Director, Client Relations & Strategic Relationships - Wharton Executive Education - University of Pennsylvania

University Overview


The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.




Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.




The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.








Posted Job Title

Director, Client Relations & Strategic Relationships - Wharton Executive Education





Job Profile Title

Director C, Student Services, Executive Education





Job Description Summary

Founded in 1881 as the world’s first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year, 13,000 professionals worldwide advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education’s individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a diverse staff population representing a rich array of backgrounds, expertise, and cultures. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.


Wharton Executive Education (WEE) continues to capitalize on multi-channel opportunities with a focus on delivering strategic sales growth through customer relations while leveraging Wharton’s renowned educational brand. A key element in driving our growth strategy is to continue to enhance our sales and engagement capability via inbound and outbound approaches.


Reporting to the Senior Director of Senior Management Programs, the Director of Client Relations serves as a strategic partner to multiple constituents within Wharton Executive Education (WEE), including Wharton Online. This individual will lead the team responsible for providing sales support for programs across the division, including both Open Enrollment (OE) and Wharton Online offerings. The individual will support strategic business development by researching key prospects and existing clients, identifying appropriate companies for cultivation, and developing targeted lists in collaboration with the Senior Director, the Senior Director of Revenue, and the Business Development and Program Director Teams. In order to accomplish this, the Director will have extensive knowledge of WEE’s range of OE offerings across the division, the development needs of executives, and the business challenges facing today’s corporations. By aligning client needs with WEE’s offerings, the Director will play a pivotal role in strengthening client relationships and driving divisional success.


The Director will lead the Client Relations Team and will be accountable for all inputs, quality and deliverables associated with the engagement registration and integrated application review processes. The candidate will be empowered to drive change and to conceive, implement, and maintain a sales strategy plan, as well as lead the team to innovate and improve how we convert prospects into clients.


A critical responsibility for the Director is the continuous enhancement of the processes used by the Client Relations team: Identifying and analyzing enrollment trends and making strategic recommendations to the Senior Leadership Team regarding customer needs; Spearheading the implementation of, and fully deriving benefits from Sales Force and relevant reports; Implementing sales workflow improvements; Identifying opportunities to increase sales and enhance client service; and Mapping skill competency models to WEE programming. The individual will represent WEE and coordinate on-site client visits in collaboration with Business Development colleagues across the division as well as the Senior Director Revenue.


In addition, the individual will work collaboratively across WEE to represent the portfolio of offerings available to individuals across modalities, as well as with a variety of stakeholders and resources within Penn/Wharton to identify and realize synergies. The candidate is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with executive-level decision-makers, WEE users, and prospects. The Director will drive user continuity and increase revenue through the sale of additional WEE programs and services.





Job Description


Job Responsibilities

+ Oversee the day-to-day operations of the client relations team. This includes m onitoring sales activity, including lead follow-up, conversions, and cancellation; as well as p roviding coaching and leadership to the team to drive sales/enrollments.

+ Utilize systems and technology to effectively drive and measure team productivity. Ensure team is maximizing use of systems and technology.

+ Engage in direct sales and enrollment activities, and provide role modeling in positioning WEE solutions to meet client needs, whether B2C or B2B. Serve as sales consultant for certain strategic programs in WEE Portfolio.

+ Monitor registration processes, including application review, waitlist management and capacity optimization.

+ Represent WEE, and coordinates onsite client visits.

+ Represent inbound sales at inter-departmental meetings .






Qualifications




Bachelor's Degree and 5-7 years’ experience required (masters preferred) or equivalent combination of education and experience. Relevant sales experience including a practical understanding of designing and/or teaching courses for middle and/or senior level executives preferably in the executive education, corporate or consulting sectors.



+ Independent, self-confident and highly credible in representing WEE. Ability to communicate ideas to senior and executive audiences, both in public forums and in written communication. Proven ability to work within a team environment and on project teams. A strong desire to contribute and work collaboratively to achieve goals.


+ A successful candidate will have strong business acumen, good business development skills, consultative selling, persuasion and negotiating skills, and a knowledge of management education topics: strategy, leadership, finance, accounting, operations, marketing, organizational behavior and business ethics.


+ A detail-oriented, analytical leader who thinks holistically about the business development, marketing and sales cycles.


+ Must be able to work in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment. Action-oriented, results-driven approach to a professional team. ROI-driven problem solver. Results driven. Goal oriented. Thinks strategically and creatively across multiple platforms. A proven track record in achieving aggressive sales goals in the higher education market highly desirable.


+ Ability to foresee, analyze and understand business trends and the concerns of executives. Be innovative in approaches to educational and management problems.


+ Knowledge of d complex financial models.


+ Experience utilizing Sales Force and the ability to develop and drive metrics and dashboards.


+ Ability to work within a team environment and demonstrated supervisory experience leading and motivating the performance of a team of professionals.


+ Willingness and ability to travel (if necessary domestically and internationally).


+ Willingness and ability to work early mornings/late evenings/weekends.







Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania





Department / School

Wharton School





Pay Range

$74,476.00 - $115,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile.




Affirmative Action Statement Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.




Special Requirements Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.




University Benefits

+ Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts : Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

+ Tuition : Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits . You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

+ Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

+ Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

+ Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

+ Wellness and Work-life Resources : Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

+ Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

+ University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

+ Discounts and Special Services : From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

+ Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

+ Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

+ Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.




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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay



The University of Pennsylvania's special character is reflected in the diversity of the Penn community. We seek talented faculty and staff who will constitute a vibrant community that draws on the strength that comes with a substantive institutional commitment to diversity along dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, veteran status, interests, perspectives, and socioeconomic status. Grounded in equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and affirmative action, Penn's robust commitment to diversity is fundamental to the University's mission of advancing knowledge, educating leaders for all sectors of society, and public service. The University of Pennsylvania prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.