Job description
DESCRIPTION:
What makes Kokua Sales a great fit for you? When you join Kokua, you become part of a high-impact team solving one of the most urgent challenges in education — lost learning time due to teacher absences — with a solution that works. We are experiencing rapid growth and expanding nationally, with a clear and growing need for our services in public charter schools.
Our sales professionals earn a competitive base salary, uncapped commissions, and great benefits — along with training and excellent support, plus recognition for high performers. If you’re coachable, persistent, smart, executive-savvy, and looking for your next great adventure, Kokua is the place for you.
THE POSITION:
The Account Executive- School Partnerships is a sales role responsible for winning new school partners and expanding into new territory. This is a remote opportunity and travel may be required. We have a strong preference for candidates with experience selling in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Midwest regions.
WHAT YOU DO EACH DAY:
- You will prospect and develop new business opportunities with new School Networks and own the sales cycle from prospecting through close.
- You will create and execute sales plans, set, and achieve sales goals, and secure new school partnerships.
- You will lead the full sales conversation and negotiation, through to the transition of new clients to the operations team.
- You will meet your quota responsibility by developing a healthy and sustainable sales pipeline in line with the addressable market.
- You will develop excellent relationships with customers where you are credible and trusted.
- You will develop and execute strategies for new territory expansion in collaboration with cross-functional partners.
- You will develop sales forecasts and collect, evaluate, and provide market, customer, and competitor intelligence.
- You will prepare proposals and respond to RFPs.
- You will travel as needed, approximately 25%
- You are data-driven and numbers-oriented, creating clear, actionable sales reporting and insights for the Executive Team.
WHAT WE OFFER:
- Competitive base salary and uncapped commission
- Competitive benefits
- PTO plus company-wide breaks (one week in the summer, two weeks in December)
- Excellent training
- Limitless growth and learning opportunity
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- Human Connector• You are strong at connecting with others, even those you don’t know, to build rapport and trust. You are charismatic and new acquaintances find interest in learning more about you. You are professional and a steward of the Kokua mission to empower students growing up in challenging circumstances
- Sales Capabilities• You understand the Education industry (ideally with teaching experience) and have 5+ years of experience with a network to show. You are mission-aligned and use Kokua’s purpose as part of your sales activities. You have proven sales acumen, an entrepreneurial mindset, and executive presence. You have expertise in managing a sales funnel, forecasting and use of sales tools. You work to understand and overcome the competition.
- Customer Focus• You are dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of new School Partners. You act with School Partners in mind and gain their trust and respect. You seek out solutions that help School Partners and bring strong communication between School Partners and Kokua. You communicate professionally and warmly while keeping calm under pressure.
- Negotiating • You negotiate skillfully in tough situations with both internal and external groups. You can settle differences with minimum noise and win concessions without damaging relationships. You can be both direct and forceful as well as diplomatic. You gain trust quickly of other parties to the negotiations and you have a good sense of timing.
- Drive for Results• You challenge yourself by setting ambitious goals, reaching them, and finding ways to continuously improve and perfect your craft. You are determined and driven to exceed your targets and goals, and have a track record for doing so. You are consistently recognized as a top performer. You steadfastly push yourself and others for results, demonstrating passion for our mission.
- Strategic Mindset• You are comfortable developing tactics that support how we increase impact in the classroom. You support market analysis and the preparation of business cases for growth opportunities. You prioritize well and are relentlessly focused when tactics are agreed.
- Education Sales Expertise • You bring 5+ years of experience in education sales, with a strong understanding of the K–12 landscape and a proven track record working with charter schools and school networks. You understand the unique needs and dynamics of these partners and tailor your approach to build lasting, trusted relationships. Prior classroom teaching experience is a plus and deepens your credibility with school leaders.
THE COMPANY
Teacher absences result in massive amounts of lost learning time for students, particularly in under-resourced schools. Kokua solves this problem by bringing together a growing network of passionate guest teachers who are dedicated to leveraging this time with students. We believe that proximity is power, and one role model can change a life forever.
We are a diverse and mission-driven culture, focused on connecting students with positive influences who create an environment where they feel free to explore possibilities they didn’t even know existed. Join a dynamic, driven team looking to make a lasting impact for future generations.
Kokua began in Chicago in 2011 and has since grown across the country. We were recognized by Forbes in 2016 as an up-and-coming organization making an impact in the field of education, and we have exciting growth plans!
