Strategic Sales Executive

Role & responsibilities

• Lead and orchestrate institutional and government sales engagements, owning the full lifecycle from opportunity identification through contract finalisation and implementation.
• Engage senior stakeholders, including but not limited to Vice Chancellors, Ministries, procurement bodies, developing trusted advisory relationships that position Pearson as a strategic partner.
• Create and deliver annual account plans for strategic government and institutional clients. Work with clients to define ambitious revenue targets and partnership objectives and execute against these plans to expand Pearsons footprint and influence.
• Run worldclass discovery to uncover institutional pain points and policy drivers; translate findings into crisp problem/solution narratives and bespoke proposals.
• Create and progress pipeline through multiple channels, converting warm leads from events, conferences and marketing programmes, and proactively generate netnew opportunities through insightdriven outbound (email, phone, social). You wont wait for leads, youll own pipeline creation and qualification.
• Build and leverage an internal network across Pearson, knowing when to pull in the right expertise (Product, Delivery, Legal, Finance, Marketing) at the right time to accelerate deal strategy and execution.
• Drive RFP responses and complex bids, collaborating with crossfunctional teams to deliver tailored, outcomefocused solutions.
• Close large, strategic deals (7figure, multiyear opportunities) while building referenceworthy deployments.
• Represent Pearson with authority at policy forums, sector events, and senior stakeholder meetings; act as a visible leader in higher education.
• Analyse bid and sales performance, implement continuous improvements, and champion enhancements to sales tools and templates.
• Leverage AI as a force multiplier for account research, prospecting, prioritisation, call prep, and followthrough; share what works to uplevel the team.

Preferred candidate profile

• 8+ years’ enterprise closing experience (EdTech, SaaS, or professional services) with a proven track record of 6figure wins and participation in 7figure, multiyear deals.
• Proven track record in securing and managing complex, high-value deals in institutional or government markets.
• Comfort engaging at C-level and with senior government stakeholders to influence decision-making.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to lead dispersed, cross-functional teams in a matrixed organization.
• Executive presence and communication skills. Be a compelling storyteller, have strong discovery discipline, and the ability to convert insights into business cases.
• Familiarity with Challenger/MEDDICC methodology; rigorous qualification and consensus building.
• Experience with public sector procurement processes (RFPs, RFIs, framework agreements) is highly desirable.
• Proficiency in CRM and collaboration tools (e.g., Salesforce, Tableau, Jira, MS Office, G-Suite).
• Fluency in English required; additional languages are an asset.