The Senior Scholarship Manageris responsible for working directly with assigned Key Clients as a trusted advisor and managing complex scholarship and/or education assistance programs and projects in a team setting. While this role reports directly to our sales leadership, they will work closely with cross-functional team members who are fulfilling on the offerings of the same key clients. In this client-facing position, the Senior Scholarship Manager serves as the primary contact and relationship manager for identified clients with overall responsibility for client retention and profitable growth, partnering and collaborating with other members within the organization to ensure the highest level of relationship management as well as to facilitate appropriate process or product improvements necessary to protect the user experience for our Key Clients and the students they represent. ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: Proactively foster the partner relationship ensuring partners are kept up to date and aware of the program status, provide suggestions and guidance in order to maximize program impact. Provide insights and suggestions to partner contacts to ensure all requirements are met in order to maximize program impact and student participation. Works closely with the scholarship program team to ensure program administration is efficiently and effectively managed and sponsor contacts are appropriately informed. Serves as a point of escalation for any issues that arise from the sponsor or scholarship team in regards to the fulfillment of the contract. Maintain top level sponsor data to effectively communicate impact, make recommendations, and grow the relationship. Use professional written and verbal communication skills to communicate effectively with sponsors. Support positive change leadership with the team as the organization continues to evolve and optimize technology and processes. Facilitating resolution of issues associated with sponsor satisfaction, problem-solving as needed, to satisfy constituents. Facilitates cross-functional conversations needed to discuss, prioritize, and execute actions needed to meet program needs. Manages the relationship with assigned Key Client(s), working as a trusted partner to manage the annual contract renewal process as well as retain and grow those relationships. Meets with clients, primarily by video/phone and as needed in person, to understand their goals, connect them to our mission and propose solutions. Creates and edits documents for client contracting renewal process and annual reviews, presentations, including proposals, conceptual agreements and Power Point presentations. Responds to incoming leads, creates proposals, and closes new deals. May provide operational insight on new feature requests as a part of the organization's standard prioritization processes. Position may require approximately 10-20% travel. REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Successful background with strategic client relationships, customer service - managing positive customer engagement. Independent ability to drive opportunities throughout the sales cycle to reach purchase decision. Demonstrated ability to work effectively, efficiently, and cooperatively with other people cross-functionally in on-site and virtual environments. Effective professional communication skills (verbal -phone, written-email, chat, letters, contracts, documentation); may include in-person contact for site visits. Strong time management & prioritization skills to effectively manage competing priorities. Strong attention to detail to ensure programs administered according to contract parameters and timelines. Proficiency with MS Office Suite, including excel, SharePoint, & software applications requiring data updates with reporting knowledge. Strong organizational and analytical skills to report progress, results, and outcomes. Initiative to analyze and solve problems. Proven ability to motivate, mentor and coach team members who are not direct eports resulting in positive outcomes for all. Successfully facilitated cross-functional conversations to gain agreement and execute on actions on behalf of the sponsor. Past success in developing process improvement strategies and executing successfully. Bachelor's Degree in areas such as business, marketing, or education - or equivalent experience. Successful management of client information and forecasting skills using CRM. 5+ years' experience working in a customer facing sales, client management, or scholarship administration operations role with direct client relationships. Excellent communication and escalation management skills that demonstrate a high level of professionalism. Ability to work independently and as a team player. Confidence to lead undefined, diverse discussions with potentially high-level external audiences. Ability to think creatively and pragmatically in an effort to develop viable solutions for unique client requirements. Demonstrated ability to effectively present key concepts and recommendations to customers in formal and informal settings. A passion for improving student outcomes and a commitment to serving marginalized students of need. PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Thorough knowledge of scholarship design, procedures, systems and best practices. Experience managing high profile clients. Experience managing a MSA/BSA contract negotiation process. Previous account management experience. Full Pay range: Exempt ($69,100 - $86,400 - $103,700) This is the pay range for our staff in this position, from entry to fully independent and proficient in the role utilizing our propriety systems and processes. The candidate selected for this position will be offered a wage applicable to their background and skill set as aligned to our business. This will result in an initial offer between $69,100 - $85,000 annually for this position. At Scholarship America, our team members are motivated by our core values: Student Impact, Teamwork, Inclusion and Curiosity. Our vision is to empower an America where those with the most need have the opportunity to thrive through equitable pathways to education and training, and we are seeking fantastic team members to make that happen. We know the best person for the job could be anywhere, and that's why this position can work remotely within the continental United States or in a hybrid manner from either our office in Bloomington or Saint Peter, MN. Our employees enjoy a team-based, flexible work schedule, allowing them to flex around our core hours of Monday-Friday from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Central Time. Scholarship America is committed to our team's work/life balance, and our strong learning and development culture supports knowledge growth and professional development for all employees across foundational and job-specific skills. Scholarship America offers employees a robust total rewards package, focused on supporting their health and well-being now and in the future. We offer comprehensive choices for insurance (medical, dental, vision, basic life), disability (short-term & long-term), flexible spending accounts (medical & dependent care), and a 403(b) retirement fund with a 3% company match. In addition to schedule flexibility, we also provide paid time away from work (vacation, sick, personal, up to fifteen paid holidays annually), plus employee & dependent educational reimbursement programs which support our overall mission. Details on our company mission, vision, values and goals can be found at www.scholarshipamerica.org. We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. We Have One Passion. Every Student. EOE. Veterans/Disabled