Director - Sales (EDU)

Director - Sales (EDU) We are looking for a Director - Sales (Education focus) to help us support our continued growth within the higher education sector. This leader will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with colleges, universities, and systems while collaborating with our Business Development and Delivery teams to modernize the student and faculty experience. We are seeking candidates with exposure to the Salesforce delivery process (hands-on Salesforce consulting experience highly preferred) who understand the complex governance and multi-stakeholder environments of Higher Ed. Role Responsibilities: Engage with University Cabinets, Provosts, CIOs, and VPs of Enrollment/Advancement to expand Coastal’s footprint across the Higher Education landscape. Create detailed business and territory plans that align with academic fiscal years and recruitment cycles to facilitate the attainment of annual goals. Personally identify and nurture new opportunities through institutional networking, EDUCAUSE, and Higher Ed user groups to turn prospects into long-term campus partners. Manage the entire relationship lifecycle, navigating the unique path from campus-wide discovery to procurement/RFP and through to successful project commencement. Lead discovery conversations that uncover institutional pain points regarding Recruitment & Admissions, Student Success, Advancement, and Lifelong Learning. Present Salesforce solutions—specifically Education Cloud and Education Data Architecture (EDA)—that align with the institution’s strategic plan and accreditation goals. Provide professional after-sales support to ensure high user adoption among faculty, staff, and students. Maintain best-in-class forecasting and pipeline management to provide leadership visibility into the Higher Ed Business Unit. Engage with Salesforce.org Higher Ed RVPs and AEs to partner on co-prime opportunities and drive digital transformation in academia. Partner with Coastal Leadership to align business development efforts with Higher Ed-specific delivery frameworks. Work with your team to create estimates and SOWs that account for academic calendars, phased rollouts, and institutional budget constraints. Travel as needed to support campus visits and finalize partnerships. Experience/Skills Required: 5+ years proven expertise as a Salesforce Delivery Consultant or similar role, and interest in applying your delivery expertise in Sales. 5+ years of Sales experience is ideal, but will consider candidates with less sales experience who exhibit a strong desire and enthusiasm for sales. Proven Portfolio Growth – you will be responsible to Grow our Coastal customer base across multiple industries through generating, shaping and capturing leads Deep experience in the Salesforce Ecosystem, specifically with Education Cloud, EDA, and HEDA. Ability to take ownership and responsibility for, and actively drive sales pursuits. Commitment to building long term relationships with customers and winning business through trusted relationships Consultative mindset with an understanding of Higher Ed governance, shared governance models, and departmental silos. Understanding of and relationships within the Salesforce portfolio along with newly acquired solutions such as Mulesoft, Tableau, Slack, etc. Excellent communication, preparation, strategy, presentation and execution skills Ability to “project manage” a sales cycle by leading collaboratively and working with other key internal groups - pre-sales, delivery, SMEs and Industry Professionals Organizational and time-management skills. Being detail oriented and process driven is critical to success in this role Enthusiastic and passionate Experience with Technology: Salesforce, Zoominfo, LinkedIn Must have full-time permanent US work authorization Note – Determination of Senior will be based upon the candidate's previous relevant experience and depth of skills, and will be determined through our skills interview process Additional Preferred Experience/Skills: Bachelor’s Degree preferred, or equivalent experience Experience as a Salesforce Consultant, preferably at an implementation partner Salesforce Education Cloud Consultant Certification Why Coastal, and what we offer: Flexible working hours with an emphasis on a life-work balance (in that order!) Remote flexible work; “Live by the beach, work in the Cloud,” plus company office locations in Palm Coast, FL; Atlanta, GA; Tysons, VA & Lexington, KY; travel as required to client locations Unlimited Paid Time Off (RTO), 401K with Company Match, and Medical, Vision, & Dental coverage Competitive quarterly bonus opportunities Continuing education and certification reimbursements, specifically within the Salesforce and Snowflake ecosystems; plus occasional in-house competitions with spot bonuses A flexible and fun team culture! We value transparency, support, flexibility, growth, teamwork, fun, and so much more Frequent team and culture activities, virtual & in-person, including Lunch and Learns, Happy Hours, team-building events Monthly All-Hands calls to bring the company together, and an open-door leadership policy with access to mentorship and guidance Opportunities for accelerated growth, networking, and career guidance and support Trust, transparency and respect across all levels of the company Coastal provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.