Senior Manager, Deal Desk

Coursera•Mountain View, CA

11d•$148,325 - $187,000

About The Position

The Deal Desk team at Coursera partners closely with Sales and cross-functional stakeholders to enable efficient, scalable, and commercially sound deal execution across the Enterprise business. As the Senior Manager, Deal Desk, you will lead a team of 5-10 employees and continuously evolve the global Deal Desk function, establishing scalable commercial governance, pricing practices, and operational processes that support enterprise revenue growth. This role serves as a trusted advisor to Sales leadership and executive stakeholders by balancing customer needs with business objectives. You will partner closely with Revenue Operations, Finance, Pricing & Packaging, Legal, Deal Operations, Product, Compensation, and other cross-functional teams to remove obstacles throughout the sales cycle, improve operational efficiency, and continuously evolve commercial policies and processes that enable scalable growth. Beyond leading day-to-day Deal Desk operations, you will leverage insights from customer transactions to influence pricing strategy, commercial policies, operational improvements, and go-to-market initiatives. As Coursera continues to evolve, including the integration of commercial operations with Udemy, this role will play a key leadership role in shaping scalable commercial processes and governance for the future.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in Deal Desk, Revenue Operations, Commercial Operations, Sales Operations, Finance, Pricing, or a related commercial function.
3+ years of experience leading and developing high-performing teams of 5-10 people
Experience supporting complex Enterprise SaaS or subscription-based sales organizations.
Strong understanding of enterprise pricing strategy, discount governance, commercial approvals, and complex deal structuring.
Experience developing or influencing commercial policies, pricing frameworks, operational processes, or governance models.
Experience partnering effectively with Sales, Finance, Legal, Product, Revenue Operations, and executive stakeholders.
Strong analytical skills with advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and/or Google Sheets, including the ability to translate data into actionable business recommendations.
Experience with Salesforce CRM and CPQ platforms.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple strategic initiatives simultaneously while operating effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong executive presence and stakeholder management abilities.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading Deal Desk or Commercial Operations functions within a high-growth B2B SaaS organization.
Experience supporting global sales organizations across multiple regions and business segments.
Experience driving operational transformation, commercial process optimization, or large-scale cross-functional initiatives.
Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, or commercial integration initiatives.
Working knowledge of quote-to-cash processes and downstream operational considerations, including familiarity with ASC 606 revenue recognition principles.
Strong project management skills with a track record of delivering scalable operational improvements.
Ability to balance commercial creativity with sound business judgment, operational excellence, and financial governance.

Responsibilities

Lead and continuously evolve the global Deal Desk function, establishing scalable commercial governance, pricing practices, and operational processes that support enterprise revenue growth.
Lead and develop a high-performing global Deal Desk team responsible for supporting Enterprise Sales through commercial guidance, pricing governance, quote approvals, and complex deal structuring.
Coach, mentor, and develop team members through performance management, career planning, ongoing feedback, and professional development while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Serve as the senior escalation point for complex, high-impact, or non-standard commercial transactions requiring cross-functional alignment and sound commercial judgment.
Lead the development, implementation, and ongoing refinement of commercial policies, pricing governance, approval frameworks, and operational standards that balance revenue growth, customer experience, and financial controls.
Partner closely with Sales leadership to enable complex transactions while maintaining pricing discipline, commercial consistency, and operational scalability.
Oversee daily Deal Desk operations, ensuring timely resolution of sales inquiries, commercial approvals, and deal escalations while maintaining established service levels and delivering an exceptional internal customer experience.
Develop, maintain, and analyze Deal Desk reporting and operational KPIs, monitoring deal velocity, approval cycle time, pricing trends, discounting behavior, exception rates, and overall commercial health to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Own commercial approval frameworks within Salesforce CPQ and continuously identify opportunities to simplify approval workflows, improve operational efficiency, and reduce friction throughout the sales process.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives across commercial processes, policies, systems, and approval frameworks to improve seller productivity, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
Exercise sound commercial judgment when evaluating complex or non-standard transactions, balancing customer outcomes, revenue objectives, operational scalability, and financial risk while empowering the team to make consistent, high-quality decisions.
Collaborate across Revenue Operations, Finance, Pricing & Packaging, Legal, Product, Deal Operations, Compensation, and other stakeholders to resolve complex customer scenarios and drive cross-functional alignment.
Represent Deal Desk in strategic planning initiatives related to pricing strategy, commercial policy, new product launches, promotional programs, and go-to-market evolution.
Partner with system owners to prioritize enhancements to Salesforce, CPQ, pricing tools, and commercial systems that improve automation, scalability, governance, and seller experience.
Leverage insights from customer transactions and market feedback to influence pricing strategy, product offerings, commercial policies, and future process improvements.
Partner with leadership on strategic initiatives supporting the evolution and integration of Coursera and Udemy commercial operations, including harmonization of Deal Desk processes, governance models, and best practices.
Build strong relationships across executive and cross-functional stakeholders, influencing decisions through data-driven recommendations and sound commercial judgment.