Senior Account Executive - Nottingham

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 face significant challenges: budget pressures, recruiting and retaining high-quality staff, and a rising demand for SEND support. We look for experienced sales professionals who can understand these challenges 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. You must be comfortable with cold school outreach and leading strategic conversations with MAT CEOs.

What we’re building (and why it matters): UK schools spend over £2bn a year on temporary staff—much of that goes to recruitment agencies. That money could fund teacher pay rises, classroom resources, or student support. At Zen Educate we connect schools directly with fully vetted teachers and support staff, cutting out agencies and saving money. Our SaaS tools help schools and MATs manage recruitment, compliance, and workforce planning more efficiently. Since 2017, we have saved schools over £30 million and raised $37 million in Series B funding, the largest EdTech round in Europe last year. We’re scaling fast across the UK and US. We’re expanding our Partnerships team and need senior sales professionals who can build long‑term MAT relationships, close Preferred Supplier Agreements (PSAs), and drive adoption of our SaaS tools at scale.

What this role looks like day‑to‑day: As a Senior Account Executive you’ll own the full partnership lifecycle: outreach, negotiation, activation, expansion, and renewal. Work with senior stakeholders across MATs—CEOs, CFOs, HRDs—to understand priorities, design solutions, and demonstrate Zen’s impact.

• Personalised outreach to school and MAT leaders
• Build and manage relationships with trust central teams to secure PSAs
• Lead consultative discovery conversations with MAT decision‑makers
• 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

Who you are: 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—balancing 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.

What’s in it for you: Meaningful work—every partnership secures savings and improves teacher retention. Competitive salary, commission, and equity. 25 days holiday that increases with tenure plus UK public holidays. 1:1 coaching and professional development support. Life & Health Insurance, Cycle to Work Scheme, Electric Car Scheme.

How we hire: We move quickly and keep things simple:

• Intro chat – Meet our talent team
• Partnerships interview – Strategy, outreach, and stakeholder management
• Practical task & role play – Demonstrate approach to a real trust partnership
• Culture chat – Meet the wider team to ensure a great fit
• Fast decision, no endless waiting

Diversity & inclusion: We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives—just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with. We build an inclusive atmosphere where people’s voices are heard.

Equal Employment Opportunity: We value and respect all differences; we believe in an environment with equal access to career development opportunities and actively encourage applications from BAME candidates. If you require any reasonable adjustments during your interview process, please let us know.

Please note before applying: This role is based full‑time at our Nottingham office and requires onsite attendance five days per week during term time. We encourage applications from candidates who live in or near the local area of this office, or plan on relocating.

Ready to make a difference? If you’re excited to build partnerships that transform how schools work—hit Apply. We’d love to chat.