Senior Sales Manager

Zen Educate • Chicago, IL

4d • $175,000 - $220,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

At Zen, we’re changing how schools find the staff needed for kids to thrive. There is a severe shortage of teachers and the support staff needed to support all children, accelerated by the pandemic. Millions of students experience understaffed classrooms and specialist programs. Schools looking to fill these roles with traditional agencies spend billions of dollars in high agency markups, which further hampers budgets.

That’s why we’ve developed an alternative solution. Our online platform provides schools instant access to thousands of fully vetted teachers and support staff. Since our inception in 2017, we've saved schools hundreds of millions globally, reinvesting that money back into school budgets and increasing teachers’ pay.

The opportunity

Join an EdTech startup that’s reshaping the fabric of school operations. We are looking for a Senior Sales Manager/Director to not just lead a team, but to play a leading role in architecting Zen’s expansion strategy across America. This is a high-impact leadership role where you will design regional growth blueprints, navigate complex enterprise-level district sales, and elevate our brand through partnerships and conference strategy.

If you are a strategic thinker who thrives on the complexity of multi-stakeholder deals and enjoys coaching a team to win at the highest levels of educational administration, this is your next move.

Requirements

• Seasoned Sales Leader: 7+ years of experience in B2B Tech or EdTech sales, with at least 3+ years in a leadership role. While we are open to broad B2B backgrounds, direct experience selling within the EdTech ecosystem is a significant advantage.
• Enterprise Mindset: You have a proven track record of winning (and coaching others to win) complex, high value deals involving long sales cycles and multiple decision-makers.
• Strategic Architect: You don’t just hit a number; you build the system that hits the number. You are comfortable with territory design, market segmentation, and data-driven planning.
• Coach & Mentor: You are passionate about the "craft" of sales and take pride in turning AEs into top-tier enterprise closers.
• Passion for the Mission: You possess a genuine passion for education. Experience as an educator is a plus, as it helps you lead with a deep understanding of the impact our tools have on the classroom.

Nice To Haves

• Experience as an educator is a plus, as it helps you lead with a deep understanding of the impact our tools have on the classroom.

Responsibilities

• Regional Growth Strategy: Develop and execute a comprehensive multi-year growth strategy for your assigned regions, identifying high-priority markets and optimizing resource allocation.
• Enterprise Deal Leadership: Drive the strategy for large-district, multi-stakeholder sales cycles. You will support your team in navigating "Cabinet-level" conversations, approvals by elected school boards, and complex procurement processes.
• Thought Leadership & SiR Strategy: Orchestrate our Superintendent in Residence (SiR) program, pairing former educational leaders with our growth efforts to build high-trust relationships and institutional credibility.
• Conference & Field Marketing Strategy: Design a coherent, ROI-driven conference strategy (e.g., ASCD, AASA, ISTEL) that moves far beyond "booth presence" to high-impact executive networking and speaking engagements.
• Strategic RFP Groundwork & Competitive Positioning: Lead the "pre-RFP" strategy to ensure Zen is positioned as the vendor of choice before a bid is posted You will guide the team in building the necessary groundwork with procurement offices and district leadership, helping to shape requirements and ensuring our value proposition is baked into the district’s long-term vision.
• Internal Product Advocacy: Serve as the critical feedback loop between the market and our internal teams. You will translate field experience into actionable insights for the Product ensuring our roadmap solves the most pressing district challenges.
• Team Development: Lead, coach, and scale a team of high performing Sr Account Executives.
• Forecasting & Performance: Own the accuracy of the regional pipeline. Use data to diagnose funnel health and provide the executive team with actionable insights on market trends and competitive shifts.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Collaborate with Product and Marketing to ensure the field’s voice influences our roadmap, particularly regarding the needs of large-scale enterprise partners.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based commission structure
• Opportunity to make a tangible impact on schools and educators across North America
• Work with an ambitious, mission-driven team passionate about improving education
• Professional growth and leadership development in a rapidly expanding startup
• Flexible working environment and supportive culture focused on collaboration and results

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed