Key Account Director, Corporate - Maternity Cover (12 month FTC)

Key Account Director, Corporate - Maternity Cover (12 month FTC)
HYBRID / LOCATION (1 - 2 days/week in the Holborn, London office)
SALARY: £60,000 + commission

Times Higher Education is the data provider underpinning university excellence in every continent across the world. As the company behind the world’s most influential university ranking, and with almost five decades of experience as a source of analysis and insight on higher education, we have unparalleled expertise on the trends underpinning university performance globally. Our data and benchmarking tools are used by many of the world’s most prestigious universities to help them achieve their strategic goals and our events series act as the home of higher education thought leadership around the world.

About the role

The Key Account Director, Corporate (Europe) is responsible for developing strategic partnerships with THE’s most important corporate clients. The role focuses on account growth, senior stakeholder engagement, strategic planning and developing long-term relationships across THE’s portfolio of solutions.

The Key Account Director holds a portfolio of designated key corporate relationships, primarily across Europe, with responsibility for selected strategic accounts across APAC and MEA where required. The role sets the strategic direction for each account, identifying opportunities for growth across THE’s portfolio.

Key responsibilities

Strategic partnership & growth

· Own THE’s relationships with designated key corporate clients, positioning THE as a strategic partner rather than a supplier.

· Develop and maintain account growth strategies, aligning THE solutions to client priorities, objectives and target audiences.

· Identify major expansion and cross-sell opportunities across the account portfolio.

· Structure commercial agreements and negotiate terms that protect margin, routing bespoke pricing through the Deal Desk.

· Run regular business reviews for key accounts and turn their outputs into documented account actions.

Executive engagement

· Build relationships with senior commercial, marketing and executive stakeholders, and create engagement plans for priority accounts.

· Represent THE at executive engagements, sector events, client meetings and partnership discussions.

Retention & risk

· Contribute to strategic planning, account growth and customer retention initiatives.

· Monitor the health of each key account, flagging at-risk business well ahead of contract end and leading recovery plans.

· Track competitor activity within key accounts and defend against displacement.

Leadership & insight

· Mentor, train and support/or manage dependent on requirement, Account Managers where appropriate.

· Feed structured client and market insight into THE’s product roadmap and go-to-market planning.

Account Orchestration

· Coordinate cross-functional teams to maximise client value, owning the client relationship and coordinating delivery across THE.

· Services (Consultancy, Events, Branding): own overall client management and high-level comms, including project updates, and coordinate how each unit’s outputs feed into other project areas; delivery units run project planning, events and campaign execution.

· Solutions (Data, Hiring, Content): own client engagement and coordinate with relevant fulfilment and delivery teams to ensure successful delivery.

· Onboard new clients cleanly, introducing the delivery lead with a strong brief within 3 days of close, then maintain oversight through regular internal syncs and client check-ins.

· Use campaign, engagement and client insights to spot retention and upsell signals, and co-deliver end-of-campaign reports with the Campaign Manager where appropriate.

Experience and skills background

· Significant experience in strategic or key account management, or enterprise sales, within a data, information or SaaS business.

· A track record of growing high-value, multi-stakeholder accounts, including through multi-year agreements.

· Direct experience working with corporate clients, with a strong grasp of complex stakeholder environments, decision-making and procurement.

· Strong executive presence: credible with senior commercial, marketing and executive stakeholders, and confident presenting strategy at that level.

· Expert negotiator with sound financial acumen, including margin management and complex deal structuring.

· Excellent account planning, forecasting and cross-functional coordination skills; confident Salesforce user.

· Experience coaching or mentoring account managers and/or Business Development functions.

· Experience across international markets; willingness to travel to client sites and sector events.

You do You
You do You. With colleagues located around the world, we know that our individuality and diversity of experiences are our greatest strengths. That’s why we want THE to be a place where you are welcome to be who you want to be at work; where you can share whatever part of your life or self-identity you want, without obligation or facing discrimination; and where all abilities and perspectives are recognised and accommodated.