[Hiring] Sales Manager @Just Right Reader

Role Description

We are looking for a Manager of Sales to build, coach, and lead a team of Partnerships Directors who are largely new to sales. Most of our Partnerships Directors come from education backgrounds - they are former teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders who bring deep credibility and authentic relationships in the districts we serve. The Manager of Sales will take talented, mission-aligned people and systematically develop them into confident, capable, and increasingly independent sellers.

This is as much a teaching and coaching role as it is a sales management role, and the right person will be genuinely energized by that challenge. The Manager will define what good sales execution looks like, from onboarding and 30/60/90-day expectations through pipeline management, customer conversations, forecasting, and closing.

The Manager will work closely with the CEO and Sales leadership while bringing an independent, data-informed perspective to team performance and development.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Development
  • Directly manage and develop a team of Partnerships Directors, establishing clear expectations, goals, priorities, and accountability from day one.
  • Build the foundational sales skills of team members who are transitioning from education or other non-sales backgrounds.
  • Build strong relationships through regular 1:1s, coaching, feedback, and performance reviews.
  • Tailor coaching and development to each rep's strengths, needs, performance, and pipeline.
  • Recognize and celebrate wins to build confidence and momentum across the team.
  • Address performance issues directly and fairly, with clear expectations and actionable improvement plans.
  • Identify high-potential team members and develop them toward future senior sales roles.
• Sales Best Practices & Enablement
  • Build sales standards, playbooks, and best practices largely from the ground up.
  • Create practical, accessible playbooks, tools, templates, talk tracks, and other resources.
  • Translate complex sales concepts into frameworks and language that resonate with educators.
  • Build and maintain structured 30/60/90-day onboarding and development plans for new Partnerships Directors.
  • Establish regular team routines for pipeline reviews, deal strategy, forecasting, skill development, and sharing what is working.
• Coaching & Performance
  • Coach newer sellers through real opportunities, including customer conversations, storytelling, handling objections, and advancing deals.
  • Review calls, outreach, pipeline activity, and customer interactions to provide specific, actionable feedback.
  • Use performance data to create targeted development plans and measure progress over time.
  • Build a clear and motivating development path toward greater responsibility.
• Data, Pipeline, & Forecasting
  • Own the team's HubSpot data and visibility into pipeline, activity, conversion, sales velocity, forecast, and progress against goals.
  • Use data and leading indicators to identify trends, risks, gaps, and opportunities.
  • Translate sales data into a clear story: what is happening, why it is happening, and what action should be taken.
  • Establish consistent forecasting and pipeline management practices and hold reps accountable for accurate, timely information.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Partner closely with the CEO and Sales to translate priorities into clear direction and execution.
  • Bring thoughtful, data-informed recommendations in partnership with AI strategies.
  • Partner with Customer Success, Marketing, Operations, and other teams to improve lead generation, handoffs, customer experience, and revenue execution.
  • Identify and address systemic sales issues, including gaps in onboarding, enablement, support.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, and developing people, ideally in education, sales, business development, consulting, or a similarly relationship-driven environment.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort using data to identify trends, diagnose problems, make decisions, and communicate a clear story.
• Highly organized, with the ability to establish structure, operating rhythms, and accountability in a fast-moving environment.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to build trust with educators, business leaders, and senior executives.
• Strong judgment and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and act without waiting for perfect information.
• Natural curiosity about sales and willingness to learn, test, document, and continuously improve sales practices.
• Ability to work effectively with senior leaders, including challenging assumptions respectfully and maintaining alignment as priorities change.

Preferred

• Experience as a school or district administrator, instructional leader, educator, or education professional.
• Experience with consultative selling, fundraising, partnerships, business development, or another influence-based role.
• Experience managing or coaching new-to-sales professionals.
• Experience using CRM and sales-performance data to manage a team or portfolio of work.
• Experience in edtech, educational publishing, SaaS, or another high-growth environment.

What Success Looks Like

• Partnerships Directors have clear expectations for performance and development from their first 30 days onward.
• The team follows consistent, documented sales practices rather than developing individual approaches from scratch.
• Reps receive frequent, specific coaching that improves their skills, pipeline quality, and sales performance.
• Sales data is accurate, visible, and actively used to identify risks, opportunities, and coaching needs.
• The Manager can clearly explain what is happening in the team's pipeline, why it is happening, and what should happen next.
• High-potential Partnerships Directors have a clear path toward senior sales roles, with one or more demonstrating readiness for advancement on an annual basis.
• The team becomes increasingly self-sufficient and consistent, with stronger visibility and confidence from Sales leadership.

Benefits

• At Just Right Reader, we're transforming how children learn to read.
• You'll be part of a passionate, growing team committed to educational equity, literacy innovation, and joyful learning.
• Mission-driven company focused on improving literacy and education outcomes.
• Collaborative and innovative work environment with opportunities for growth and development.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.