Account Executive (U.S)

University Partnerships Manager (Account Executive)

Location: NYC/Hybrid (U.S remote considered for the right candidate, but must be on EST timezone)

Reporting to: Judson VanAntwerp, Director of U.S Partnerships

Compensation: Base salary: $95,000$115,000 OTE: $170,000$190,000

About Unibuddy

Higher education is changing - fast. Universities are under more pressure than ever to attract, convert, and retain students in a competitive, value-driven environment. Unibuddy is on a mission to empower students to make the right choices throughout their higher education journey. We've grown at an incredibly fast pace since our launch in 2017. We're the trusted student recruitment partner to more than 500 higher ed institutions in 35 countries worldwide, including Boston University, University of Southern California, NYU, University of Arizona, University of Calgary, and University of Alberta. We've raised over $33M from top-tier investors, and we're on course to achieve our mission of empowering 10 million students to make the right choices in their higher education journey. Now, the US is our biggest growth opportunity - and this role is critical to unlocking it.

Here's where you come in!

As a University Partnerships Manager (Account Executive), you will be responsible for driving net-new revenue growth across the US by landing new university partners and expanding Unibuddy's footprint nationwide. This is a hunter + closer role. You'll own the full sales cycle end-to-end: prospecting, discovery, demos, consensus-building, negotiation, and close. You'll thrive here if you enjoy building pipeline from scratch, navigating complex buying groups, and turning momentum into results. You'll work closely with SDRs, marketing, product, and customer teams - but you fully own your number, your pipeline, and your outcomes.

What Success Looks Like (12 Months):

• Consistently hitting or exceeding quarterly new ARR targets
• Closing net-new university logos each quarter
• Self-sourcing at least 50% of your pipeline
• Maintaining 3x pipeline coverage
• Managing a ~67-day sales cycle on qualified opportunities
• Running multiple parallel deals with 35 stakeholders per account
• Creating strong internal champions and managing deal risk proactively
• Reaching full productivity within 3 months

Revenue & Pipeline Ownership

• Own the full sales cycle from first outreach to close for US university prospects
• Consistently source new opportunities through outbound prospecting (email, phone, LinkedIn, events)
• Build and manage a healthy pipeline to meet or exceed quarterly targets
• Close SaaS deals typically ranging from $20k$100k ACV

Strategic & Consultative Selling

• Run high-quality discovery conversations focused on outcomes, not features
• Connect Unibuddy's value to institutional priorities such as yield, melt, engagement, and ROI
• Navigate complex, consensus-driven buying groups across admissions, enrollment, IT, procurement, finance, and leadership
• Build urgency and a compelling "why now" narrative

Deal Execution & Forecasting

• Maintain excellent CRM hygiene with accurate stages, next steps, and notes
• Forecast accurately and identify deal risks early
• Multi-thread deals and build champions across every active opportunity

Collaboration & Leadership

• Work closely with SDRs to prospect effectively and improve outbound performance
• Provide coaching and mentorship where required
• Partner with marketing, product, and customer teams to improve messaging, sales processes, and win rates
• Share learnings and contribute to raising the bar across the US sales team

What We're Looking For:

Must-Have Experience

• Proven success closing full-cycle B2B SaaS deals
• Experience selling into education, public sector, or consensus-driven environments
• Track record of hitting or exceeding quota in similar ACV and sales cycle lengths
• Strong experience managing multi-stakeholder deals (35 personas)
• Ability to self-source a significant portion of your pipeline
• Familiarity with a structured sales methodology
• Hunger, ambition, and desire to level up quickly

Nice-to-Have

• Experience selling into higher education or EdTech
• Existing network within admissions, enrollment, orientation, or student experience teams
• First-hand experience working in or with universities
• Understanding of enrollment cycle pressures (yield, melt, retention)

What You'll Receive:

• Competitive base salary with OTE
• 25 days PTO plus US national holidays and 3 special days
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave
• Health insurance (medical, dental, vision options) with family contributions
• Life insurance
• 401(k) with 6% employer match
• Mental health support
• MacBook or PC, home office setup support
• A genuinely supportive, high-performing team

Our Approach to Hiring:

We know that typically females and underrepresented groups only apply to jobs if they see themselves ticking every box. We believe we're more than boxes to tick. If you don't meet all the requirements but think you might still be right for the role or others, please apply anyway. We're always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.