Partner Success Manager

Position Title: Partner Success Manager

Organization: CIS Abroad

Location: Anywhere, working an Eastern Time Zone

Number of Hours: Full-time exempt, approximately 40 hours/week

Anticipated Start Date: February 13, 2024

ABOUT US: Who is CIS Abroad, and why do you want to work with us? 

At CIS Abroad, we believe that education abroad offers students the best chance to realize their potential and change their world. We’re a nationally recognized organization that offers transformative study, intern, and short-term programs in 22 countries and customized programs in over 50 countries across the globe. Our shared values–Passion, Cultural Curiosity, Change & Growth,  Fun, and Trust–form the foundation for all we do, and we look for employees who embody these values in their personal and professional lives. We are innovative and fast-moving, and have a fantastic home office (complete with friendly office dogs!) located in a renovated mill building in the middle of downtown Easthampton, MA. We are proud members of The Forum on Education Abroad, NAFSA, and Diversity Abroad.

JOB DESCRIPTION 

As part of the Partnerships Division at CIS Abroad, and reporting to the Assistant Vice President of Partner Success, the Partner Success Manager (PSM) serves CIS Abroad’s institutional partnerships by generating interest in programs offered by CIS Abroad, and increasing enrollment across partners, prioritizing key partners and shifting focus to support strategic initiatives as they arise, moving on to other projects once implemented. You will work collaboratively and cross-departmentally to meet the needs of institutions by way of CIS Abroad’s portfolio of products, including study, intern and service learning programming, custom programming, and consulting services. Rather than serving as an account owner, PSMs team up with University Relations team members and senior leaders across the company, to focus on initiatives that expand and deepen our programming at key institutions. In order to be effective in this role, you are comfortable leading meetings with stakeholders, including study abroad offices, faculty members, career services staff and other administrators as necessary, and may travel to implement consulting projects as part of the delivery team when necessary. Strategic projects include: managing curriculum integration and course mapping in collaboration with the Partner Success team; strategizing how to best market CIS Abroad’s consulting products in collaboration with the Vice President of Marketing, converting MQLs to SALs, developing and delivering webinars concurrent with best practices in the field that also display CIS Abroad as a thought-leader in the field. 

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Partner Success

• Prioritize customer satisfaction through timely check-ins during project, post project follow up communication; surveys, and reports; aiming for a CSAT >70 or more.
• Facilitate and manage short-term consultant projects, including content creation, tools, and resources for use on projects.
• Manage curriculum integration projects by maintaining a system of organization for course information and syllabi for our programs
• Manage and coordinate individual site visits worldwide, liaising with overseas partners, site directors and UR team members, ensuring attendees are fully prepared for their time with CIS Abroad’s academic partners abroad, evaluate each site visit with an eye for identifying growth opportunities. 
• Consult with Marketing, Student Outreach, Enrollment Management, and other relevant stakeholders on matters involving course information on the CIS Abroad website
• Ensure key resources available to institutional partnerships are shared with partners and are kept up to date (examples: Advisor Resource Center, Virtual Fair page, Advisor Portal Resources, Site Visits application management process, Consulting Services page, etc.)

Marketing

• Collaborate with the Vice President of Marketing and provide content related to Partner Success for use in a variety of marketing & promotional materials.
• Identify new opportunities and product offerings for revenue growth.
• Provide input on marketing strategies and materials for programs and conduct market research as necessary.
• Lead internal and external training including webinars, conference sessions, and ongoing development series.

Sales

• Manage B2B relationships and sales opportunities through collaboration and insights from CIS Abroad Partnerships division. 
• Prioritize the sales funnel of consultant projects, specifically focusing on increasing MQLs YOY.
• Contribute to organization-wide priorities and initiatives, provide updates on partner success product offerings, B2B sales opportunities, project successes, goals, etc.
• Assist the AVP of Partner Success to build and create consulting proposals. 
• Exhibit at trade shows annually, as needed.
• Remain abreast of product developments, including curriculum integration in international education and among competitor institutions; inform the company via the Innovation Dropbox and inform IOM for supplier development.

Additional Duties

• Function as primary CIS Abroad contact for assigned initiatives, using in-person, phone, and email interaction.
• Strategize with the Partner Success team to plan and implement an annual strategy for achieving goals. 
• Help maintain an up-to-date CRM database of institutional contacts and all activities related to institutions. 

