Operations Lead, Strategic Accounts

The Operations Lead, Strategic Accounts plays a critical role in driving operational excellence, governance, and strategic execution for Pearson’s largest and most complex enterprise client partnerships. This role is responsible for optimizing cross-functional collaboration, ensuring financial and contractual discipline, and operationalizing strategic initiatives that deliver value and support long-term growth with client partners. 

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in operational strategy, financial oversight, and program execution within enterprise partnerships. They will bring a consultative approach to navigating large-scale, global relationships while driving measurable business impact. 

 

Key Responsibilities: 

Strategic Operations & Governance: 

• Establish and lead the operational framework for enterprise client partnerships, ensuring governance, execution efficiency, and strategic alignment across all business units.  
• Develop and implement scalable processes and controls that optimize account operations, mitigate risks, deliver value to clients, and drive incremental revenues.  
• Establish and manage key performance indicators (KPIs) and objectives and key results (OKRs) to track account performance, owning the data-driven insights that inform client partner strategy. 
• Implement and embed compliance and risk mitigation strategies across all operational activities. 

Engagement & Cross-Functional Collaboration: 

• Drive internal and external stakeholder alignment by acting as the operational bridge between Pearson’s senior leadership, client partners, and internal functional teams (Finance, Legal, Procurement, Marketing, Technology, and Sales). 
• Develop and execute the multi-year client engagement strategy, driving joint business planning. Provide structured governance for partner co-investments, including joint solution development, contractual commitments, and go-to-market initiatives. 
• Provide and validate all data and insights required to run QBRs, steering committees, and joint external engagements with clients  
• Work alongside client partners and executive leadership to design and facilitate high-impact meetings and workshops that refine joint partner offerings, identify key client opportunities, and move deals forward. 
• Identify and implement AI-driven technologies to enhance partnership management, operational efficiencies, and scale strategic initiatives. 

Financial & Budget Oversight: 

• Oversee and optimize large-scale operational budgets, investment planning, and financial performance across client accounts.  
• Manage complex commercial frameworks, ensuring contractual obligations, revenue recognition, and financial forecasting align with Pearson’s strategic priorities for growth.  
• Partner with Finance to develop data-driven models for revenue growth, cost optimization, and return on investment (ROI) analysis. 
• Monitor and manage sales referral pipelines, providing financial insights and forecasting models to drive data-informed decision-making. 
• Implement AI-powered financial analytics to enhance forecasting accuracy and improve decision-making. 

 

Qualifications & Skills: 

Education: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Operations Management, or a related field preferred.  

Experience: 

• 5-10+ years of experience in operations, strategic account management, or enterprise partnerships, ideally within a global technology ecosystem or consulting firm. 
• Proven track record of managing multi-million-dollar budgets, large-scale sales pipelines, and enterprise-level partnerships. 
• Expertise in process improvement, risk mitigation, and technology-driven operations. 
• Extensive experience working in complex, matrixed global environments, driving cross-functional initiatives across multiple lines of business. 
• Demonstrated experience with AI-driven tools, automation, and analytics in an operational or strategic capacity. 

 

Skills: 

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize data into actionable insights for C-suite reporting. 
• Exceptional leadership and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to navigate high-leve