leader
• Must be able to perform the physical and intellectual requirements of the role, with or without accommodation

Competencies...

• Customer focus - Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Manages complexity - M aking sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Action oriented - Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
• Resourcefulness - Securing and deploying resources effectively and efficiently.
• Plans and aligns - Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals
• Drives results - Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
• Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives
• Builds networks - Effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization.
• Communicates effectively - Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
• Instills trust - Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
• Being resilient - Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations .

Education and experience ...

• Minimum bachelor's degree in education, business or a related field required
• 5-10 years of account management or the equivalent in leadership experience within the K-12 education industry, with demonstrated effective communication and presentation skills
• Excellent relationship building skills, with a desire to create a positive experience
• Experience with NWEA products, services, procedures and implementation preferred

About us...

NWEA® is a research-based, not-for-profit organization that supports students and educators worldwide by creating assessment solutions that precisely measure growth and proficiency-and provide insights to help tailor instruction. For 40 years, NWEA has developed innovative pre-K-12 assessments, including our flagship interim assessment, MAP® Growth™; our progress monitoring and skills mastery tool, MAP® Skills™; and our reading fluency and comprehension assessment, MAP® Reading Fluency™. Educators trust our professional learning offerings to accelerate student learning and our research to support assessment validity and data interpretation. Our tools are trusted by educators in more than 9,500 schools, districts, and education agencies in 145 countries.

Wh at we can offer you...

At NWEA we not only offer a competitive base salary, we offer a 15% contribution of eligible employees' base salary to a defined contribution 403(b) retirement savings plan; career development opportunities; an awesome work culture and environment; we also offer industry leading benefits and perks that are focused on supporting our employees' holistic wellbeing. To learn more about what we can offer more, click here.

NWEA strives to make diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) practices the center of our work. Our organization's mission, Partnering to Help All Kids Learn, is the foundation for our DEIA commitment as we work to reflect, value, and support the educators, students, colleagues, and communities we serve. We seek to empower and engage all stakeholders in the research, services, solutions and products we provide, our organizational culture, and the partnerships we establish with schools, districts, states, and countries.

NWEA™ endeavors to make www.nwea.org accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please call us at (503) 624-1951 or e-mail us at onlineaccommodations@nwea.org and let us know the nature of your request, your location and your contact information. This is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

NWEA™ is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. For our EEO Policy Statement, please visit our website.
If you'd like more information on your EEO rights under the law, please visit the EEOC website