Higher Education AI Enrollment Growth & Institutional Partnerships Executive

Higher Education AI Enrollment Growth & Institutional Partnerships Executive

HireNow Staffing is actively recruiting a seasoned Higher Education AI Enrollment Growth & Institutional Partnerships Executive to join one of our valued client partners. This opportunity is built for a high-performing sales professional who combines direct college or university admissions/enrollment experience with proven Account Executive closing success.

The selected candidate will own new institutional business across higher education, managing the sales process from qualified opportunity through discovery, demonstration, proposal, negotiation, and signed agreement. With SDR support generating leads, this individual will focus on converting institutional opportunities while developing trusted relationships with admissions, enrollment, and recruitment leaders.

This is a relationship-driven sales environment with a fast sales cycle, meaningful influence over go-to-market execution, and an opportunity to help expand access to AI-enabled college counseling.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the full new-business sales cycle for higher education institutional accounts.
• Convert SDR-generated opportunities through discovery, product demonstrations, proposals, negotiations, and contract execution.
• Build relationships with admissions, enrollment management, recruitment, and other institutional decision-makers.
• Conduct consultative discovery to understand enrollment objectives, operational challenges, and institutional priorities.
• Translate institutional needs into compelling business cases combining measurable outcomes with mission-driven value.
• Manage multiple stakeholders throughout purchasing and approval processes.
• Negotiate pricing and partnership terms while establishing relationships positioned for long-term retention.
• Maintain disciplined pipeline management, forecasting, opportunity documentation, and CRM activity.
• Collaborate with leadership and internal teams to refine messaging, sales processes, and go-to-market execution.
• Represent the organization at higher education conferences, meetings, and industry events requiring approximately 25% travel.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant professional experience.
• Direct professional experience working in admissions and/or enrollment within a college or university is required.
• Proven Account Executive or comparable new-business sales experience with demonstrated closing results.
• Documented ability to communicate measurable sales performance, such as ARR generated, quota attainment, institutional accounts closed, or revenue growth.
• Experience selling to senior decision-makers and navigating multi-stakeholder buying processes.
• Strong consultative selling skills with the ability to connect institutional objectives to product value.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building abilities.
• Ability to communicate effectively using both data-driven business cases and mission-centered storytelling.
• Comfortable operating within a small, rapidly evolving organization where individual ownership is significant.
• Ability to travel approximately 25%.
• Ability to work within the required hybrid schedule at the New York City headquarters.

Preferred Qualifications

• Account Executive experience within a Seed or Series A startup.
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence, education technology, college-access technology, or higher education SaaS.
• Established professional relationships across college and university admissions or enrollment organizations.
• HubSpot or comparable CRM proficiency.
• Experience in partnership-oriented roles combining relationship development with revenue ownership.
• Demonstrated success closing higher education institutional agreements.
• Experience selling solutions with approximately $20K$50K institutional contract values.
• Stable employment history demonstrating increasing sales responsibility and measurable performance.

HireNow Package

Compensation: $90,000 base salary + $90,000 variable compensation for $180,000 OTE at target performance.

Commission: 50/50 compensation structure with uncapped commission. Commission structure is based on the provided plan; final quota and payout mechanics should be confirmed during the interview process.

Equity: Meaningful early-stage equity opportunity.

Employment Type: Full-Time | Direct Placement

Work Location: Hybrid New York City, New York headquarters.

Travel: Approximately 25%.

Visa Sponsorship: H-1B, O-1, and OPT support available.