Sales Specialist, Institutional Partnerships

Frontiers Media

20d

About The Position

At Frontiers, our purpose is simple and ambitious: to make all science open.
We believe open research empowers the global scientific community to accelerate discovery and develop the solutions needed for healthy lives on a healthy planet.

We are one of the world’s largest and most influential open-access research publishers. Every article we publish is peer-reviewed and quality-certified, ensuring rigorous science is freely accessible to everyone, everywhere. To date, Frontiers research has been viewed over 4 billion times, demonstrating the real-world impact of science without barriers.
Joining Frontiers means being part of a global, mission-driven organization at the intersection of science, technology, and innovation — working alongside passionate colleagues who care deeply about advancing knowledge for the benefit of society.
If you’d like to learn more about our impact and culture, explore:
Our Annual Reports: www.frontiersin.org/about/annual-reports
Our mission in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=87ejFfnQzko
At Frontiers, our Institutional Partnerships team plays a pivotal role in expanding access to open research by building and strengthening relationships with universities, libraries, consortia, and research organizations across North America. The team is central to the growth of Frontiers’ Institutional Partnerships Program, operating at the intersection of sales, strategy, and scholarly communications.
We work in a fast-evolving open-access landscape, combining data-driven decision-making with strong relationship management. As a collaborative, mission-driven group, we actively contribute insights from the field to shape strategy, refine playbooks, and support large-scale institutional and national agreements—while empowering individuals to work autonomously and lead initiatives end to end.

Requirements

• At least 1 year of sales experience within academic, library, non-profit, government, or research-focused markets.
• Proven track record of meeting or exceeding targets through hands-on pipeline development and institutional relationship building.
• Experience in scholarly publishing, Open Access, and/or working within a university library, scholarly communications office, or research support environment.
• Strong proficiency in Salesforce and Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
• Excellent written and spoken English; additional languages (e.g., German or French) are an asset for specific markets.
• Skilled presenter with experience delivering tailored, impactful proposals to senior institutional stakeholders.
• Familiarity with Strategic Selling and Conceptual Selling methodologies.
• Working knowledge of the research lifecycle, from funding and conception through publication.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Collaborative mindset with excellent negotiation, problem-solving, adaptability, and time-management skills.
• Customer-focused, goal-oriented, and motivated by contributing to the advancement of open access and scholarly communications.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (minimum).

Nice To Haves

• additional languages (e.g., German or French) are an asset for specific markets.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage a designated portfolio of research-performing organizations (RPOs), acting as the primary point of contact for institutional partners across North America.
• Achieve and exceed agreed sales targets by autonomously developing and executing outreach and engagement strategies, while regularly reporting progress.
• Drive proactive outreach via email, phone, and in-person meetings, including site visits and conferences, tailoring engagement approaches to institutional needs.
• Develop, analyze, and interpret small datasets to support proposals and decision-making; collaborate with analytics teams for deeper insights when required.
• Negotiate partnership terms and manage contracts within defined guidelines; contribute strategic input on complex deals under the guidance of the Global Sales Manager.
• Support consortium, national, renewal, and upsell negotiations in collaboration with the Global Sales Manager and Account Development Unit.
• Represent Frontiers at conferences and industry events, initiating new collaborations and capturing market, consortium, and competitive insights.
• Deliver compelling presentations on Frontiers’ products, systems, and institutional offerings, primarily to librarians and research administrators, adapting content based on feedback.
• Maintain accurate records and insights in Salesforce, contributing customer feedback and market intelligence to refine sales strategies and improve playbooks.
• Actively participate in OKRs by contributing to team objective setting, tracking progress, and sharing results through regular reporting.
• Use, evaluate, and continuously improve sales resources, playbooks, and handbooks by providing structured, ground-level feedback.

Benefits

• Extra wellbeing days on top of your annual leave allowance
• Up to 3 paid volunteering days each year
• 24/7 confidential Employee Assistance Programme - wellbeing, mental health, legal & financial support
• Learning & development support via the Frontiers Learning Hub
• A locally relevant benefits package aligned to your country - e.g. healthcare and pension/retirement provision, where applicable
• Collaboration-led, office-first culture - we prioritise in-person teamwork, with role-appropriate adjustments when needed, in line with company policy
• International teams - a diverse, global culture and a strong peer-learning environment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level