Key Account Manager at LexisNexis South Africa

About the Role

• The Key Account Manager drives sustainable revenue growth, market penetration, and strategic partnerships within higher education. This hybrid role combines new business development with strategic account management, focusing on retaining and expanding existing accounts while securing new opportunities.
• You’ll serve as a trusted advisor to academic institutions, faculty, librarians, authors, and decision-makers, driving product adoption, customer satisfaction, and digital transformation. AI fluency is essential to enhance sales effectiveness, customer engagement, and business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Market Analysis & Strategic Planning

• Conduct market research to identify customer needs, competitor activity, emerging trends, and growth opportunities.
• Develop and maintain annual territory and account plans covering revenue objectives, account priorities, stakeholder strategies, and growth opportunities.
• Use market intelligence and AI-driven insights to improve territory planning, account prioritisation, and product positioning.

Strategic Account Management

• Manage a portfolio of academic accounts to support customer retention, satisfaction, and sustainable revenue growth.
• Expand accounts through greater adoption of existing products and introduction of value-added solutions.
• Deliver successful renewals for allocated customer agreements and contracts.
• Identify and mitigate retention risks while strengthening long-term customer partnerships.

Product Adoption & Stakeholder Engagement

• Retain, grow, and secure product adoptions across academic institutions.
• Build trusted relationships with faculty, librarians, procurement teams, department heads, authors, and key decision-makers.
• Maintain regular virtual and in-person customer engagement, providing responsive, high-quality service.
• Promote customer success, product utilisation, and long-term account advocacy.

Business Development & Revenue Growth

• Identify, qualify, and pursue new opportunities within existing and prospective accounts.
• Build pipeline through proactive prospecting, networking, and stakeholder engagement.
• Deliver tailored product demonstrations, presentations, and proposals.
• Negotiate and close new contracts, renewals, and commercial agreements.
• Achieve assigned new-business, retention, and revenue-growth targets.

AI Enablement & Digital Fluency

• Use AI-powered tools to enhance customer engagement, sales planning, forecasting, pipeline management, and productivity.
• Identify opportunities for AI-enabled solutions that support digital transformation in academic institutions.
• Stay current with emerging AI trends in education, research, and academic publishing.

Collaboration & Performance Reporting

• Partner with Marketing, Product, Customer Success, Editorial, and Support teams to deliver tailored customer solutions.
• Share customer and market insights that inform product development and innovation.
• Maintain accurate CRM records and monitor account health, product adoption, pipeline, and renewal performance.
• Provide regular sales forecasts, performance updates, and strategic recommendations.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Education, or a related field.
• Proven experience in sales, business development, account management, or customer success, preferably in education, publishing, information services, or technology.
• Strong understanding of the academic and higher-education market.
• Demonstrated ability to manage strategic accounts while developing and securing new business.
• Experience using CRM platforms and digital sales tools.