Multi-Academy Trust Sales Manager (Nottingham)

Requirements

• You don’t need to have worked in education before - we’ll teach you that. But you’ll thrive if you’re:
• A consultative B2B seller with experience managing multi-stakeholder deals
• Skilled at building relationships with senior leaders and driving long-term partnerships
• Strategic and commercially sharp - you balance mission with metrics
• Highly organised and proactive, able to manage complex accounts and multiple renewals
• Confident leading presentations, negotiations, and executive-level discussions
• A collaborative team player who shares insights and lifts others up

You’ll love this role if…

• You want to combine serious commercial growth with social impact
• You enjoy strategic selling and influencing senior stakeholders
• You thrive in fast-paced, scaling environments where you can shape the playbook

What the job involves

The Partnerships team builds long-term relationships with Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) Leaders to drive meaningful impact across their schools and ultimately for students in the classroom. MATs are facing significant challenges: budget pressures, recruiting and retaining high-quality staff, and a rising demand for SEND support. I’m looking for experienced sales professionals who are able to understand the impact of these challenges on schools and advise MATs on solutions that Zen Educate can offer.

Selling to MATs is unique - success requires both trust-level relationships and school-level engagement. This means you should be just as comfortable picking up the phone to do cold school outreach as you are leading strategic conversations with MAT CEOs. We know that might not be for everyone - but for the right person, it’s one of the most rewarding sales roles which puts you in the room with today’s leaders who are shaping education. If you’re passionate about making a difference, willing to roll your sleeves up for a challenge and thrive on building relationships, we’d love to hear from you.

As a Multi-Academy Trust Sales Manager you’ll own the full partnership lifecycle: from outreach and negotiation through to activation, expansion, and renewal. You’ll work with senior stakeholders across MATs - CEOs, CFOs, HRDs - to understand their priorities, design solutions, and show the impact Zen can deliver.

• Personalised and thoughtful outreach to school and MAT leaders
• Build and manage relationships with trust central teams to secure Preferred Supplier Agreements (PSAs)
• Lead consultative discovery conversations with MAT decision-makers, understanding their recruitment setup, challenges, and goals
• Develop tailored proposals and presentations that demonstrate Zen’s impact and ROI
• Partner with Account Managers and Regional Leads to ensure smooth activation of new PSAs across individual schools
• Conduct termly reviews with central teams to monitor performance, address challenges, and identify growth opportunities
• Track and lead renewal conversations, ensuring every trust stays engaged and grows their use of Zen
• Stay ahead of sector trends (DfE funding shifts, MAT growth, competitor movement) to inform strategy and conversations

It’s a strategic, high-impact role where relationship-building meets execution - and every deal you close delivers tangible value to schools.