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Manager, Sales Development- Higher Education

Own Company

Own Company

Sales & Business Development
Chicago, IL, USA
Posted on Dec 11, 2025

Description

Manager, Sales Development- EDU

Location: Chicago, Illinois

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans and agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.

Our Business Development teams are at the forefront of this mission — fueling growth by generating high-quality pipeline for our sales organization.

Role Overview

We’re looking for a high-energy, motivational leader to manage a team of Business Development Representatives (BDRs) focused on outbound prospecting and generating qualified pipeline within our EDU market segment.

In this role, you’ll act as both a talent multiplier and a business leader—building and developing a high-performing team by coaching, inspiring, and growing early career talent, while also driving operational excellence through strategic problem solving, business planning, pipeline and forecast management, and continuous performance improvement.

Your Impact

As a Sales Development Manager, you will:

  • Be a talent multiplier: Hire, onboard, and develop a diverse, high-performing team of BDRs. Use coaching and regular feedback to help each team member grow into sales-ready talent for future Account Executive roles.

  • Lead with motivation: Inspire your team to exceed quota through data-driven coaching, creative incentives, and recognition. Foster a culture of curiosity, accountability, and development.

  • Drive business performance: Drive outbound prospecting strategy and execution to generate quality pipeline and revenue.

  • Promote operational excellence: Build and optimize processes to maximize efficiency, productivity, and impact.

  • Be a problem solver & strategic thinker: Use data to identify performance gaps and opportunities, and develop plans to address them quickly.

  • Manage Pipeline & Forecast: Regularly track, analyze, and report on team and individual performance against goals; forecast pipeline and revenue contribution accurately.

  • Operate cross-functionally: Partner with Operations, Marketing, Programs, Strategy, and Sales Leadership to align on business priorities, campaign follow-up, and market strategy.

  • Partner with Operations, Marketing, Programs, Strategy, and Sales Leadership to align on business priorities, campaign follow-up, and market strategy.

Your Qualifications

  • 3+ years of sales leadership experience leading teams of 7+ quota-carrying reps (preferably in business development, inside sales, or SDR/BDR environments).

  • Proven track record of delivering on pipeline and revenue goals.

  • Demonstrated ability to identify and hire top talent.

  • Passion for coaching and developing early career talent.

  • Strong executive presence, communication, and presentation skills.

  • Experience collaborating cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Strategy, and Enablement.

  • Ability to plan and execute a Quarterly Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy and align to larger company priorities

  • Self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment.

  • Experience as an individual contributor in B2B software sales (preferably in the Higher Education market), with a strong track record of consistently meeting or exceeding quotas preferred

  • Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred.