Location: This is a remote role focused on the California region. While candidates may work remotely from anywhere in the U.S., applicants based in California are strongly preferred due to travel requirements and existing district relationships in the region

Overview

The National Summer School Initiative (NSSI) is seeking a Senior Account Executive to drive growth and partnership development in California. NSSI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming summer learning by providing evidence-based curriculum and professional development that helps students accelerate their learning during the summer months while building teacher instructional skills. In this role, you will serve as a strategic partner to school districts, positioning NSSI's comprehensive summer school solutions, including curriculum, professional learning, and implementation support, as the preferred choice for district leaders committed to addressing learning gaps and maximizing summer as a time for academic growth.

As a Senior Account Executive, you will be responsible for building and managing a robust sales pipeline, closing deals to meet booking targets, and cultivating relationships with superintendents and district cabinet members. You'll navigate complex procurement processes, collaborate with internal program teams to customize offerings for large partners, and leverage NSSI's proven track record to initiate and expand key district partnerships within your territory. This role requires deep product knowledge, strategic selling skills, the ability to understand regional funding sources and educational initiatives, and a commitment to supporting students through high-quality summer programming. You will also manage an Associate Account Executive, helping them develop their skills and meet their performance goals. The ideal candidate is a mission-driven sales professional with K-12 experience who thrives in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and is passionate about educational equity. 

This role will report directly to the CEO. 

Role and Responsibilities

Sales & Revenue Generation:

• Close deals and ensure robust pipeline development to achieve booking targets.
• Position NSSI as the preferred solution for summer school curriculum and professional learning
• Manage sales budget for the sales team

Relationship Management & Business Development:

• Cultivate strong relationships with superintendents and cabinet members to drive consensus and procurement decisions.
• Initiate and expand key school and school district relationships within the territory, leveraging existing success in the region 
• Navigate complex procurement, RFP, evaluation, and negotiation processes

Strategic Partnership & Collaboration:

• Collaborate with the CEO on the business development strategy 
• Collaborate with program and operations teams to customize offerings for large district partners
• Stay informed of federal, state, and local funding sources (ESSER, Title I, etc.) and educational initiatives
• Provide market intelligence and input on marketing strategy
• Provide actionable insights to the Program Team to drive future product development 

Team Leadership & Professional Development:

• Directly manage Associate Account Executive, including goal-setting, coaching, and performance management
• Maintain accurate records in HubSpot CRM with all customer and conversation data
• Demonstrate deep product knowledge and virtual selling proficiency
• Attend all sales meetings and training sessions to continuously improve selling skills

Qualifications:

• Must be humble and demonstrate a commitment to excellence
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• 3+ years of sales experience
• 2+ years of people management experience
• Experience selling to the K-12 marketplace, preferred
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles ($100K+ deal size)
• Proficiency with CRM systems (HubSpot experience a plus)
• Committed to continuous improvement, and implements feedback and actively builds knowledge about our program and partners
• Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills
• Self-motivated and eager to take on challenges
• Outstanding collaborative skills
• Ability to work with others in a team environment to achieve common goals
• Ability to travel up to 75% of the time during the peak sales cycle (October through March)
• Strongly preferred: Existing relationships with district leaders and philanthropic partners in California

About National Summer School Initiative, Inc.

The National Summer School Initiative (NSSI) is a national nonprofit organization that partners with school districts to strengthen summer learning and support instructional improvement. We help districts design and implement high-quality summer programs that accelerate student learning while building teachers’ instructional skills. NSSI provides districts with evidence-based curriculum, job-embedded professional learning, and hands-on implementation support. Our work is developed in close collaboration with educators and district leaders and is grounded in research and years of on-the-ground experience supporting summer programs at scale. We view ourselves as long-term partners to districts, working alongside leadership teams to ensure summer learning is rigorous, engaging, and aligned to district goals. NSSI is committed to educational equity and to helping districts leverage summer as a meaningful opportunity for student growth and educator development.

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