Strategic Partnership Executive - Community Colleges

ACU is affiliated with the fellowship of the Church of Christ. This position requires the employee to be a professing Christian and to be willing to support the Christian mission of ACU.

‌

Responsible for Business Development at ACU for Community Colleges. The primary focus is Texas and surrounding states. 

Imagine helping Community College faculty and administrators develop and find great teachers and administrators.  In this role, you’ll work with Community College Leadership to provide solutions for their students, faculty, and staff. 

• Support the Community college students completing their associate's degree and seeking options to transfer into a four-year degree.

• Community college faculty looking to further their academic career by obtaining Master’s or Doctoral level degrees.

• Community college staff looking to further their administrative, academic, or professional career by obtaining Master’s or Doctoral level degrees.

As an ACU Strategic Partnership Executive, you’ll be a respected business partner helping solve some of the most significant challenges facing community colleges today. You’ll make a meaningful impact in the lives of teachers, future teachers, leaders, and administrators. This position is remote plus travel.

Major Responsibilities:

• Sales and Negotiation

• New Business Development 

• Account/Relationship Management

Essential Duties: 

Sales and Negotiation

• Build and expand current community college partnership accounts by maintaining rapport, growing/expanding our reach and relationships, answering requests, introducing additional services, and identifying growth opportunities.

• Proactively identify and meet with key decision makers and influencers to build awareness of ACU programs.

• Develop and implement outreach campaigns via networking events, cold calling, sales presentations, and social media channels.

• Meet and exceed ACU education enrollment goals by devising innovative strategies to increase awareness about ACU degrees and programs

• Collaborate with other departments of ACU to drive new and further existing business partnerships

• Track industry and market trends by monitoring competitors and gathering intel on their current and new products, pricing structures, services, sales campaigns, and discounts.

Client Relationship Management

• Build relationships with Community Colleges to promote awareness of ACU products.

• Act as a liaison within and between ACU and client organizations.

• Build and manage a strong pipeline of new and existing opportunities. 

• Retain and grow the existing client base

Product Leadership

• Support ACUD programs, and identify potential new programs based on the needs of your clients and the market.

• Understand ACU’s educational products in depth and breadth, becoming a Subject Matter Expert. 

• Educate decision-makers on ACU products utilizing Zoom calls, networking, and in-person meetings.

• Generate orders through MOUs, SOWs, Sales Order Forms and other contractual vehicles.

Professional Development and Skills Requirements
Skills

• Must be able to build and maintain trust within the community college community.

• Must be passionate about lifelong learning and development.

• Must be comfortable working in a fast-paced, start-up, strong-growth environment

• Must be able to manage multiple client initiatives at varying stages 

• Must have strong communication skills with a passion for building high-quality customer relationships.

• Must be results-oriented with the ability to manage competing demands

• Must be comfortable negotiating and creating buy-in at all levels

• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM platforms is preferred

• Must be comfortable working with spreadsheets, Salesforce, Zoom, and other technologies.

Qualifications:
Professional

• A background in Higher Education with a focus on community colleges

• Relevant experience in sales, marketing, academic advising, or other revenue producing or student enrollment & retention oriented roles.

• Industry experience in healthcare, IT, military, government, or business is valued, but not required.

Personal

• Bachelor’s degree.

• A passion for developing and supporting lifelong learning and development.

Physical Demands

• Most work is performed in front of a computer, on the telephone, or in person on client sites. One must be able to use the computer and remain stationary for long periods.

• Manage conversations in person, online, and by telephone

• Limited travel – locations vary; some overnight trips may be necessary. 

• Work well under pressure and manage stress well.

• Communicate clearly: speak, read, write, and hear to perform essential functions.

ACU does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, disability, genetic information, national or ethnic origin in employment opportunities, in keeping with applicable state and federal law.

ACU is committed to maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and protecting the university's financial and physical assets. Therefore, Abilene Christian University conducts background checks on all candidates for employment in security sensitive positions. As a current employee, it will be determined if you need an additional background check upon your hire.