Publisher Relationship Manager at ITSI

Job description

ITSI (Pty) Ltd is currently seeking a driven and sales-oriented Publisher Relationship Manager to expand the e-book and resource selection in ITSI’s miEbooks platform.

The PRM will be responsible for attracting new publishers and other content providers into ITSI’s miEbooks platform. Our vision is to enable every school, educational institution, individual teacher, and individual student to find and purchase any digital resource they need through the miEbook platform. The PRM will play a crucial role in realising this vision by identifying, contacting, and negotiating with the different content providers - both in South Africa and internationally.

To expand the selection successfully, the PRM must have an enthusiastic sales-oriented personality, with an ability to build long term relationships and negotiate effectively. A proven track-record of corporate sales, supplier management or similar is critical. The ideal candidate possesses excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills, and can drive the business through analytical insights. Experience in managing a team is preferred.

The position is located in Pretoria. The role will require frequent domestic and international travel.

Key Responsibilities

• Research the wide variety of content providers in South Africa and internationally to identify new potential providers;
• Run the engagement and negotiation process with content providers through all phases of the negotiation cycle, through initial contact to high level negotiations, closing and follow-up;
• Initiate new partner leads by establishing relationships in the market, educating different parties on the ITSI product offering, and finding new channels to connect with potential partners in South Africa and internationally;
• Manage negotiations at different stages by e.g., effectively setting priorities, understanding the potential roadblocks, and listening to partner concerns;
• Adjust and create high quality documentation, including proposal documents, contracts, presentations, and demos;
• Deliver against annual targets in the area in e.g. resources added, or partner satisfaction;
• Keep management informed by collecting, analysing, and summarising business and customer information;
• Effectively manage a small team by setting team goals and priorities, supporting daily activities and problem solving with team members and providing constant feedback and guidance.
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, and establishing personal networks;
• Recommend changes in products, service, and policy by evaluating results and competitive developments.

Required Experience

• Graduate degree;
• 4+ years of sales, supplier management or similar experience required, with strong emphasis on attracting new suppliers into the business
• 2+ years of experience in successfully managing a team;
• Self-starter with a passion to independently drive setting up new partnerships;
• Track-record in influencing senior level people and groups;
• Ability to develop close and lasting customer relationships, to listen and adjust your proposals to customer needs;
• Great communication skills, ranging from presentation skills to 1:1 sales meetings;
• Willingness to be hands-on in the business and dive deep into details;
• Demonstrated leadership skills, including people development and coaching;
• Motivation to continuously learn and expand your knowledge in all topics regarding e‑learning, the education environment and technical innovation.

Preferred experience

• Experience within the education sector, an e-learning environment is preferable.
• Wide-range technical understanding, especially with regards to digital publishing and user experience (e.g., XML workflow, CMS services).