Market Development Manager - K-12

Office Depot•United States,

16h•$87,500 - $147,900

About The Position

The Market Development Manager is responsible for developing and maintaining go-to-market frameworks that drive consistent, scalable execution across the K12 education market. This role partners closely with regional leadership and coworkers to translate business priorities into go-to-market models, decision frameworks, sales processes, and execution standards that reflect the unique dynamics of K12 education procurement while maintaining enterprise-level consistency, governance, and analytical rigor. This role serves as the primary advisor and influence point for how the company grows within the K12 sector, driving continuous process improvement across coverage, deal execution, and operational workflows in close partnership with the sales organization. Working across both the sales and merchandising organizations, the Market Development Manager partners with vendors to support seller recruitment, training, and enablement, while ensuring the assortment reflects a deep understanding of K12 districts and their opportunities for growth. Though this role does not carry direct people-management authority over the sales team, the Market Development Manager is accountable for vertical performance outcomes and works through structured governance, enablement, and process-improvement mechanisms to influence execution and results. This role plays a critical part in ensuring the company's commercial strategy is coordinated, data-driven, and adaptable across a diverse customer base.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
Business, Sales, or Education related field preferred
8 years of experience
Deep K-12-vertical sales or go-to-market experience, ideally in distribution or a comparable public sector procurement environment
Demonstrated ability to drive results through influence in a matrixed organization — not just through direct reports
Strong command of pricing, deal structuring, and sales incentive design
Track record of measurable revenue impact against a target
Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Working knowledge of CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce.com) and sales/pipeline reporting platforms
Ability to interpret vertical performance data (pipeline, win rate, margin) to inform decisions
Executive presence to be credible with, and influential over, Regional VPs and senior sales leaders as a peer
Ability to lead through structured governance and process-improvement mechanisms in the absence of direct authority
Strong analytical rigor in pricing, deal structuring, and incentive design
Ability to build and maintain relationships with key K-12 district accounts and partners
Strong communication and presentation skills to report performance and influence senior stakeholders
Cross-functional collaboration across sales, merchandising, marketing, and product
Ability to read, write, speak, and understand English required.

Nice To Haves

Results-driven mindset with accountability for outcomes achieved through influence, not authority
Comfort operating in a matrixed organization without direct reports
Ability to travel as needed to support strategic account pursuits, QBRs, and regional leadership engagement

Responsibilities

Own the K12-vertical revenue and margin target, achieved through influence rather than direct management.
Develop the vertical go-to-market strategy — target segments, value propositions, and win themes — and serve as the enterprise subject-matter expert on K12 buying dynamics (district procurement cycles, RFP/bid requirements, funding sources such as ESSER and Title I, and competitive landscape).
Shape the curated assortment strategy for the vertical, ensuring the product list reflects K12-specific needs and buying patterns, and identify opportunities for industry-specific promotions on that curated assortment to reinforce the go-to-market strategy and drive vertical growth.
Sit on the deal desk for qualifying K12 opportunities above a defined threshold, bringing vertical-specific expertise into pricing, scoping, and win-strategy decisions, with advisory sign-off (not veto) on non-standard terms.
Co-design the K12 component of the field incentive plan with Sales Compensation and Regional VPs, and recommend targeted campaigns within an agreed budget.
Provide structured input into how strategic K12 accounts are assigned across regions and reps.
Maintain a prioritized target-account list, review coverage gaps with Regional VPs, and recommend named-account or white-space reassignments (Regional VPs retain final territory authority).
Own and run a quarterly business review for the K12 vertical with Regional VPs and Sales leadership, covering pipeline, win rates, margin, and target attainment; run a lightweight monthly pipeline check-in with field leaders; report the vertical's performance narrative to senior leadership as the single accountable voice.
Partner with vendors to support seller recruitment, training, and enablement; partner with Merchandising to ensure the assortment reflects K12 district opportunities; partner with Marketing and Product on vertical-specific offers, collateral, and campaigns; join field reps on strategic pursuits as an expert resource.