Head of International Sales and Partnerships

WHO ARE YOU?  You are a highly motivated and driven education industry-experienced sales leader with the capability of pivoting easily between direct selling, supporting your team on day-to-day business development strategies, and ensuring the bigger regional strategic plans are in focus. You operate at your best ‘in market’, directly interfacing with customers, prospects, distributor partners and other strategic partner organizations.

WHO ARE WE? We are passionate, lifelong learners, and creative thinkers working daily to develop culturally authentic language materials.

WHAT IS THE ROLE ABOUT? As the Regional Sales Manager for International within our K12 division, you will utilize your industry, selling and management expertise to both directly sell as well as coach and support the work of the team to ensure they achieve their next level of success. You will also guide the overall sales strategy for VHL’s suite of print and digital products internationally.

WHY IS THIS EXCITING?  VHL is a growth organization. As a key member of sales leadership, this Regional Sales Manager will be highly involved in the organizations' efforts to achieve continued success.

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL:  

• Spend at least 50% of your time in the international regions, leading and actively participating in direct selling activities, including prospecting, customer meetings, presentations, negotiations and closing
• Build and maintain strong relationships with distributors, channel partners and other strategic partner organizations to support achievement of sales targets; establish clear expectations, joint business plans and performance goals to maximize revenue and market penetration
• Direct, develop, mentor and coach a field-based sales team that delivers profitable growth through direct selling, distributors and strategic partner organizations
• Evaluate and qualify new and existing sales opportunities to build and maintain a strong, healthy pipeline; identify high-potential opportunities, prioritize sales efforts and resources, and drive direct and channel activities that support territory and regional growth
• Establish and monitor distributor and partner performance metrics, including revenue, pipeline, account coverage, conversion, product mix and market penetration, and develop action plans to address performance gaps
• Maintain a thorough understanding of the full suite of VHLs K12 print and digital products and their relevance to the market
• Maintain tight oversight of customer trends, market landscape, competitive insights and consumer trends to drive action plans and winning tactics 
• Provide feedback and prepare regular reports to leadership, including regional performance, pipeline, forecast, market trends, distributor/partner performance and emerging opportunities
• Deliver presentations to a variety of audiences, including customers, prospects, distributors, partner organizations and internal stakeholders, when appropriate
• Ensure accurate, timely and consistent management of sales and opportunity data in Salesforce.com (CRM), maintaining high-quality pipeline and customer information to support effective sales execution, forecasting and business decision-making

YOU MUST HAVE (MINIMUM REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE)

• Bachelor’s degree
• 10+ years of successful field-oriented consultative sales experience within the education, publishing, ed-tech or similar industry
• Experience with the adoption processes related to educational products and materials internationally
• 3+ years’ leadership experience managing and developing both remote/field-based sales team members with a strong ‘player-coach’ mentality
• Experience managing or working through distributors, channel partners, resellers or other third-party organizations to drive sales and market growth
• High level of comfort using sales tools, CRMs, and other technologies for analyzing sales data and creating accurate regional forecasts
• Customer service orientation with a strong focus on building long-term customer and partner relationships
• Exceptional sales skills including strategic thinking, prospecting, planning, presentation, negotiation, relationship building, territory management and active listening skills  
• Exceptional attention to detail in managing customer and partner relationships, market opportunity pipeline quality, and deal processes
• Strong written and verbal communication skills coupled with advanced presentation and technology skills
• Ability to strategically execute effective business travel including setting appointments
• A willingness and ability to travel within the region (50-60%+) to engage in direct selling as well as support team member development and success without restrictions

IDEAL IF YOU HAVE OR ARE (PREFERRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE):

• Experience selling English language learning solutions within the education industry
• Experience in the English Language Teaching education space
• Experience with Salesforce.com
• Familiarity with VHL’s products
• An advanced degree

AI Use in the Application Process We support candidates balanced and thoughtful use of AI tools to support their job search. However, all application materials (including resumes, cover letters, portfolios, work-samples etc.) and interview responses must reflect the candidate authentic and actual experience, skills, and judgment. Real‑time use of AI during interviews is not permitted unless explicitly stated and authorized, in writing, by VHL’s HR department. Candidates may be asked to confirm that submitted work reflects their own abilities and to explain their responses in real time.  Candidates requiring assistive technologies (including certain AI tools) as accommodations may request approval. Approved accommodations will not negatively impact evaluation.  All hiring decisions are made by humans. Please see our complete “Candidate Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools – Policy Statement” here https://vistahigherlearning.com/careers