Senior Manager, Business Development

Senior Manager, Business Development

At Curriculum Associates, we believe in the potential of every child and are changing the face of education technology with award-winning learning programs like i-Ready that serve a third of the nation's K–8 students. For more than 50 years, our commitment to making classrooms better places, serving educators, and supporting accessible learning experiences for all students has driven the continuous improvement of our innovative programs. Our team of more than 2,500 employees is composed of lifelong learners who stand behind this mission, working tirelessly to serve the educational community with world-class programs and support every day.

The Senior Manager, Business Development owns Curriculum Associates' inbound lead conversion function and is accountable for maximizing pipeline velocity from first touch through Sales acceptance. Reporting to the VP of Growth Marketing, this role manages the day-to-day performance of our AI-powered chat platform, works closely with Inside Sales to improve lead acceptance rates, and ensures the lead-to-opportunity workflow is functioning effectively. The role will have one or more dotted line reports based in India. On-site presence in Greensboro, NC is required to build and maintain the working relationship with Inside Sales leadership.

The impact you'll have:

• Own and optimize the Qualified platform: configure conversation flows, routing rules, and AI agent behavior to maximize inbound lead conversion and meeting bookings.
• Partner closely with Inside Sales to improve lead acceptance rates and handoff quality, working on-site in Greensboro to maintain a strong day-to-day working relationship with the inside sales team.
• Manage Qualified's Salesforce and Pardot integration, ensuring lead routing rules, qualification criteria, and handoff SLAs are accurate and maintained as the business evolves.
• Monitor platform performance daily; track conversion rates, meeting acceptance, and pipeline contribution, and bring a regular cadence of analysis and recommendations to the VP of Growth Marketing.
• Manage a US-based direct report (to be hired) and provide day-to-day direction to a dotted-line report based in India, coordinating coverage and workload across time zones.
• Observe Inside Sales calls to understand what'sales-ready' means in practice, gather ongoing feedback on lead quality, and refine the qualification framework accordingly.
• Serve as the business owner for Qualified, coordinating with IT, Marketing Operations, and Security on platform governance, access controls, and quarterly risk reviews.
• Analyze inbound lead performance by source, campaign, and region; share insights with Growth Marketing and Product Marketing to improve targeting and campaign quality upstream.

Who we're looking for:

• 3+ years of experience managing or operating an AI-powered conversational platform (Qualified, Drift, or similar), including chat configuration, routing logic, and performance analysis.
• Solid working knowledge of Salesforce and Account Engagement (Pardot), with experience managing lead routing rules, field mapping, and handoff workflows between marketing and sales systems.
• Background in BDR, inside sales, or lead qualification; understands what makes a lead sales-ready and can translate that into platform configuration and team behavior.
• Data-driven approach to performance management; comfortable building dashboards, tracking conversion KPIs, and presenting analysis and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Strong cross-functional collaborator with experience working closely with sales teams to build trust, improve lead quality, and drive shared pipeline outcomes.
• Experience managing or coordinating with distributed teams across time zones, including India-based resources.
• Organized and detail-oriented; able to manage platform governance responsibilities including vendor coordination, security reviews, and access management without dropping the ball.
• Observe and synthesize information communicated through various formats including meetings, written materials, dashboards, and presentations, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Demonstrated ability to work side-by-side with Inside Sales leadership to build trust and improve shared funnel outcomes.

Required Education and Experience

• 3+ years of experience in a BDR, inside sales, or marketing operations role, with at least 1 year managing or operating a conversational marketing or lead routing platform.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Preference given to candidates with experience in education, edtech, SaaS, or mission-driven B2B2C industries.

Pay Range: This role's range is $93,250 - $166,250.

The wage range for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that Curriculum Associates considers in making compensation decisions based on our Compensation Philosophy. Actual base pay within that range will vary based upon several factors including, but not limited to, prior experience and relevant skill sets. At Curriculum Associates, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances for each case. This role is also eligible to participate in the company bonus plan. The Company recognizes that minimum wage varies by location and will ensure all compensation decisions comply with applicable state and local laws.

Benefits: Benefit eligible employees (and their families) are covered by medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees can enroll in our company's 401k plan and receive an employer match. Employees have access to a flexible vacation and sick policy in addition to twelve paid holidays and a winter office closure between Christmas and New Year's, as well as a number of additional perks and benefits.

Location: This position is based in Greensboro, North Carolina and will be working a hybrid work schedule, requiring 1-3 days in office per week in Greensboro.