Education Strategic Partnerships Manager

Description

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Education Sales team as a Strategic Partnerships Manager to drive innovation and growth among our valued partners. At Vanco, our goal is to be the best in the world at specialized payment solutions for select industries, serving those who enrich our communities. We enable online payments for more than 45,000 non-profits, churches, private childcare providers, K-12 schools, and community-based organizations. Our solutions make it possible to accept credit, debit, and other electronic payments securely, seamlessly, and easily, benefiting our clients and those they serve.  

From these trends, Vanco is positioned for success and wants team members that are ready to accept this challenge. The ideal candidate possesses the following in their DNA: 

• They are passionate about Vanco and the impact we are making by serving those that are serving their community. 
• Is a  naturally curious person and wants to understand why. 
• Has an infectious positive attitude, even when things may not be going their way. 
• Being a part of a high-performing team motivates them to want to set the bar even higher. 

The Education Strategic Partnerships Manager is responsible for growing existing partnerships across our Education (K-12) market as well as developing new partnerships within the K-12 ecosystem. Growing existing partnerships includes the development of new revenue opportunities and mutually beneficial marketing programs. This position will report to the Sr. Director, Education IYN Sales.

  

Your job charter: 

• Exceed established revenue goals with key partnerships, including new client growth with key partners as well as transaction processing volume growth of existing clients. 
• Work internally with Marketing to develop partner programs and campaigns to help meet transaction volume and unit targets. 
• Work externally with partners to execute marketing campaigns. 
• Serve as primary day-to-day contact for strategic partner relationships. 
• Manage all partner communications including regular cadence of weekly and monthly meetings as needed, as well as quarterly business reviews that track program success against key performance indicators. 
• Work closely with internal stakeholders to ensure contractual fulfillment. 
• Prepare and present proposals to organizational decision makers. 
• Lead partner renewal discussions. 
• Attend industry events to enhance relationships with existing partners and prospects. 
• Work with internal teams and partners to project-manage growth initiatives. 
• Work closely with other departments within the organization on partner-related programs, including product management, development, marketing, operations, and finance. 
• Ensure delivery of monthly sales reports. 
• Other duties as assigned 

Requirements

Key Competencies: 

A successful Education Strategic Partnerships Manager for Vanco will demonstrate these key competencies:

1. Relationship  Management: The ability to build and nurture strong, long-term relationships with existing partners, ensuring mutual trust and a collaborative approach to achieving shared goals.
2. Negotiation Skills: Strong negotiation abilities to establish and refine partnership terms, ensuring value for both parties while addressing potential challenges and opportunities.
3. Business Development: Expertise in identifying and pursuing new partnership opportunities that align with Vanco’s goals, including researching potential partners and effectively presenting value propositions.
4. Strategic Thinking: The ability to develop and implement strategic plans that maximize the potential of existing partnerships and strategically position the organization for growth through new collaborations.
5. Cross-functional Collaboration: Strong skills in working with internal teams (e.g., marketing, sales, product development) to align partnership goals with company objectives and deliver successful outcomes.

  

Who You Are: 

• You have 5+ years of business development, partnership sales, or account management experience.  
• Self-motivated team player with a proven ability to work with aggressive individual and team sales goals. You have worked successfully within a high velocity, marketing qualified lead (MQL) driven environment. 
• Payment processing experience a plus. 
• Proven results and strong desire to succeed. 
• You show exceptional strategic thinking skills and the ability to establish standard processes and KPIs. 
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills. 
• You are comfortable using CRMs (S