• Manage travel expenses and budget according to policy; reconcile expenses monthly.
• Coordinate travel logistics in a timely and cost-effective manner; including airfare, lodging, and ground transportation.
• Continuously assess progress towards meeting individual, team, and organizational goals; adjust strategy as needed.
• Respond thoroughly and in a timely manner to all questions, issues, problems, and/or needs of advisors, faculty, parents, and colleagues.
• Represent CIS Abroad honestly, accurately, and in the spirit of our values.
• Other duties as assigned, often with interest and expertise in mind.

SUCCESS TARGETS (KPIs)

• Increase in consulting questionnaires from last year to this year
• Customer Satisfaction score of 70 or more
• Projects completed on time
• Resource (webinar/white paper) developed quarterly

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS 

• Bachelor’s degree and 3+ years equivalent work in international education
• Demonstrated experience in project management and/or consulting
• Strong organizational skills 
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills 
• Demonstrated attention to detail and follow through with a quick and efficient workstyle
• Ability to adapt to changing demands and priorities
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, and to thrive without daily supervision
• Positive outlook and an ability to promote harmony among coworkers
• Comfortable with a fast-paced and changing environment
• Ability to travel when necessary to assigned partners and to CIS Abroad office for trainings 
• Valid driver’s license 
• Strong interpersonal skills and facility in connecting with a variety of clients (staff, faculty, students)
• Capable of effectively strategizing, anticipating needs, and taking initiative
• Team player with a rockin’ sense of humor

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• International study/intern/volunteer/work/travel experience
• Administrative, organizational, and problem-solving skills 
• Comfort with databases/CRM software, especially Salesforce
• Functional knowledge of Google Suite, Slack, Microsoft Suite, CRM. Salesforce or Hubspot, a plus

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Up to 15% annual travel, including recruitment, conferences, and trainings
• Remotely based; working from your home office when not traveling 
• Seasonal air and/or ground travel ahead of key application deadlines, with an average of 4-5 days per week during the peak recruitment season (September-November, February-March)
• Hours during peak recruitment season, trainings, and conferences fall outside of the typical 9-5 and often spill into the evenings and weekends
• Ability to lift or maneuver up to 25 pounds
• Stamina to sit on planes/in cars for long periods of time, especially due to unforeseen flight delays or traffic 

BENEFITS

• Annual salary of $55,000-60,000
• Participation in our company-sponsored health insurance plan; 70% coverage for individuals and 63% coverage for families, including full reproductive and gender-affirming care
• Medical and dependent care flex-spending account offered
• Parental leave – 8 paid weeks of time off for newborn/newly adopted children
• Company-matched 401(k) retirement plan
• Travel Agent Certification through IATAN:  Provides discounts for travel, including accommodations and excursions, for company and personal use
• Meals, accommodations, and rental car while traveling on business
• Earn and keep frequent flier miles, hotel, and car rental points
• Annual work-from-home expense stipend
• Wellness bonus – $200 per year to spend on massage, gym membership, skiing, etc.
• Paid vacation time which increases with your tenure
• Paid sick time: 1 hour earned per 30 hours worked
• Paid holidays: 13+ CIS Abroad holidays – including the week between Christmas and New Year’s
• Company-provided laptop, and corporate credit card
• Flexible work culture
• Participation in professional development webinars, workshops, and conferences
• Annually held performance reviews to help maximize our working relationship
• DiSC Personality Testing – learn more about yourself – work more productively

COMPANY CULTURE: Who are we looking for?  

​​CIS Abroad, and particularly the Partnerships Division, moves fast! We are looking for someone who is passionate about international education, not intimidated by change, and who will speak up when they have a good idea (and run with it!). As a successful member of the team you are excited by a challenge, tremendously curious, and an excellent listener. You are adept at balancing competing priorities with the ability to strategically prioritize your approach in order to deepen relationships with current partners ultimately leading to enrollment growth. By working with a wide portfolio of CIS Abroad’s institutional partners, in collaboration with the Custom Programs and University Relations teams, you will put your listening skills into practice to help identify growth opportunities at institutions you collaborate on. You will do all of this (and more), while representing the helpful, fun, value-added, partner that is CIS Abroad. In addition to being based remotely, the position requires domestic travel and comes with opportunities for international travel, so an independent self-starter, problem-solver, and someone who is skilled at recognizing which priorities should come first in relation to partner needs and company goals, will be the most likely to succeed in this role. Sound like you?

CIS Abroad provides equal opportunity to all people regardless of age, race, religion, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or physical or mental disability. Equal opportunity applies to hiring, placement, promotion, salary determination, and all other conditions of employment. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document upon hire. By submitting your application materials to us you are also providing explicit consent for our People & Culture  department to process that data within reasonable limitations under the scope of consideration for your employment. For details on how we handle sensitive data please view our Privacy Policy: https://www.cisabroad.com/privacy-policy/