Lead Specialist, Partnership Management Higher Education

Experts in Partnership Management at this tier handle technically demanding projects that form the foundation of important alliance activities. Their work centers on developing, testing, and implementing solutions that resolve unusual partner requirements or enable new joint ventures. They coach and mentor less experienced staff, acting as the first point of technical advice, and ensure standards are maintained throughout the team's portfolio. They consistently draw upon advanced knowledge to oversee delivery of significant milestones in alignment with business plans and operational goals.

At Pearson, our mission is to help people realise the life they imagine through learning. As a Lead Specialist, Partnership Management, for International Higher Education, you will pursue and secure transformative, multi-year partnerships with governments, universities, and enterprise clients across priority markets. Reporting to the Director of Strategic Sales and embedded in the central team that leads Pearson's most strategic and complex commercial agreements, you bring together the right people, processes, and market intelligence, mobilising internal stakeholders and resources at the right moments, to shape, pursue, and win must-win programmes. You'll influence senior leadership and government stakeholders, navigate public sector procurement, and manage multi-million pound, solution-focused programmes, applying authority and credibility at the highest decision-making levels to deliver measurable revenue growth, reference-worthy deployments, and strategic positioning for Pearson. Every deal you land helps shape our product roadmap and sector narrative.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and orchestrate institutional and government sales engagements, owning the full lifecycle from opportunity identification through contract finalisation and implementation.
• Engage senior stakeholders, including but not limited to Vice Chancellors, Ministries, procurement bodies, developing trusted advisory relationships that position Pearson as a strategic partner.
• Create and deliver annual account plans for strategic government and institutional clients.
• Work with clients to define ambitious revenue targets and partnership objectives and execute against these plans to expand Pearson's footprint and influence.
• Run world-class discovery to uncover institutional pain points and policy drivers; translate findings into crisp problem/solution narratives and bespoke proposals.
• Create and progress pipeline through multiple channels, converting warm leads from events, conferences and marketing programmes, and proactively generate net new opportunities through insight-driven outbound (email, phone, social).
• Build and leverage an internal network across Pearson, knowing when to pull in the right expertise (Product, Delivery, Legal, Finance, Marketing) at the right time to accelerate deal strategy and execution.
• Drive RFP responses and complex bids, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver tailored, outcome-focused solutions.
• Close large, strategic deals (7 figure, multi-year opportunities) while building reference-worthy deployments.
• Represent Pearson with authority at policy forums, sector events, and senior stakeholder meetings; act as a visible leader in higher education.
• Analyse bid and sales performance, implement continuous improvements, and champion enhancements to sales tools and templates.
• Leverage AI as a force multiplier for account research, prospecting, prioritisation, call prep, and follow through; share what works to uplevel the team.

What You Bring

• 8+ years' enterprise closing experience (EdTech, SaaS, or professional services) with a proven track record of 6 figure wins and participation in 7 figure, multi-year deals.
• Proven track record in securing and managing complex, high-value deals in institutional or government markets.
• Comfort engaging at C-level and with senior government stakeholders to influence decision-making.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to lead dispersed, cross-functional teams in a matrixed organization.
• Executive presence and communication skills.
• Be a compelling storyteller, have strong discovery discipline, and the ability to convert insights into business cases.
• Familiarity with Challenger/MEDDICC methodology; rigorous qualification and consensus building.
• Experience with public sector procurement processes (RFPs, RFIs, framework agreements) is highly desirable.
• Proficiency in CRM and collaboration tools (e.g., Salesforce, Tableau, Jira, MS Office, G-Suite).
• Fluency in English required; additional languages are an asset.

What success looks like

• Ramp quickly: Master Ideal Customer Profiles, policy priorities, and talk track; run qualified discovery in months 2-3.
• Pipeline to quota: Build a healthy self-sourced + partnered pipeline and consistently hit annual targets, whilst maintaining high forecast accuracy through disciplined deal qualification and predictable execution.
• Flagship wins: Close multiple 6 figure new logos and advance 1-2 seven figure strategic opportunities within first year.
• Product impact: Deliver prioritised feedback that shapes roadmap; contribute repeatable templates and AI workflows.
• References: Land 2-3 deployments that become public case studies or sector benchmarks.

At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are.