Director- Partner Success (US & Canada) (Job Vacancy)

About us

ACUMEN is committed to helping globally-ambitious university and education partners enter, explore and expand in South Asia, South East Asia, and beyond. We offer a dedicated range of services to drive recruitment, student enrolment, develop strategic partnerships, and deliver bespoke consulting projects.

We act as an extension of your brand, by connecting you with the world’s best students, utilising strategic international education opportunities, understanding your ideal market through research and insights, and help mitigate any risks along the way. We operate in over 20 countries, with more than 250 industry practitioners with deep local knowledge and global expertise. We help navigate a competitive education landscape from end to end, while always prioritising your success.

We all need an edge in today’s competitive international education market. What worked for you in the past won’t be enough to succeed today. Let us help you reach your international student recruitment goals, find the right partners, understand your ideal market with insights, and launch new global initiatives.

Our track record speaks for itself – one out of five Indian students studying in the UK is an Acumen student, as is one out of every four Nepalese students. We deliver excellence throughout Asia and beyond. We know what you need to thrive, not only today but in the future. With Acumen as your internationalisation partner, we help you navigate the entire journey from start to finish, we’re there every step of the way.

Our Approach Bringing innovation to the education market. From our origins in India to our diverse, global education service across Asia and beyond, our approach has always been to give organisational leaders precisely what they need. Guidance and expertise through their internationalisation journey that they can trust. Our end-to-end approach empowers universities, educational institutions, Government Departments and organisations to take their first steps onto the global stage. We're here every step of the way to provide the recommendations and resources needed to achieve positive results.

Since our story began in 2008 under the Sannam S4 Group umbrella, Acumen, the most-trusted name in the education sector, is focused on providing valuable market insight, guidance, and internationalisation for our clients. Our unique understanding, people-first approach and student-focused insights have made us an invaluable partner for education institutions and organisations in every corner of the globe. We take the globalisation of education institutions and organisations to the next level, never losing sight of what's important. Our people and partners.

What are we seeking? As Sannam S4 continues to grow, we intend to evolve the delivery of our service to the education sector (largely focused on Higher Education clients). A relentless focus on customer service, efficiency, discipline and planning ahead of growth is going to be critical for the business achieving its ambitious plans. We seek talent who are excited by a growth story andenjoy problem solving in an ambiguous and dynamic environment.

Our partners and stakeholders Acumen places tremendous value on its strategic partnerships and close affiliations with respected organisations which include a formal Strategic Partnership with the U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA) U.S. Department of Commerce, the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) and close working relations with the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland. We work very closely with the Embassy of India in Washington D.C. and with the federal and state government(s) in India.

Acumen leads and collaborates in thought leadership and policy discussions via close working relationships with the U.S. India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and the U.S. India Business Council (USIBC), American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM), British Business Group (BBG), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) amongst others. We will be seeking to develop further linkages with similar organisations based in Southeast Asia.

Role Summary - The role holder will work with Executive Director US & Canada and will be responsible for driving client results and retention, identifying client needs, establishing trust, developing solutions and maintaining regular, effective communication. - Will work as the primary account manager for an assigned portfolio of clients and will be responsible for developing/maintaining strong, long-lasting, and positive account relationships. - Will provide mentoring, coaching, ongoing communication thereby driving high engagement and excellent business results. - The role holder will build strong working relationships with regional / country teams to deliver optimal results. - The role holder will drive key-activities to improve customer experience and strengthen the relationship between Acumen and its Partners. The selected candidate will play a crucial role in building trust with the current and potential Partners and help in retaining Partners by making the service personalised and customised to meet their needs.

Responsibilities - Deliver a high-level customer experience and effectively manage client relationships - Ensure the successful day to day operations of client accounts - Lead client meetings and consult/manage customer expectations - Review and approve all client marketing campaigns to ensure budgets are actively managed and used wisely - Work in partnership with your Territory Team to fulfil all client requirements - Oversee billing/invoicing for client accounts working in partnership with Head Partner Success - Identify ‘add-on’ sales opportunities and assist with contract renewals - Maintain technical expertise of our products/services - Maintain a comprehensive knowledge of the higher education industry - Assist in any training for new hires where applicable - Build a performance-driven culture and ensure transparent evaluation of team members’ performance against predefined specific objectives. - Develop the destination knowledge and market understanding of team members to support increased performance outcomes. - Provide inputs and take necessary actions to support the ongoing development and maintenance of service and client management performance standards. - Determine when an issue needs to be escalated for resolution. - Proactively provide timely feedback and advice to the line manager on the management of office and on issues arising from competitor activities, changing business environments, change in student visa policies etc. - Integrate compliance requirements into staff performance appraisals and annual objectives. - Effectively communicate with clients including regular, formalized check-ins and problem-solving and opportunity-specific engagement. - Work closely with Sales, Marketing, Product Management and Operations teams to identify and track requests from existing services or the potential development of new ones. - Function as the voice of the customer within Acumen and provide internal feedback on how our services and delivery can better serve our customers.

Minimum required qualifications and work experience - Bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, public relations, management, operations management, or a related field (or combination of education and experience) - Demonstrated skill in managing business activities in a multinational company. - Strong project management skills - Aptitude with software and technology is a must - Knowledge of marketing strategy and communication plans a plus - Excellent communications skills, both verbal and written - Ability to take the initiative and think critically - Proven ability to manage multiple priorities while delivering high quality results - Travel required (approximately 30%) - Enjoy fast paced environment - Experience with project management software a plus - Experience with a marketing platform a plus

Work Experience - Preferred candidates will have worked for 12+ years in client facing role and will have at least 8 years in the international education industry, with a detailed understanding of the dynamics of international student recruitment across key source markets. Ideally, they should also have some experience of international research collaboration or partnership arrangements between international institutions/faculty. - Preferred candidates with a mix of client/partner servicing, Advisory and pre- sales experience and at least 5 years of experience in a metrics driven service environment for international clients/partners