Executive Director, School Partnerships
Kaplan, Inc.Job Title
Executive Director, School Partnerships
Job Description
For more than 80 years, Kaplan has been a trailblazer in education and professional advancement. We are a global company at the intersection of education and technology, focused on collaboration, innovation, and creativity to deliver a best-in-class educational experience and make Kaplan a great place to work.
The future of education is here and we are eager to work alongside those who want to make a positive impact and inspire change in the world around them.
Kaplan is a global educational services provider dedicated to helping students achieve their academic and career goals. Within Kaplan, the High School Segment focuses on delivering innovative, high-impact solutions to K12 institutions, school districts, and educational organizations. We empower partners with the tools, curriculum, and strategies needed to support students navigating the critical path to college and career readiness.
Position Summary
The Executive Director of Partner Sales will be the primary lead in charge of driving revenue growth and account sustainability within named strategic accounts and a defined geographic territory. Serving as a true "player-coach," you will lead by example—selling directly to high-profile strategic accounts while simultaneously acting as a functional lead to support, mentor, and guide other members of the partner sales team.
In this dual-impact role, you will own the end-to-end sales lifecycle for major institutional partners, design and execute comprehensive renewal and expansion strategies, and formally document scalable implementation models to ensure long-term client success and seamless program deployment. Additionally you will partner with product leaders to deliver voice of the customer feedback that will be a key input to product innovation and development.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Sales & Territory Growth: Drive net-new business and revenue growth by selling enterprise solutions directly to strategic accounts and within a defined geographic territory. Relationship building across the buyer org, clear theory of action work, and outcomes / impact goal setting are key capabilities. Independent School Market Development: Build/maintain relationships and pilot partnerships with independent and private secondary schools within the territory, developing a working knowledge of their distinct procurement processes, governance structures, and student outcome priorities — informing future go-to-market strategy in this emerging and cross-over segment.
- Account Expansion & Renewals: Lead and execute comprehensive retention and expansion strategies for existing high-value strategic accounts to maximize long-term contractual value and partner loyalty + success.
- Team Leadership & Coaching: Serve as a functional lead and mentor, providing guidance, strategy support, and skill development to develop other members of the partner sales team.
- Implementation Model Design: Document, formalize, and optimize client implementation models to create structured, repeatable deployment blueprints that ensure reliable student and institutional outcomes.
- Pipeline & Forecast Management: Maintain a high-visibility pipeline utilizing CRM/Salesforce best practices, providing accurate monthly and quarterly sales forecasts to senior executive leadership.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with multiple cross functional internal teams, product, security, privacy, and operations teams to align Kaplan’s capabilities with the unique, complex requirements of strategic K12 partners.
- Elevate Thought Leadership: Collaborate with product marketing to host webinars, execute conference playbook, and contribute to white papers and blog content that helps to pull the market and generate new leads.
Minimum Qualifications
- Education: Bachelor’s degree required, Masters degree in Business Administration or Education Leadership; Advanced degree or equivalent leadership experience preferred.
- Experience: 8 years sales/leadership experience. Proven track record in enterprise sales, consulting, or educational sales management. Strong experience in a "player-coach" or functional leadership capacity is highly desirable. Experience navigating complex sales cycles within the K12 space or educational institutions (including independent schools and CMO’s) is a significant plus.
- AI Forward: Embrace AI tools with fluency as part of your workflows that support efficiency and impact.
- Sales Acumen: Exceptional ability to manage high-value sales pipelines, negotiate multi-year institutional contracts, and successfully drive both net-new acquisitions and account expansions.
- Communication & Relationship Building: Strong interpersonal, presentation, and public speaking skills, with the ability to communicate professionally and build deep trust with school district leadership and C-suite executives.
- Strategic & Operational Skills: Outstanding ability to analyze territory data, formalize operational implementation frameworks, and map educational solutions to institutional needs.
- Technical Proficiency: Skilled in modern CRM platforms (Salesforce) and collaborative tools (Google Workspace, including Docs, Sheets, and Drive).
Beyond base salary, our comprehensive total rewards package includes:
- Remote work provides a flexible work/life balance
- Comprehensive Retirement Package automatically enrolled in The Company Contribution Plan (8-10% annual company contribution based on tenure)
- Our Gift of Knowledge Program provides tuition assistance and substantial discounts for our employees and close family members
- Comprehensive health benefits new hire eligibility starts on day 1 of employment
- Generous Paid Time Off includes paid holidays, vacation, personal, sick paid time-off, plus one (1) volunteer day and one (1) diversity and inclusion day to participate and give back to our local communities
We are committed to providing a supportive and rewarding work environment where every employee can thrive. You can learn more about our full benefits package and total rewards philosophy here.
At Kaplan, we believe in attracting, rewarding, and retaining exceptional talent. Our compensation philosophy is designed to be competitive within the market, reflecting the value we place on the skills, experience, and contributions of our employees, while taking into account labor market trends and total rewards.
For full-time positions, Kaplan has three Salary Grades. This position is Salary Grade B: $64,819 to $162,047. The specific compensation offered will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate's qualifications, relevant experience, education, skills, and market data. We are an equal opportunity employer and comply with all applicable federal and state wage laws.
#LI-Remote
Location
Remote/Nationwide, USA
Additional Locations
Employee Type
Employee
Job Functional Area
Sales
Business Unit
00073 Kaplan Grad
Diversity & Inclusion Statement:
Kaplan is committed to cultivating an inclusive workplace that values diversity, promotes equity, and integrates inclusivity into all aspects of our operations. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, nationality, or sex. We believe that diversity strengthens our organization, fuels innovation, and improves our ability to serve our students, customers, and communities. Learn more about our culture here.
Kaplan considers qualified applicants for employment even if applicants have an arrest or conviction in their background check records. Kaplan complies with related background check regulations, including but not limited to, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. There are various positions where certain convictions may disqualify applicants, such as those positions requiring interaction with minors, financial records, or other sensitive and/or confidential information.
Kaplan is a drug-free workplace and complies with applicable laws.