Senior Director, District Partnerships (K-12 Sales)

About Us

The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) is a nonprofit organization committed to transforming education, ensuring every student has access to high-quality math and science education. Since 2007, NMSI has empowered over 2.9 million students and 72,000 teachers across 1,800 high schools in 43 states. NMSI is a remote-first organization; staff must have a dedicated, distraction-free workspace with reliable high-speed internet.

What You'll Do All Day

As the Senior Director, District Partnerships (K-12 Sales), you will lead NMSI's fee-for-service district partnership development strategy and team, focusing on building and expanding high-value K-12 district partnerships. As a member of the management team, you will translate strategy into execution, set clear expectations, and coach staff for growth. This role reports to the Vice President, Business Development and requires up to 50% travel.

District Partnerships Strategy & Sales Execution

• Own district partnership development strategy, including market prioritization, prospecting, portfolio segmentation, revenue growth pathways, targeted state education agency account strategy where aligned to district growth, success metrics, team performance expectations, and continuous improvement through data-based progress monitoring and coaching.
• Manage and grow high-value fee-for-service opportunities, including cultivation, solicitation, negotiation, and stewardship for K-12 district and state partners and prospects capable of six- and seven-figure investments, ensuring disciplined relationship management and consistent pipeline advancement.
• Lead proposal development, RFP response, and contracting support, including solution design, narrative strategy, pricing and budget alignment, scope development, compliance requirements, and timely cross-functional inputs that support clear, compelling, and actionable partnership proposals.
• Oversee pipeline management and Salesforce rigor, including relationship plans, activity tracking, opportunity staging, forecasting accuracy, and consistent data quality across the district partnerships portfolio.
• Build trusted partnerships with senior leaders and cross-functional teams: brief, prepare, and deploy executives and subject matter experts for high-stakes district and state engagements; join them in external meetings; drive coordinated follow-up; and ensure a polished, strategic presence in all partnership touchpoints.

People Management, Team Leadership & Accountability

• Clearly define expectations and decision ownership: establish priorities, responsibilities, success measures, and decision rights for each team member, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and departmental strategy.
• Foster trust, ownership, and accountability: delegate effectively, empower staff to make decisions at the right level, encourage autonomy, and maintain clear accountability for results, follow-through, and team commitments.
• Coach, develop, and resource the team: provide mentorship, training, feedback, and practical support that help team members grow professionally, strengthen performance, and contribute meaningfully to district partnerships strategy and execution.
• Communicate early, directly, and constructively: create a feedback-rich environment where employees can raise challenges and ideas, managers provide timely guidance, and cross-functional partners are engaged proactively before misalignment or rework occurs.
• Hold individuals and the team accountable: recognize strong performance, address performance gaps constructively, close loops consistently, and reinforce shared standards for execution, collaboration, and professional behavior.

What We're Looking For

An Experienced Business Development Leader:

• At least five years of progressive responsibility specifically in K-12 district partnerships, education sales, business development, or a related revenue-generating role, including successfully securing and managing six- and seven-figure fee-for-service partnerships.
• At least five years of progressive responsibility specifically managing and leading a team successfully, demonstrated by coaching and developing staff and building a team culture rooted in trust, ownership, feedback, and results.
• Experience developing partnerships with state education agencies is a plus.

A Skilled Proposal and RFP Leader:

• Expertise in leading the development of clear, compelling proposals and RFP responses; synthesizing complex program, financial, and implementation information; aligning solutions to district (or state) goals and strategic priorities; coordinating cross-functional inputs for timely, high-quality submissions; and clarity and precision – in verbal and written communication, internally and externally – to build shared understanding and buy-in.

A Tech-Savvy CRM Champion:

• Proficiency with CRM (preferably Salesforce) and other business development tools and the ability to lead, model, and reinforce disciplined pipeline management with clear and accurate data and forecasting.

Org-wide, we seek staff members who are:

• A Strategic Thinker: Ability to anticipate challenges and opportunities, navigate complex district and state education market dynamics with clarity and foresight, and translate strategy into measurable revenue growth.
• Results-Driven: A focus on prioritizing tasks, solving problems, advancing opportunities, closing loops, and delivering measurable results that support organizational priorities.
• A Nimble Learner: Adaptable and curious, able to quickly learn new concepts, apply feedback, and approach challenges with creativity and resilience.
• Team-Oriented: Skilled at building strong partnerships and fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment that values diverse perspectives, direct communication, cross-functional accountability, and collective success.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage (85% paid for employees and a significant portion for dependents)
• 401(k) with up to 6% employer match, fully vested on day one
• Potential annual salary increases and bonuses based on organizational performance
• Referral bonuses
• Remote-first work environment
• Monthly telecommunications stipend
• 25+ paid holidays, including a one-week summer break and two-week winter break
• Generous Paid Time Off, starting at 14 days per year that begins accruing with your first paycheck
• A paid personal day that is immediately available on your start date
• Access to LinkedIn Learning for continuous professional development
• Annual gift card for birthdays and work anniversaries, plus additional perks for significant milestone anniversaries, including paid sabbaticals and cash bonuses
• Nine weeks of fully paid parental leave, applicable regardless of gender identity, and includes births by surrogate, adoption, or foster placement of a child