Senior Director, Research Account Management - EAB

About EAB

At EAB, our mission is to make education smarter and our communities stronger. We work with more than 2,800 institutions to drive transformative change through data-driven insights and best-in-class capabilities. From kindergarten to college to career, EAB partners with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data analytics, and advancement. We work with each partner differently, tailoring our portfolio of research, technology, and marketing and enrollment solutions to meet the unique needs of every leadership team, as well as the students and employees they serve.

At EAB, we serve not only our partner institutions but each other—that's why we are always working to make sure our employees love their jobs and are invested in their communities. See how we've been recognized for this dedication to our employees by checking out our recent awards.

For more information, visit our Careers page.

The Role in Brief:

Senior Director, Account Management (Research)

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.

Senior 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
• This “player-coach” position will manage renewals for the small public & private comprehensive schools (regionals) and international universities
• Will be responsible for contract renewal portfolio of roughly $18M including a personal territory and management of 2 account managers each with personal territories

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

Primary Responsibilities:

Industry and Content Knowledge

• Develops general knowledge of major players in higher ed 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 (RD2) and Advisory Services (RAS) 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

Leadership & Management

• Manage 2 Account Managers, driving excellence in risk mitigation, commercial strategy and reporting to achieve revenue targets
• Support Account Managers on risk mitigation and commercial strategy and negotiations, serving as an escalation point and coach on critical renewal units and partner discussions. 
• Partner with research product, advisory services, and partner engagement teams on the product roadmap, services, engagement opportunities and execution
• Manage with excellence day to day operations for the team and focus on longer term career development for each member of the team

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
• 8-10+ years of commercial experience, including a track record of successful sales or renewal ownership over a personal revenue target
• 8-10+ 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 valuing diversity, practicing inclusive behaviors, and contributing to an equitable working and continual learning environment in support of EAB’s DE&I Promise

If you’ve reached this section of the job description and are unsure of whether to apply, please do! At EAB, we welcome diversity of background and experience. We would encourage you to submit an application if this is a role you would be passionate about doing every day.

Compensation:

The anticipated starting salary (base) range for this role is $85,000 - $116,500 per year. Actual salary varies due to factors that may include but not be limited to relevant experience, skills, and location. At EAB, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the starting salary range for their role.

This hire will additionally be eligible for discretionary bonus or incentive compensation. Variable compensation may depend on various factors, such as individual and organizational performance. 

Benefits:

Consistent with our belief that our employees are our most valuable resource, EAB offers a competitive and inclusive benefits package. Our benefits currently include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans; dependents and domestic partners eligible
• 20+ days of PTO annually, in addition to paid firm and floating holidays
• Daytime leave policy for community service and flextime for fitness activities (up to 10 hours per month each)
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with annual discretionary company matching contribution
• Health savings account, healthcare and dependent care flexible spending account, and pre-tax commuter plans
• Employee assistance program with counseling services and resources available to all employees and immediate family
• Wellness programs including gym discounts, incentives to promote healthy living, and family access to the leading app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation
• Gender affirming care coverage
• Fertility treatment coverage and adoption or surrogacy assistance
• Paid parental leave with phase back to work program for birthing and non-birthing parents
• Access to milk shipping service to support nursing employees during business travel
• Discounted pet health insurance coverage for dog and cat family members
• Company-provided life, AD&D, and disability insurance
• Financial wellness resources and membership in a robust employee discount program
• Access to employee resource groups, merit-based advancement, and dynamic professional growth opportunities

Benefits kick in day one; learn more at eab.com/careers/benefits.

This opening is not eligible for visa sponsorship at this time; EAB will thus consider candidates who possess U.S. work authorization that does not require employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future.

At EAB, we believe that to fulfill our mission to “make education smarter and our communities stronger” we need team members who bring a diversity of perspectives to the table and are committed to fostering a workplace where each team member is valued, respected and heard.

To that end, EAB is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we make employment decisions on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need. We don’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law.