Manager, District Partnerships

We are looking for a Manager, District Partnerships to serve as a player-coach and people leader within our District Partnerships team. This role balances leadership of a team of District Partnership Managers with ownership of a limited portfolio of strategic district relationships. The Manager serves as a subject-matter expert and go-to resource for complex customer scenarios, renewal strategy, systems, and partnership best practices, while coaching and developing the team. This individual operates independently in high-stakes district conversations, partners closely with K-12 counterparts, and helps strengthen the team’s approach to renewals, expansion, and long-term district value. 

In This Role You Will: 

People Leadership, Team Enablement & Training 

• Directly manage, develop, and coach a team of District Partnership Managers, including performance management, goal setting, regular 1:1s, and career development. 
• Run team meetings and translate broader strategy into clear monthly priorities, tactics, and expectations for the team. 
• Serve as a point of expertise for District Partnership Managers on complex district scenarios, non-standard customer issues, administrative workflows, and systems usage. 
• Lead onboarding, training, and ongoing enablement for District Partnership Managers, including renewal strategy, forecasting, CRM discipline, and partnership best practices. 
• Provide ongoing coaching through account reviews, renewal strategy sessions, and structured 1:1s. 
• Model best-in-class execution and serve as an example for strategic thinking, executive-level communication, and operational excellence. 

Process, Systems & Scalable Excellence 

• Act as a subject-matter expert on systems, tools, and workflows that support district partnerships. 
• Partner with leadership to improve processes related to forecasting, endorsements, purchasing workflows, and district administration. 
• Reduce reliance on manager escalation by enabling team members to operate with greater confidence and independence. 
• Contribute repeatable tools, templates, and best practices that elevate team performance. 

Player-Coach: District Lifecycle Ownership 

• Personally own and grow a limited portfolio of strategic district relationships across the customer lifecycle. 
• Build and maintain annual account plans aligned to district priorities. 
• Develop renewal plans 2-3 quarters in advance to secure multi-year and multi-site agreements. 
• Support the team in maintaining an accurate rolling renewal forecast with clear confidence tiers and risk indicators. 
• Step in directly on complex, high-risk, or high-visibility district situations that warrant manager-level involvement. 

Renewal & Retention Leadership 

• Guide structured renewal motions, including stakeholder mapping, timelines, and commercial coordination. 
• Support the team in building proactive risk mitigation plans with measurable checkpoints for at-risk districts. 
• Identify early churn signals and coach the team on prevention strategies. 
• Use account health, usage, renewal, and support signals to determine where the team should focus. 

Expansion & Growth Strategy 

• Facilitate team brainstorming and strategic discussions to evolve renewal, expansion, and bundling approaches. 
• Support teammates in developing district-specific growth strategies aligned to instructional priorities and standards. 
• Support bundling opportunities across Mystery Science, Mystery Writing, and related offerings. 
• Coach the team on developing ROI-based proposals and use cases that support cross-sell and upsell conversations. 
• Partner with Discovery Education colleagues to identify and shape joint sales and enterprise opportunities. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Partner with PLG and Sales Operations to refine administrator email series and top-down sales motions. 
• Collaborate with K-12 colleagues to ensure coordinated district support. 
• Provide structured customer experience feedback to Product and internal teams. 
• Serve as the team’s primary escalation point for complex, non-standard, or high-visibility issues. 

Data Hygiene & Systems Discipline 

• Support and enable the team in maintaining accurate and timely notes, contacts, tags, and renewal data in Crystal Ball. 
• Guide administrative tasks related to district contacts, endorsements, and purchasing workflows. 
• Ensure CRM dashboards reflect accurate health scores and pipeline visibility. 
• Use team-level data to recommend actions and align the team and leadership on where risk and opportunity are concentrated. 

Core Competencies for Success 

• People leadership - coaches District Partnership Managers to build judgment, not just solve problems for them; gives direct, calibrated feedback. 
• Playbook design - turns recurring account challenges into scalable, documented processes the team runs on. 
• Data-driven prioritization - uses team-level health data to decide where the team focuses, not just individual account plans. 
• Strategic influence - represents District Partnership priorities credibly with K-12 Sales, Product, Sales Operations, and Finance leadership. 
• Customer obsession at scale - turns district value stories into repeatable references and plays for the whole team. 
• Operational rigor - drives CRM hygiene, reporting accuracy, forecasting discipline, and workflow fixes across the team. 

Credentials and Experience 

• Typically requires a Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 4+ years of related account management, district partnerships, customer success, or education sales experience, including at least 1-2 years in a people leadership or team lead capacity; or an advanced degree with equivalent experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• Experience managing renewals and expansion within a portfolio model. 
• Familiarity with K-12 district decision-making structures. 
• Demonstrated experience building or improving team processes, training, or playbooks preferred. 
• Experience working within CRM systems to manage account health and forecasting. 
• Legal right to work in the United States. 

This role is designed to be hybrid/remote. Candidates must be able to engage district partners virtually and travel as needed to support strategic accounts and team priorities.