Strategic Account Manager - job 1 of 3

We Impact Lives Through Purpose-Driven Work in A People First Culture

Ascend Learning is the connection between a powerful portfolio of brands serving students, educators, and employers with outcomes-based, data driven solutions across the lifecycle of learning.

Our values-driven culture unifies our teams and inspires a mindset of action, innovation, and collaboration, with a relentless focus on customers.

We're always looking for talented, passionate professionals to join us in our mission to help change lives. If this sounds like an environment where you'd thrive, read on to learn more.

Ascend Learning leads the way in innovation and solution creation to improve outcomes and deliver results for students, educators, and healthcare workers in the ever-changing field of healthcare. We offer advanced resources that drive nursing success, empower front-line certified allied health workers, help physicians pass boards and stay current, and provide education management tools for medical education programs.

WHAT YOU'LL DO 

As a Strategic Account Manager for Healthcare Nursing, you’ll be responsible for maintaining and expanding relationships with strategically important large customers within Nursing education. Assigned to the highest-value clients, the Strategic Account Manager is tasked with building a deep understanding of the clients’ business processes, goals, and strategies to align our offerings and drive mutual growth and success.  

WHERE YOU’LL WORK 

This is a remote opportunity; with expectations that you’ll live within the assigned territory. The territory will include Southern California and Arizona.

HOW YOU’LL SPEND YOUR TIME

• Serve as the lead point of contact for all strategic account matters, build and maintain strong, long-lasting client relationships, develop trusted advisor relationships with key accounts, customer stakeholders, and executive sponsors.
• Identify and understand the roles of the clients’ stakeholders, identify champions, users, the technical team, and the economic buyers.
• Manage relationships with existing clients to ensure their retention, and customer loyalty – including annual account reviews and utilization reporting.
• Manage and nurture the sales pipeline, ensure timely follow-ups, and progress tracking.
• Uncover clients' objectives and pain points, build strategic roadmaps to drive positive outcomes and solutions to meet client needs while providing exceptional customer collaboration and guidance.
• Develop account growth strategies, collaborate with category leadership, leverage market knowledge and client insights, including territory management, pipeline opportunities, and cross-sell opportunity referral activity where applicable.
• Prepare compelling sales strategies, messaging, and presentations. Negotiate and close deals, collect implementation details for client execution.
• Ensure timely and successful delivery of Ascends solutions according to customer needs and objectives, exceeding client expectations.
• Prepare and present regular reports on account opportunities, sales forecasts, tailwinds, and headwinds to management.
• Maintain CRM to include prospective client headcount or other category suitability.
• Stay up to date with, and share, industry trends, competitors, and market conditions to identify new business opportunities.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 3+ years of relevant work experience within higher education strongly preferred.
• 6+ years of progressive sales work experience.
• Prior track record of influencing stakeholders up to the executive level, with proven negotiation skills for securing advantageous agreements.
• Skilled in delivering tailored solutions to clients and managing multiple projects with precision.
• Proficient in written communication for creating sales documents (proposals, contracts).
• Ability to build trust and proactively engage in upselling and cross selling.
• Strong analytical abilities for sales data interpretation and strategy formulation.
• Proven track record of delivering results in a quota-based sales environment with multi-year multimillion-dollar contracts.
• Nursing education industry knowledge, background in healthcare or higher education experience preferred.
• Proficient in CRM software (e.g., Salesforce, Zoho CRM, HubSpot) and MS Office, especially Excel.
• Up to 40% of travel.

BENEFITS

• Flexible and generous paid time off.
• Competitive medical, dental, vision and life insurance.
• 401(k) employer matching program.
• Parental leave
• Wellness resources
• Charitable matching program
• Hybrid work
• On-site workout facilities (Leawood, Gilbert, Burlington)
• Community outreach groups
• Tuition reimbursement

Fostering A Sense of Belonging

We seek out and celebrate all people and perspectives and cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued and be their authentic selves. Our culture is firmly rooted in the belief that by embracing our differences and drawing on diverse perspectives, we are a stronger, more innovative, and more successful organization where employees experience a sense of belonging. 

About Ascend Learning

As a tech-enabled services company, Ascend Learning is a national leader in developing and delivering data-driven online educational content, software, assessments, analytics, and simulations serving institutions, students and employers across healthcare, fitness and wellness, public and workplace safety, skilled trades, insurance, financial services, cybersecurity, and higher education. We're committed to accelerating the learning pathways that can move people into careers where they have the knowledge and skills to have an impact and help change lives in the communities they serve. Headquartered in Burlington, MA with additional office locations and hybrid and remote workers in cities across the U.S., Ascend Learning was recognized by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group as one of America's 2023 Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.

Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

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