Guild is hiring a Director, Academic Partner Success on the Academic Partnerships team to lead a newly formed account management team, responsible for a large and growing portfolio of partnerships that Guild has with its academic partners (universities and other academic learning providers). 

This is a unique opportunity to have a tangible impact on a business-critical team at Guild, and to build a new specialized team within the Academic Partnership function. We are looking for a leader who is highly skilled at client management with experience managing a fast-growing, large portfolio of partnerships. This individual will define and lead Guild’s management approach with a new and quickly growing portfolio of lightweight partnerships. You will also lead a small and growing team, responsible for coaching, mentoring, and motivating individuals to deliver on business results. In this role, you will report directly to the Vice President of Academic Partnerships, serve on the core leadership team of the Academic Partnerships function, and contribute to the overarching strategy for leading Guild’s relationships with its academic partners.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the account management strategy and execution in support of a large portfolio of Guild’s Direct Payment Partners, a set of lightweight relationships with academic institutions
• Effectively manage the lifecycle of partner relationships, from onboarding through ongoing relationship and renewal, including designing and delivering an engagement strategy that meets the needs of partners in alignment with their strategic contributions to Guild
• Develop and lead an effective contract management strategy that maximizes business outcomes for Guild and its employer clients
• Implement frameworks, processes, and techniques that establish a consistent approach to excellence in account management for this portfolio of partners, leading the team to execute against those frameworks over time
• Lead the execution of key projects and initiatives critical to the team’s success, as defined by the team’s leadership group and based on our team’s objectives
• Serve as relationship owner for senior stakeholders at partners, in support of the team of account managers
• Serve as direct people manager, coach, and mentor to a small team of account managers (starting with 1-2, expected to grow over time)
• Define key competencies and expectations for individuals on the team, including conducting effective performance-based management and job coaching
• Lead individuals on the team to meet and exceed their individual business results, as defined through our company, team, and account-based OKR processes
• Contribute as a key member of the Academic Partnerships leadership team, serving as a thought partner and collaborator with the VP on strategic planning and execution related to the team’s work
• Represent the account management team as a cross-functional leader, working collaboratively with other leaders and stakeholders across Guild

You are a strong fit for this role if you have:

• 7-9 years of experience in client services and account management, partner management, and/or program management, with particular emphasis on managing a broad portfolio of clients or managing programs in a high growth enterprise company
• 3+ years of experience leading account management or client management teams in an enterprise, technology-enabled environment
• Experience developing processes and frameworks that create consistency and enable scale for your team 
• Experience using data-driven analytical approaches to drive business results
• Experience in designing customer engagement and management strategies for a large portfolio of clients, leveraging Salesforce or similar CRM tools 
• Experience meeting and exceeding aggressive revenue and/or renewal targets
• Great people management and leadership abilities, including the ability to mentor, coach, and motivate individuals from a diverse set of backgrounds
• Demonstrated ability to lead others on strategic projects and significant cross-functional initiatives, directly and indirectly through influence, to drive to measurable business outcomes
• Strong interpersonal skills: Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders internally and externally, and communicate effectively while under pressure - balancing confidence, humility and diplomacy.
• Experience having built teams and/or initiatives from the ground up; demonstrated success in a “startup within a startup” environment
• Ability to thrive in highly ambiguous, dynamic environments, and comfort in operating in environments like this on a regular basis
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills: Ability to synthesize information into a coherent and data-driven narrative and present that narrative in a compelling way.
• Learner’s mindset: Desire to learn, grow, and evolve within a fast-paced environment

About Guild:

Guild is increasing economic mobility for working adults by partnering with the largest employers in the country to offer education as a benefit to their employees via our marketplace of nonprofit universities and education institutions. Guild’s proprietary technology platform facilitates the administration of this innovative benefit and our team of coaches helps each employee navigate the path back to school, providing individualized support from day one through program completion. 

We are one of the few female-led companies to hit a $1 billion valuation and the only Certified B Corporation with those qualifications.  Our Series D financing round was led by Ken Chenault, General Catalyst Partners chairman and former CEO of AMEX, and joined by Emerson Collective, LeadEdge Capital, and Iconiq. 

Guild Education is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Additionally, we feel passionately about equal pay for equal work, and transparency in compensation is one vehicle to achieve that. Total compensation for this role is market competitive, including a base salary range of $140,000 - $170,000 and variable compensation eligibility, as well as company stock options. 

• Access to low-cost, high-quality health care options through Cigna and Kaiser (due to coverage limitations, Kaiser is currently only available in CA & CO)
• Access to a 401k to help save for your future
• Flexible vacation policy to help you recharge
• 8 days of fully-paid sick leave, so that you can take the time to heal and or recover 
• Family-friendly benefits, including 14 weeks of parental leave, employer-paid short-term and long-term disability, employer-sponsored life insurance, and fertility care benefits.
• Well-rounded wellness benefits including access to free and low cost mental health resources and support services
• Education benefits and tuition assistance to help your future development and growth