Senior Director, Academic Partner Success

Guild is hiring an Senior Director, Academic Partner Success on the Academic Partnerships team to lead an account management team, made up of individuals responsible for a set of strategic 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. We are looking for a leader who is highly skilled at leading teams and coaching, mentoring, and motivating individuals to deliver on audacious goals and business results. This individual will serve in a “player/coach” capacity, personally owning a small portfolio of 1-2 strategic partner relationships, while also managing and leading a team of account managers, and serving on the core leadership team of the Academic Partnerships function. There will likely be at least one other person in this role leading a parallel team of account managers, so your ability to effectively collaborate with others will be critical to your success in this position.

In this role, you will:

• Personally lead the management of a small portfolio (likely 1-2) of academic partnerships as an account owner
• Serve as direct people manager, coach, and mentor to a team of account managers (likely 5-7 individuals)
• 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
• Ensure all academic partners managed by your team have a strong account strategy, outlining a clear roadmap for mutual success with the partner
• Implement frameworks, processes, and techniques that establish a consistent approach to excellence in account management, 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
• 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:

• 8-10 years of experience in client services and management, partner management, and/or program management, with particular emphasis on managing clients in a consulting capacity or managing programs in a high growth enterprise company.
• 5+ years of experience leading account management or client management teams in an enterprise, technology-enabled environment
• Great people management and leadership abilities, including the ability to mentor, coach, and motivate individuals from a diverse set of backgrounds and experience levels
• Experience leading the development of processes and frameworks that create consistency and enable scale for your team
• 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.
• Demonstrated ability to lead others on strategic projects and significant cross-functional initiatives, directly and indirectly through influence, to drive to measurable business outcomes
• Experience having built teams and/or initiatives from the ground up
• 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