Director, Relationship Management West

The position of Director, Relationship Management is responsible for generating revenue and positioning private education loans at high schools, colleges and universities. This position requires a proven track record and expertise in building and maintaining relationships, as well as the ability to gain commitment from decision makers at high schools, with industry influencers, at assigned key colleges and universities, and with select partner channel contacts.

Private Student Loans are a critical driver of company revenue. This position represents the face of Sallie Mae to the School Channel customer. Expectations include: Effectively achieving sales goals, prospecting for new business opportunities, enterprise selling or lead generation for other sales divisions to include identifying and managing a broad portfolio of business opportunities with frequent travel accompanying assigned sales professionals to potential and current clients to promote Sallie Mae Campus Sales products and services. Conducting oral, written and web-based presentations and communications with both internal and external customers, including senior management, are essential to the position. Coordinating with other key areas within Sallie Mae is a critical component to the success of this individual including but not limited to: School Solutions, private credit, product development, proposal management, marketing and finance. This position will develop strategies and manage their territories as true business owners escalating and resolving customer issues as necessary.

Description

% of Time Spent

• Driving Growth and Brand Recognition

• Drives revenue for the company by meeting goals for demand and disbursements in addition to promoting Sallie Mae brand, tools, and resources.

• Improves Sallie Mae brand and product positioning while maintaining a trusted advisor role. This is done through building and executing business plans, improving product positioning on campus and in key accounts through onsite and virtual visits, association involvement and conference attendance.

• Builds, executes and maintains strategic business plans.

• Develops and maintains strategic business plans.

• Increases school engagement and facilitate meetings with key influencers in various departments.
  

55%

• Pre-Customer Growth

• Improves Sallie Mae brand and product positioning in the high school market and counselor associations.
  

20%

• Organizational Relationship Building

• Works effectively across the Sallie Mae organization to escalate issues to increase customer satisfaction and position the need for future products and services. Opportunities to do this will be afforded through various conference calls, team meetings, special projects and advisory teams.

• Explains and demonstrates the private loan suite of products, processes and services that generate fee income to school personnel, referral lender partners and other gatherings (session at trade association event) effectively.

• Works with other Sallie Mae colleagues (e.g. School Solutions, School Asist, Credit, etc.) to develop and build client relationships on campus
  

10%

• Personal/Administrative Tasks

• Participates in ongoing performance reviews regarding progress towards goals in addition to pursuing opportunities for professional development.

• Completes ongoing internal Compliance Training via RegU to ensure proper understanding of rules/regulations/policies that shape our business.

• Ensures a proper record keeping of customer service information and other interactions within Oracle Sales Cloud (CRM) through timely and accurate data entry.

• Submits requested reports and special projects in a timely an accurate manner (e.g. weekly report of activities, special requests of information, High School activities, etc.).
  

10%

• Business Knowledge

• Stays current with higher education trends and serves as a resource for peers, subordinates, and management.

• Leverages market/business knowledge to identify opportunities for growth and provide appropriate solutions and services to upper management in a timely and thorough manner.

• Capitalizes on market intelligence understanding our competitor’s strengths and/or weaknesses and use consultative selling methodologies to shape and influence the client’s decision making.
  

5%

The above information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this job; it is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees in this role.

Being focused on our customer helps us to deliver a lasting impression and instill trust. Through collaboration and teamwork, we are able to communicate effectively across departments leading to better decision quality. We hold ourselves to the highest standards ensuring accountability in all we do to deliver on our mission and shared values.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
  

• 7 years of experience higher education or related financial services sales experience.

• Must have an established record of meeting and exceeding quotas with a proven track record of substantial growth and capturing sales opportunities, preferably across a broad spectrum of educational institutions
  

• Experience in working with senior level administrators to understand shifting priorities and in leveraging emerging opportunities.
  

• Strong oral, written communication and organizational skills are a must.
  

• Excellent interpersonal and listening skills; along with clear, distinct speech.
  

• Applicants must be able to travel more than 70%.
  

• Incumbent must present a professional image and exhibit outstanding customer service skills.
  

• Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
  

• Accountability - Hold self and others accountable to meet commitments.
  

• Collaboration - Build partnerships and work collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
  

• Communication - Develop and deliver multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
  

• Customer focus - Build strong customer relationships and delivers customer-centric solutions.
  

• Decision quality - Make good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
  

• Instill trust - Gain the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
  

• Financial aid association exposure at the state, regional and/or national level.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination by employers, in compensation and employment opportunities, against qualified individuals with disabilities who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the “essential functions” of a job. A function may be essential for any of several reasons, including: the job exists to perform that function, the employee holding the job was hired for his/her expertise in performing the function, or only a limited number of employees are available to perform that function.