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Director

Director

EABWashington, DC, US
30+ days ago
Job type
  • Full-time
Job description

Director, Research Account Management

Our staff represents EAB's commercial division at colleges and universities. We hire persuasive communicators with strong negotiation skills, who are comfortable listening to Presidents, Deans, Provosts, or Procurement contacts to map commercial strategy to partner's needs, while balancing EAB interests.

Directors in Research Account Management :

  • Are the senior contact for all partner interactions in the Research renewal process; at times sourcing cross-sell opportunities & working with the sales team to execute on cross-sell
  • Meet with (in person & via phone) education executives (Presidents, Provosts, Chief Business Officers) at partner institutions to understand their needs and challenges with partnership, partner to solve any problems, and paint a vision for continued partnership
  • Craft a unique and customized renewal strategy and contract that delivers surplus value for the partner and secures the partnership renewal
  • Will be responsible for contract renewal portfolio of roughly $5M.

This hire may be based in Washington, D.C. or Richmond, VA; this position is also open to remote employment within the continental United States. This position is also posted at the Associate Director level; candidates are being considered at both levels for the current opening.

Primary Responsibilities :

Industry and Content Knowledge :

  • Develops general knowledge of major players in higher education industry
  • Understands EAB's point of view on sector issues & develops general knowledge of EAB offerings (across research, technology, and enrollment services)
  • Develops deep knowledge of EAB Research product and services

    • Partner Knowledge :

  • Diagnoses partner needs in partnership with Partner Success, mapping needs to EAB Research offerings to paint a vision for forward partnership
  • Develops and maintains knowledge of partners' contracting processes, budget cycles, and decision-making processes and players
  • Understands partner internal politics and key influencers and uses to inflect renewal outcomes
  • Understands partner financial situation and incorporates into renewal strategy

    • Communication :

  • Develops mastery of and successfully navigates contractual review with partners
  • Effectively communicates urgency
  • Leads difficult commercial conversations balancing EAB interests and partners' needs and preferences
  • As part of commercial conversations, meets with campus leaders to discuss their strategic priorities and presents solutions which effectively sell the vision of EAB's capabilities
  • Builds productive partnership and collaboration with Strategic Leaders (SLs), other members of SL teams across business lines; other commercial teams, and other divisions as needed, including the Research and Advisory Services teams
  • Shares best practices / scripting / collateral with other members of the Commercial team to improve renewal outcomes
  • Shares partner intelligence with key internal stakeholders to foster a more collaborative and connected service and commercial approach
  • Monitor and communicate partner interests and trends across programs to Research, Delivery, and Product teams, as well as Account Management leadership, on a regular and ongoing basis

    • Risk Identification & Mitigation :

  • Leads regular renewal reviews to identify renewal risks and cohort trends
  • Identifies and updates renewal health grade based on input from SL and manages ongoing updates
  • Reviews partner health metrics for objective perspective on risk; escalates to SLs & management appropriately
  • Strategically develops and executes on diagnostic call strategy, ensuring all decisions have a diagnostic conversation 12+ months prior to decision
  • Escalates partner service and value concerns identified via renewal conversations, to SL organization and other applicable parties (sales teams, technology commercial team, etc.)
  • In partnership with the Strategic Leader, diagnoses partner obstacles to ensure they are finding value in their research partnerships with us, learn what their most important business needs are, and demonstrate how EAB resources can help accomplish their goals

    • Commercial Strategy :

  • Pursues, negotiates, and closes retention opportunities, through a consultative commercial approach
  • Skilled negotiator : Leads complex and sensitive negotiations, challenging renewal discussions, and creative contracting
  • Owns commercial strategy, including pricing, contract length, etc., in close partnership with the Deal Desk and Strategy & Operations teams; incorporates historical data
  • Identifies renewal trends through look-backs and incorporates into renewal strategy & process improvements moving forward
  • Generates ideas for how to increase our renewal rate performance beyond the current goals, including contract term levers (i.e., price and length)
  • Creates outreach strategy and organization of in-person and phone interactions
  • Understands firm revenue and accrual processes and incorporates knowledge into commercial strategies
  • Develops and executes on concession strategies in partnership with Deal Desk
  • Leverages partner renewal conversation to identify portfolio growth opportunities
  • Serves as a 1EAB (EAB internal reference program) agent, passing leads and teeing up / facilitating introductions
  • Hits annual and semi-annual targets

    • Renewal / Contracting Process :

  • Identifies individuals involved in contract renewal process
  • Creates and sends contracts, complying with departmental campaigns and protocols
  • Conducts key renewal decision conversations (may require travel onsite depending on level of staff and role within commercial organization)
  • Leads complex and sensitive negotiations, challenging renewal discussions, and creative contracting conversations
  • Develops an understanding of budgeting and approval processes at partner institutions in order to accurately track and project revenue
  • Secures annual renewal contracts and corresponding service terms (realize price increase, term length goals)
  • Effectively manages renewal pipeline, achieving pacing targets in accordance with department goals

    • Business Reporting & Administrative :

  • Develops contract strategy and reports on compliance
  • Identifies commercial trends, including programmatic trends
  • Reports on monthly renewal performance & trends
  • Schedules in-person and phone interactions with support from a commercial associate
  • Prepares for visits and calls with support from a commercial associate
  • Maintains Salesforce data integrity and compliance including updated health grades and renewal projections

    • Time in market (in person) :

  • 15% - focused on most difficult renewals; additional time in market via phone / zoom

    • Basic Qualifications :

  • Bachelor's Degree from an accredited College / University
  • Proven record of success in current position
  • Ability to communicate effectively, both oral and written, with senior executives
  • Willingness to travel up to 15%
  • Valid Driver's License
  • 6-8+ years of commercial experience, including a track record of successful sales or renewal ownership over a personal revenue target
  • 6-8+ years of post-graduate experience in at least two of the following :
  • Experience delivering client presentations, facilitating discussion
  • Experience in Sales, Account Management, and / or the equivalent
  • Experience teaching and / or breaking down complex or abstract ideas into simpler concepts
  • Client Management experience

    • Ideal Qualifications :

  • Proven commercial and negotiation skills
  • Proven ability to meet monthly, quarterly, and annual financial goals
  • Demonstrated knowledge of higher education subject matter
  • Analytical thinking skills and ability to manage processes, projects, and operations
  • Demonstrated listening skills
  • Experience building relationships internally and externally, and ability to manage multiple clients
  • Proven ability to deliver results, meet goals and deadlines, and hold accountability for outcomes
  • Proven experience managing multiple, competing priorities
  • Experience finding multiple solutions to complex problems and ability to comfortably manage complexity
  • Ability to successfully overcome challenges or obstacles
  • Experience developing personal organization tactics to meet business goals
  • Commitment to embracing a continual learning environment and contributing to a dynamic and welcoming culture of fairness, authenticity, and belonging in support of EAB's mission, values, and aspiration.

    • If you've reached this section of the job description and are unsure of whether to apply, please do! At EAB, we welcome new

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