Executive Director, