Business Partnerships Manager - Supporting Financial Services & Tail Spend Solutions

Who We Are At E&I Cooperative Services, we are transforming how universities and schools buy the goods and services they need to operate and thrive. By leveraging the power of cooperative purchasing, we help our 6,000+ member educational institutions save time, contain costs, and redirect critical resources to their core mission of education and research. With over 90 years of experience and a trusted brand, we now operate like a high-growth startup—launching innovative technology, data, and service solutions to meet the evolving needs of the education sector. As a Business Partnerships Manager, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping and executing go-to-market strategies that elevate our Financial Services and Tail Spend Solutions. You’ll lead strategic partnerships, drive adoption across diverse educational institutions, and ensure our offerings deliver measurable impact. Your work will directly support our members’ financial health and operational efficiency, reinforcing E&I’s role as a trusted partner in their success. Are you energized by the opportunity to lead high-impact partnerships, influence strategic direction, and drive innovation in education procurement? If so, we’d love for you to join our growing team and help shape the future of financial services in education. What Makes E&I Unique • Mission-Driven Impact: At E&I, your work directly supports the success of educational institutions nationwide, from universities to K-12 schools. • Growth Culture: We are passionate about the power of culture to create conditions for excellence. We believe in the power of linking arms and lifting each other up in pursuit of common objectives. And we invest heavily in the personal and professional development of every single member of our team. • The Best of All Worlds: We’re ninety years old - but act like a startup. We’re a non-profit cooperative - with a high-growth enterprise mindset. We work hard – and play hard. We love success - but reward failure that comes from bold ideas and big swings. We combine tradition with innovation, passion with purpose, and ambition with heart. What You Will Do Under the direction of the Vice President, Business Partnerships, the Business Partnerships Manager (BPM) , supporting Financial Services and Tail Spend Solutions, will be responsible for designing and leading a sophisticated go-to-market strategy that maximizes the unique value proposition of those solutions. Utilizing a deep understanding of eProcurement marketplace solutions, coupled with extensive experience in rolling out financial services and products, this position will cultivate and manage strategic partnerships, ensuring these partnerships are leveraged to their full potential to enhance the financial health and operational efficiency of educational institutions and drive revenue growth. How You Will Do It Design and lead a sophisticated go-to-market (GTM) strategy that not only defines the path to market but ensures its successful execution across all touchpoints. This role is responsible for translating strategic vision into actionable plans that drive awareness, adoption, and measurable impact for E&I’s Financial Services and Tail Spend Solutions and ensuring effective market penetration. Orchestrate cross-functional execution by aligning internal teams and external partners around a unified GTM plan. These could include campaign development, webinars and events, seller enablement, GTM launch readiness, performance tracking, and feedback loops, ensuring alignment with the overall business objectives and market trends. Strategic Partnership Leadership Serve as the executive relationship owner, aligning business partner capabilities with E&I’s go-to-market strategy, member needs, and financial objectives. This includes co-developing joint business plans, driving partner accountability for purchase growth, utilization performance, and innovation, and ensuring the seamless integration of business partner solutions into E&I’s broader value proposition. Lead regular business reviews utilizing sales metrics, pipeline dashboards, and other data to ensure plans are being met, and to drive continuous improvement in the partnership with suppliers and the Member Engagement Team. Market Analysis and Insights: Conduct thorough market analysis to identify opportunities, trends, and competitive dynamics. Use these insights to inform strategic decisions and optimize the go-to-market approach. Cross-Functional Collaboration : Collaborate closely with internal teams (Marketing, Sales, Member Success, and Sourcing) to ensure the cohesive and effective execution of the go-to-market strategy. Drive alignment across GTM strategies, lead sharing, and coordinated engagement on E&I HPM accounts, ensuring seamless execution. Foster a collaborative environment that drives innovation and excellence. Member Adoption and Engagement : Develop and implement strategies to promote widespread adoption of Financial Services and Tail Spend Solutions among members. Ensure scalable sales outreach and engagement across various member segments, including Large/Mid HED, Small Colleges, and K-12 institutions. Performance Tracking & Continuous Improvement Establish and monitor performance metrics (adoption rates, revenue growth, member satisfaction) to gauge success and identify areas for improvement. Utilize data-driven insights to drive and refine BP performance through the evolution of the partnership strategy, messaging, and solution roadmap, in collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders. Education Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or a related field required; MBA or advanced degree preferred Qualifications Minimum of 8 years of experience in sales management or sales experience involving complex financial services and solutions within the education space required, ideally in procurement, eProcurement, SaaS, or a related B2B environment preferred. Proven track record: designing and executing national complex go-to-market strategies that drive operational efficiencies, significant revenue growth, and member/customer adoption. Strong understanding of financial services, tail spend management, and products essential for educational institutions. Demonstrated expertise in rolling out eProcurement marketplace solutions, preferably in a large-scale or bulk-retailer setting. Proficiency in conducting market analysis and leveraging insights to inform strategic decisions. Analyzing situations, demonstrating best practices, and navigating complex issues. Effective planning, organizing, and managing multiple projects and relationships that ultimately generate success. Ability to strategically align resources, prioritize tasks, and maintain clear communication channels. Ability to influence and guide team members from various departments. Strategic mindset with the ability to balance big-picture goals with day-to-day operational execution. CRM Experience required, preferably Salesforce Strong computer skills in the Microsoft Office suite of programs, specifically Word, PowerPoint, and Excel Travel Requirements Travel to member institutions, conferences, and meetings approximately 25% Call To Action If you’re ready to bring your skills or values to a mission that matters and create meaningful impact together, we’d love to hear from you. Use the "Apply Now" button on our careers page and submit your resume and a cover letter specifying your salary expectations. All submissions will be handled with the highest level of confidentiality. E&I is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal opportunities for employment and advancement without regard to an individual’s race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected by local, state, or federal law. #J-18808-Ljbffr