Account Director

Company: HighWire Press Inc.

Location: US Based - Remote

Job Link

About HighWire Press, INC.

Born out of Stanford University, HighWire is a global provider of digital publishing solutions. We have led the evolution of digital publishing since the early days of the web, providing the scholarly publishing community with innovative technology and market-leading capabilities. Used by millions of scholarly researchers all over the world, and hosting 1700 scholarly journals and thousands of scholarly books, HighWire offers a portfolio of powerful technology solutions to societies, university presses, and independent publishers producing some of the world’s most influential journals, books, and other scholarly materials.

HighWire is passionate and relentless in its continued journey to help the scholarly community make publishing smarter. You’ll work hand-in-hand with some of the world’s best-known publishers, researchers, and industry thought leaders to shape the future of technology solutions for the scholarly community. We offer a flexible, collaborative, and stimulating work environment that will keep you sharp and engaged!

Job Overview:

HighWire’s mission: Innovation in the service of the scholarly community to connect the best minds to the most people.

If you are interested in starting a progressive and gratifying career with a growth company that is charting new territory, then HighWire is the place for you!

The HighWire Press team is seeking an Account Director. This position is intended for a technically proficient, client-facing individual to work as a member of the account management team, leading client discussions that result in solutions and sales. The Account Director will have a deep understanding of the HighWire and MPS product set, with a focus on guiding customers to make the best use of our products by seamlessly integrating them into their business. The Account Director will manage accounts directly while also helping to build strategic materials and processes for the broader organization. The ideal candidate will have direct customer-facing sales and relationship experience in a technical, software/hardware related role and will have a proven ability to understand complex technical products and articulate their business value. An ability to work and extract information from internal teams is essential.

The ideal candidate will be:

  • Highly professional, responsive, and engaging
  • Familiar with the scholarly publishing market
  • An excellent communicator, comfortable writing and talking to all levels of an organization, from the production office to the C suite
  • Able to drive and close new sales business
  • Confident presenting to any size group and able to think fast
  • Results-oriented – a self-starter with the ability to meet deadlines and deliver excellent results in a fast-paced environment
  • Strong in all MS Office applications
  • Accustomed to working with a CRM – experience using Salesforce is a huge plus
  • Willing to travel, including some weekend attendance at conferences

Key Responsibilities:

  • Create a culture of success and ongoing business and goal achievement
  • Operate as the point of contact for assigned customers
  • Develop and maintain long-term relationships with accounts
  • Generate sales among client accounts, including upselling and cross-selling
  • Define processes that drive desired sales outcomes and identify improvements where and when required
  • Communicate client needs and demands to the company
  • Forecast and track client account metrics
  • Manage projects within client relationships, working to carry out client goals while meeting company goals
  • Coordinate with staff members working on the same account to ensure consistent service
  • Service multiple clients concurrently, often meeting deadlines
  • Keep records of client transactions
  • Define and provide solution-selling strategies for society publishers, commercial publishers, and university presses
  • Create proposals in response to RFPs
  • Attend weekly Account Management team meetings via phone and/or Zoom
  • Conduct business meetings with customers either in person or on the phone
  • Retain a current and thorough understanding of the scholarly publishing business as well as editorial and production workflows
  • Stay apprised of market developments through publishing news channels and networking
  • Maintain a volunteer position with at least one scholarly publishing organization (CSE, SSP, PSP)

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree or higher from an accredited college, university, or equivalent
  • 5 years of demonstrated high-level achievement in account management, business development, and /or new business sales within the scholarly publishing landscape
  • Able to hit the ground running by immediately setting up key meetings with major publishers
  • Highly professional, with excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to provide professional evel presentations to small and large audiences
  • High-level proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
  • Experience using CRM, preferably Salesforce, to manage cases, pipelines, and projects
  • Ability to multi-task and work well under pressure
  • Eager to participate in industry conferences around the US and willing to travel as needed

Core Attributes:

  • Efficient
  • High energy
  • Solution oriented
  • Team player
  • Leader
 
HighWire offers an outstanding total compensation package including excellent health and wellness benefits and a flexible and dynamic work environment. Please send your resume to hr@highwirepress.com.
 
HighWire is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds.