Manager of sales

Just Right Reader is a forward-thinking curriculum provider committed to advancing literacy for students from Birth through 12th Grade. Our comprehensive resources are designed to support all learners, including upper-grade students requiring additional intervention to develop foundational skills. Grounded in the Science of Reading, our high-quality materials and tools equip educators with the support they need to accelerate achievement and foster lifelong readers.

Position Overview:

We are looking for a Manager of Sales to build, coach, and lead a team of Partnerships Directors who are largely new to sales. Most of our Partnerships Directors come from education backgrounds - they are former teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders who bring deep credibility and authentic relationships in the districts we serve. They understand our mission and our customers deeply, but many are still developing their sales instincts, pipeline discipline, and closing skills.

The Manager of Sales will take talented, mission-aligned people and systematically develop them into confident, capable, and increasingly independent sellers - without losing what makes them exceptional with educators. This is as much a teaching and coaching role as it is a sales management role, and the right person will be genuinely energized by that challenge.

The Manager will define what good sales execution looks like, from onboarding and 30/60/90-day expectations through pipeline management, customer conversations, forecasting, and closing. This person will build sales practices largely from the ground up, creating the playbooks, routines, and standards that give newer sellers the tools and confidence to succeed. They will use data proactively to understand performance, identify risks and opportunities, and determine what action should happen next. The Manager will work closely with the CEO and Sales leadership while bringing an independent, data-informed perspective to team performance and development.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Development

• Directly manage and develop a team of Partnerships Directors, establishing clear expectations, goals, priorities, and accountability from day one.
• Build the foundational sales skills of team members who are transitioning from education or other non-sales backgrounds, meeting them where they are and helping them grow.
• Build strong relationships through regular 1:1s, coaching, feedback, and performance reviews.
• Tailor coaching and development to each rep's strengths, needs, performance, and pipeline - recognizing that people on this team are at different stages of their sales development.
• Recognize and celebrate wins to build confidence and momentum across the team.
• Address performance issues directly and fairly, with clear expectations and actionable improvement plans.
• Identify high-potential team members and develop them toward future senior sales roles.

Sales Best Practices & Enablement

• Build sales standards, playbooks, and best practices largely from the ground up for a team that is newer to formal selling.
• Create practical, accessible playbooks, tools, templates, talk tracks, and other resources that give newer sellers the structure and confidence to execute consistently.
• Translate complex sales concepts into frameworks and language that resonate with educators who are building these skills for the first time.
• Build and maintain structured 30/60/90-day onboarding and development plans for new Partnerships Directors that meet them where they are and build systematically from their education strengths.
• Establish regular team routines for pipeline reviews, deal strategy, forecasting, skill development, and sharing what is working.

Coaching & Performance

• Coach newer sellers through real opportunities - including customer conversations, storytelling, handling objections, and advancing deals - with the patience and specificity that new-to-sales professionals need.
• Review calls, outreach, pipeline activity, and customer interactions to provide specific, actionable feedback that builds skills rather than just correcting mistakes.
• Use performance data to create targeted development plans and measure progress over time.
• Build a clear and motivating development path toward greater responsibility.

Data, Pipeline, & Forecasting

• Own the team's HubSpot data and visibility into pipeline, activity, conversion, sales velocity, forecast, and progress against goals.
• Use data and leading indicators to identify trends, risks, gaps, and opportunities before they appear in revenue results.
• Translate sales data into a clear story: what is happening, why it is happening, and what action should be taken.
• Establish consistent forecasting and pipeline management practices and hold reps accountable for accurate, timely information - helping newer sellers understand why this discipline matters and how to build it as a habit.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with the CEO and Sales to translate priorities into clear direction and execution.
• Bring thoughtful, data-informed recommendations in partnership with AI strategies.
• Partner with Customer Success, Marketing, Operations, and other teams to improve lead generation, handoffs, customer experience, and revenue execution.
• Identify and address systemic sales issues - including gaps in onboarding, enablement, support.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, and developing people, ideally in education, sales, business development, consulting, or a similarly relationship-driven environment.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort using data to identify trends, diagnose problems, make decisions, and communicate a clear story.
• Highly organized, with the ability to establish structure, operating rhythms, and accountability in a fast-moving environment.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to build trust with educators, business leaders, and senior executives.
• Strong judgment and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and act without waiting for perfect information.
• Natural curiosity about sales and willingness to learn, test, document, and continuously improve sales practices.
• Ability to work effectively with senior leaders, including challenging assumptions respectfully and maintaining alignment as priorities change.

Preferred

• Experience as a school or district administrator, instructional leader, educator, or education professional.
• Experience with consultative selling, fundraising, partnerships, business development, or another influence-based role.
• Experience managing or coaching new-to-sales professionals.
• Experience using CRM and sales-performance data to manage a team or portfolio of work.
• Experience in edtech, educational publishing, SaaS, or another high-growth environment.

What Success Looks Like

• Partnerships Directors have clear expectations for performance and development from their first 30 days onward.
• The team follows consistent, documented sales practices rather than developing individual approaches from scratch.
• Reps receive frequent, specific coaching that improves their skills, pipeline quality, and sales performance.
• Sales data is accurate, visible, and actively used to identify risks, opportunities, and coaching needs.
• The Manager can clearly explain what is happening in the team's pipeline, why it is happening, and what should happen next.
• High-potential Partnerships Directors have a clear path toward senior sales roles, with one or more demonstrating readiness for advancement on an annual basis.
• The team becomes increasingly self-sufficient and consistent, with stronger visibility and confidence from Sales leadership.

Why Join Us:

At Just Right Reader, we're transforming how children learn to read. You'll be part of a passionate, growing team committed to educational equity, literacy innovation, and joyful learning.

• Mission-driven company focused on improving literacy and education outcomes.
• Collaborative and innovative work environment with opportunities for growth and development.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.