Senior Associate at The Student Hub Online

About the job

• The Student Hub, an educational technology start-up specializing in developing innovative marketplace platforms within South Africa, is looking to fulfil the role of Commercial Growth: Senior Associate, reporting to the Commercial Growth Manager. The team is growing quickly, and requires 3 new team members as soon as possible.

THE OPPORTUNITY

• The Commercial growth Manager is seeking a Senior Associate to coordinate, support and drive a wide variety of strategic B2B sales-related activities. This exciting, fast-paced and inspiring role can serve as an amazing springboard to a high-level account management or strategic partnerships career. Join our innovative EdTech company that is led by our purpose-driven CEO, recognised by Forbes Africa as one of the 30 top young entrepreneurs in 2021.
• In your role as the Senior Associate, your efforts will directly impact our ability to capitalise on the potential for both revenue and innovation within our strategic channels and industry partnerships. You will be responsible for acquiring our ideal partners and customers, as well as maintaining key relationships with them once they’ve been onboarded. The ideal candidate is a dedicated team player that feels confident in approaching & maintaining multi-level relationships with prospective customers & partners, and can confidently drive the entire sales process (through to negotiating & closing).
• This role will also support and guide the junior associates as they start reaching out to new prospects through the initial stages of the sales process with prospects, your role is then to further drive the engagement and to secure the partnership for The Student Hub (essentially, closing the deal). As you will be working closely with junior associates, you would need to be open to guiding them and helping further develop their professional capabilities & confidence. There is also a level of project management involved, as you help coordinate and drive the behind-the-scenes activities that really make this department hum.
• As our customer and partner’s experience is our first priority, this is a customer-facing relationship-building role, with an operational element, supporting the Commercial Growth Manager’s strategy and direction. It’s a perfect role for someone who has experience in, and enjoys managing high-profile accounts, someone who loves customer interaction and the thrill of generating new business.
• This full-time position is located in Cape Town, and requires experience in business development/partner management in the SMME to large/enterprise organisations, ideally with experience in the Education industry. This is a fantastic opportunity to be a part of an energetic & driven team, where we value self-starters with energetic, people-focused perspectives and a desire to make a difference. This is your opportunity to grow and shine, while you not only help extend The Student Hub’s reach and brand, but also make a difference in South Africa’s education & unemployment challenges. We have big goals to reach and a big purpose to fulfil, and with the right mind-set & eagerness to succeed - this is a great path to progress your professional career in one of Africa’s leading EdTech startups.

RESPONSIBILITIES

•  Support The Student Hub’s commercial vision & mission by delivering significant growth within our strategic channels & partnerships through B2B sales activities, administrative activities and a certain level of project coordination
•  Thoroughly research prospective partners/customers and their business ecosystems, and generate strong qualified leads in line with our target market
•  Utilise strategic selling approaches through the sales process, from initiating first contact (cold calling / social selling, etc.) through to working alongside the Commercial Growth Manager on proposals & presentations - supporting and driving the full sales cycle.
•  Maintain relationships at a high-level, responsible for account management practices (i.e. regular check-ins/review meetings, etc.)
•  Track, analyze and report on all activities, prospect engagements & other relevant data in the CRM (maintaining data integrity is vital)
•  Coordinate marketing events and campaigns for various partnerships, where required
•  Respond to prospect queries, escalating relevant issues & supporting the resolution thereof
•  Support our partners, customers, and our team in a friendly, knowledgeable, and willing manner, delivering a great experience at all times
•  Manage multiple project tasks efficiently
•  Track & meet individual KPIs/targets
•  Be accountable for your pipeline/portfolio
•  Provide sales & administrative support to the Commercial Growth Manager

CANDIDATE PROFILE

•  Minimum of 4-5 years+ experience in a B2B sales / partnerships role
•  Experience in working in/dealing with the education industry would be valuable
•  Strong understanding of the typical B2B sales process/cycle and how to drive engagements forward
•  An outgoing personality and highly-professional approach to customer interaction

 Strong in:

•  engaging with high-level management within SME-large/enterprise companies & organisations
•  relationship building – an ability to quickly find value, build rapport & trust
•  relationship management - maintain key relationships with clients/partners post-onboarding
•  organisational & project management
•  attention to detail, accuracy and accountability
•  communication skills, both written and verbal, including ease and finesse speaking with executive-level personnel
•  multi-tasking, prioritization & time-management
•  Energy for multi-tasking in a fast-paced, client-oriented environment
•  Resourcefulness and outside-the-box thinking
•  Experience in working with a variety of administrative systems (i.e., CRMs, GSuite)

 You are:

•  eager to learn & are coachable
•  able to work in a team productively & collaboratively
•  ethical & reliable
•  confident in your skills, and proactive – you take ownership of tasks set out for you
•  driven, ambitious & tenacious - you are not easily ‘defeated’ by small setbacks

 You enjoy solving problems, working with people & building professional relationships
 Creativity & innovative thinking excites you, you’re able to take on a ‘new approach’ if something isn’t working
 Dedicated to personal & professional success