Pillar Search is pleased to have been selected by Year Up to manage their search for the Sales Director, Western Region.  For more information on this excited opportunity, or for immediate consideration, please contact Pillar Search’s Founder, Cindy Joyce, at cjoyce@pillarsearch.com.

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:

Year Up is an award-winning national 501(c)3 organization striving to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Through a one-year intensive training program, Year Up provides urban young adults ages 18-24 with a unique combination of hands-on technical and professional skills, college credit, and corporate internships.

Year Up is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Voted one of the Best NonProfits to Work For in the country by the NonProfit Times, Year Up is a rewarding place to work. The Year Up staff is passionate, supportive, mission-driven, and committed to positive change and continuous learning. Year Up sets high standards for both themselves and their students, and live by a set of core values that reflect an unshakable belief in the talent and full potential of young people. The work they do is life-changing, and Year Up knows that their team is the greatest asset in achieving their mission.

Please visit http://www.yearup.org to learn more about Year Up.

POSITION OVERVIEW:  

Year Up seeks an experienced and dynamic Sales Director, Western Region to lead its Corporate Engagement and Internships initiatives for several national accounts. Reporting to the National Director of Corporate Engagement, this individual will lead the effort to expand and broaden our relationships and internship placements in select accounts on a national basis. The Sales Director, Western Region will work with major Fortune 500 corporations in need of entry-level talent to provide trained, high-potential urban young adults with high-quality internships, and will ensure a program of support and professional development for these young adults on their internships. The ideal candidate should desire to leverage his or her demonstrated experience in sales, strategy, and for-profit management practices within our mission-driven social enterprise.

To be successful in this role, you will develop and implement a strategic internship sales plan to achieve revenue targets, manage client accounts and relationships, and design robust engagement strategies. You should have the ability to adjust strategies and priorities in response to organizational growth and needs, as well as the demands of the evolving market. In addition, as an ideal candidate you’ll be able to remain flexible within your work, and seek out areas for collaboration across the organization.

In keeping with Year Up’s values, the Sales Director, Western Region will also have the opportunity to interact with colleagues and students regularly to help create and sustain a positive educational environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:  

Leadership and Direction Setting

• Provide strategic direction in response to market and scaling needs
• Design plans, set milestones, and oversee implementation and follow through of team projects
• Leverage influence skills to work effectively within the team and across departments to obtain input, move groups to consensus, and build buy-in
• Collaborate with colleagues at the National and Site levels, as well as across the Year Up network

Revenue Generation

• Develop and implement annual business goals; analyze trends and outcomes against revenue goals
• Drive new business acquisition plans in response to market trends and relevancy to Year Up
• Lead internship sales forecasting activities for existing and prospective accounts
• Review and deliver effective proposals that feature Year Up’s innovative model and past successes for solving corporate entry-level talent needs
• Regularly prepare reports showing internship volume, potential internship sales, and areas of proposed expansion
• Utilize Salesforce.com to maintain accurate records of all sales and prospecting activities including sales calls, presentations, closed sales, and follow-up activities

Internship Program Management

• Sustain a strong internship program that meets the business needs of corporate partners and affords Year Up interns the opportunity to apply their learning in a supportive, professional environment
• Promote internship retention strategies that result in increased completion and satisfaction levels for both partners and young adults
• Drive cross-functionality with dexterity and flexibility in support of the internship program
• Ensure knowledge transfer and management over internship program for data capture and quality assurance, including internship readiness assessments, matching processes, on-boarding, announcements, etc.
• Set benchmarks for increased internship to hire rates across network of corporate partners

Relationship Management

• Design and implement effective strategies for driving engagement with your assigned accounts

• Set and meet targets for increasing corporate partner status from partner to advocate and advocate to champion  Lead the team to effectively manage all aspects of corporate relationships, interfacing with partners, students, and staff members as needed

• Establish and maintain relationships with industry influencers and key strategic partners

• Engage with C-level executives and decision makers in a variety of formal and informal settings

• Serve as a lead on high-level and/or critically sensitive corporate engagement situations that arise

Community Member

• Demonstrate genuine commitment to the mission, vision, values and culture of Year Up
• Ensure collaboration across departments
• Work closely with Program, Academic, and Career and Alumni Success leadership to ensure that student learning and development strategically aligns to corporate partners needs

QUALIFICATIONS:

• At least 7+ years professional experience in strategic account management and/or sales to enterprise level accounts (e.g. sales, client service, development)
• Consultative sales approach and background in technology or technology enabled solutions preferred 
• Demonstrated ability to generate leads, close business, and manage annual sales targets of $5M+
• Proven ability to influence, develop, manage, support and empower employees to achieve objectives within a team
• Documented strengths in meaningful relationship building, management and growth to scale
• Demonstrated ability to set direction and manage complex teams, projects, and processes
• Strong organizational and time management skills with exceptional attention to detail
• A professional and resourceful style with the ability to work independently and as a team player, to take initiative, and to manage multiple tasks and projects at a time
• Ability to collaborate across teams, facilitate difficult conversations, and resolve issues
• Ability to lead, willingness to be led, and comfort with situational leadership
• Consummate networking skills with an ability to move comfortably and credibly in the community
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and development databases; Salesforce.com experience preferred
• A commitment to diversity and inclusion
• A willingness to travel at least 50% of the time, as needed
• A passion for working with urban young adults, an unshakable belief in their potential and a strong commitment to the mission of Year Up
• Understanding of the Opportunity Divide and its drivers
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

Salary: Competitive and commensurate with education and experience

Benefits:

• Competitive package including 100% healthcare coverage, dental, and 401(k) match
• Vacation: Three weeks paid vacation in first year of employment; four weeks after initial year
• Professional development: Funds available to support staff in achieving career objectives

TO APPLY:

Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume to Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com. Note that applications without a cover letter will not be considered.