Fast Facts

Join hand2mind as the Director of Sales for Custom Solutions, where you'll drive growth through the development of tailored educational materials that enhance student learning.

Responsibilities: Manage the custom solutions product development team, identifying market opportunities, and supporting sales and marketing initiatives.

Skills: Requires strong verbal and written communication abilities, project management experience, and proficiency in software like Microsoft Office or Google Suite.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, with a minimum of 5 years in product management within the education market.

Location: This position is likely based in the USA with no specific location mentioned for remote work.

Compensation: $140000 - $160000 / Annually

About hand2mind:

We bring learning to life! Trusted by teachers for more than 55+ years, hand2mind creates engaging, classroom-tested materials that empower children to learn by doing. We are a 150-person strong, family-owned company that's been voted one of the Chicago Tribune's Top Workplaces for the last four consecutive years. In addition to building high-quality, hands-on learning materials for the classroom like VersaTiles® and Cuisenaire® Rods, we also develop educational toys for the home that make learning math, reading, social-emotional learning, and STEM fun and interactive. As a company, we are committed to our employee’s personal and professional development. That’s why we offer a competitive benefits package, a supportive culture, and a variety of training and development opportunities. We are looking for professionals who are truly just kids at heart! We hope you’ll come join our award-winning team today!

Position Description:

We are currently seeking a Director of Sales to join our team of custom solutions experts. In this role within hand2mind’s B2B and School Custom Solutions business unit, you will contribute to the company’s growth in custom kit and custom product solutions aligned to client and open-source curriculums in the education marketplace. Through the management of our custom solutions product development team and in collaboration with our school marketing and sales teams, you will be responsible for identifying and capturing strategic market opportunities by designing custom kits and products that align with customer needs and hand2mind’s overall mission to positively impact student learning with hands-on solutions.

Scope of Responsibilities: 

In this role, you will:

• Drive revenue growth through exploration and development of new business opportunities that require the development of customized, hands-on materials tailored to individual customer or marketplace needs.
• Manage our custom solutions product development team in the daily execution of client-driven custom kit development activities including client consultation, component specifications, kit configurations and packaging, costing, and pricing.
• Be the company’s subject-matter-expert on the most popular open-source math, science, and literacy curriculums and manage our partner relationships with open-source publishers such as Illustrative Math and OpenSciEd, and assist EVP Corporate Partnerships in the acquisition of new open-source partnerships yet to be identified.
• Provide school sales and marketing support activities in the launch of new and existing publisher-aligned and open-source curriculum kits including, but not limited to creating product briefs for website, sales, and marketing collateral; lead publisher-aligned custom kit new product launches; provide sales training for custom solutions as needed; provide sales presentation support for custom solutions opportunities; attend national and major regional tradeshows as needed to support curriculum-aligned kit offerings. 
• Develop and maintain close relationships with publisher client product managers and executives to ensure on-going customer satisfaction and lasting barriers to entry. 
• Support EVP Corporate Partnerships and VP Publisher Services in exploring and capturing new product opportunities within existing and new customers in need of custom solutions that align with hand2mind capabilities and strategy. 
• Provide product support to National Account Manager for wholesale publisher partnerships who distribute Illustrative Math and OpenSciEd kits.
• Other duties for this role will be assigned as necessary/appropriate.

Requirements/Preferences:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent relative work experience
• Minimum 5 years of experience in product management in the curriculum education market; Experience with kitted product a plus.
• Minimum 4 years of experience in managing a team in a project management environment.
• Above average mathematical and verbal skillset
• High proficiency working in a computer environment and various software technology
• Microsoft Office or Google Suite experience with intermediate level Excel skills 

Ideal attributes: 

• Thirst for knowledge and a curiosity to learn through instruction and independent research
• Enjoy delighting external and internal customers
• Driven to successful outcomes with a sense of urgency, creativity in problem solving, and high attention to detail
• Strong prioritization and time management skills with ability to pivot as client needs change
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and ability to interact professionally with internal and external customers at multiple organizational levels
• Desire to lead and develop team members

We are a drug-free workplace and an EEO employer.

Please note: This role will be filled by our internal recruitment team, so no assistance is needed from any outside staffing agency at this time.

Compensation Range: $140,000 – $160,000 annual salary – Actual compensation may vary due to other factors such as: years of experience, skill set or location. Total compensation includes profit sharing bonus potential, 401k matching, and a variety of other benefits (details can be found here). 

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