Senior Director, Higher Ed Sales
External
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About the role
At Fundraise Up, we are redefining the landscape of digital generosity through AI-powered donor experiences. As the Senior Director of Education, you will be the primary architect of our growth within the Higher Education sector. This is a high-visibility leadership position where success is measured by your ability to transform a complex, multi-stakeholder market into a thriving revenue engine. You will own the strategic vision for this vertical, moving beyond traditional sales tactics to establish Fundraise Up as the definitive category leader for institutional advancement and digital giving.
Responsibilities
- Design and execute a comprehensive go-to-market strategy specifically tailored to the unique procurement and donor engagement cycles of Higher Education institutions.
- Identify high-value market shifts and competitive white space to refine our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) across diverse institutional tiers.
- Act as the executive sponsor for Tier 1 accounts, building deep rapport with Vice Presidents of Advancement and Chief Financial Officers to navigate long-cycle institutional shifts.
- Recruit, mentor, and scale a specialized team of business development and segment leaders, fostering a culture of high accountability and inclusive excellence.
- Establish the operational "rhythm of the business," including precise forecasting, territory design, and performance analytics that ensure predictable revenue growth.
- Transition regional successes into repeatable global playbooks, ensuring the team remains agile as the Higher Ed fundraising landscape evolves.
- Partner with Product and Engineering teams to translate institutional feedback into a roadmap that addresses the specific compliance and integration needs of universities.
- Collaborate with Marketing to launch high-impact, vertical-specific thought leadership campaigns that position our AI capabilities as essential infrastructure for modern development offices.
- Synchronize with Customer Success to monitor post-onboarding health, ensuring that initial wins transition into long-term retention and expansion opportunities.
- Define and own pipeline generation, revenue targets, and overall segment performance reporting to the executive leadership team.
Requirements
- Extensive experience in sales leadership, business development, or GTM strategy, specifically within complex SaaS or institutional environments.
- Proven track record of managing managers and scaling high-performance teams in fast-paced environments.
- Mastery of multi-stakeholder sales cycles and the ability to navigate "buying by committee" dynamics.
- Exceptional commercial acumen with the ability to link technical product features to institutional financial outcomes.
- Strong executive presence and the ability to serve as a credible spokesperson at major industry conferences and board-level meetings.
- Data-driven mindset with proficiency in RevOps tools, forecasting models, and performance metadata.
- Deep curiosity regarding the intersection of AI, philanthropy, and institutional advancement.
- Experience in the Higher Education, Nonprofit, or EdTech sectors is strongly preferred.
- Prior experience in a high-growth, venture-backed environment is a plus.
Benefits
Additional Information
Highlights OTE (On-Target Earnings): $370,000 - $385,000 Location: remote in North America (EST and CST) Stock options About Fundraise Up We're Fundraise Up - a global fundraising platform built to make donating to nonprofits fast, seamless, and accessible to all. Every month, our technology powers tens of millions of dollars in donations across the globe. We focus on innovation that directly impacts results: faster load times, higher conversion rates, global payment support, and accessibility-first design. Our platform is trusted by many of the world's leading nonprofits, including UNICEF, the Alzheimer's Association, and a wide range of global NGOs. With a 4.9/5 rating across top software review platforms, we're recognized not just for our impact - but for the quality of the product we deliver.
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