Position Overview
Blackboard is creating a Strategic Account Development team to rapidly scale Bb’s market penetration through focused major account captures (Statewide/Countywide). This position reports to the President of K-20 Strategy. Blackboard will look for this team to deliver on the following:
- Expedite Blackboard’s market penetration by significantly increase revenue from strategic accounts ranging from the mid 7-figures to 8-figures;
- Cultivate and articulate Blackboard’s market differentiation for strategic buyers;
- Develop a professional business development skill-set into Bb that is strategic, market focused, and proven in experience and expertise; and
- Partner with the existing K-12, Higher Education and Professional Education sales organizations to leverage Learn sales expertise, improve efficiency of large deal capture, and manage post sales account development and management requirements for state and country level accounts.
Blackboard is looking for a Senior Vice President to build this team and execute on the following major responsibilities:
- Design, deploy, and maintain a scalable global account planning and capture methodology;
- Develop a multi-dimensional global account qualification criterion matrix working with the Market Vertical Presidents, Government & Investor Relations and Global Services;
- Identify, stratify, and manage a continuous pipeline of strategic accounts based on above matrix;
- Recruit and lead a large deal capture team; establish performance metrics for large deal cultivation, deal structuring and post-sales management and development;
- Partner with Market Vertical Presidents through the defined capture plans and processes;
- Generate $50 million in incremental bookings per year once organizational capability is established;
- Report progress to the Executive Leadership team on a regular basis;
- Develop and implement “market-making” capture strategies for major targets, (within or across Markets) consistent with the Market Vertical’(s) strategic objectives;
- Work cross departmentally throughout Blackboard to properly position and promote Blackboard’s Strategic Account team for maximum business and operational success;
- Represent Blackboard at national policy events, education and ed tech conferences, strategic client meetings, and other public forums;
- Create and articulate enterprise-class solutions architectures that solve real business problems and achieve the appropriate outcomes;
- Lead high level strategic meetings across a diverse client base across all verticals; and
- Demonstrate highly skilled working knowledge of enterprise solution sales methodologies and lead the Blackboard sales organization in its execution.
The key partnerships for this SVP at Bb include: CEO, CFO, Business Unit Presidents, Market Vertical Presidents, and SVP’s and VPs from the matrix organization (Managed Hosting, Global Services, and Support).
Strategic account development requires a function/organizational capability structured to effectively and politically deliver a comprehensive solution offering. Therefore, it requires the support of cross-company capabilities such as the ones stated above.
Required Experience Professional Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or Technology related area required. Multiple or advanced degrees preferred;
- 15+ years of professional experience, with 10+ years of proven personal and team leadership and quota attainment in a professional consulting organization and/or technology/software company;
- Proven ability to develop and capture single opportunities exceeding 8-figures at the state, country and/or the federal level;
- Proven experience developing strong relationships and selling at the senior most executive level;
- Proven ability to establish strategic initiatives for large high-value client relationships;
- Extensive network of client relationships at the executive level within state and federal policy, ministries of education and education/education technology;
- Familiarity with disciplined implementation mythologies, industry standards or certification processes, and technology and operations risk management;
- Must thrive in a fast-paced, results-oriented, collaborative environment;
- Ability to establish a clear and understandable vision for strategic market development, get buy-in from Blackboard senior executives on that vision, and develop the capture plans to successfully execute against that vision;
- Possess and continue to build a network among the technology and enterprise software community;
- Extremely high energy and stamina to perform consistently at a high level in a very demanding environment;
- Willing to relocate to the Washington, DC area; and
- Willing to travel up to 60% of the time.
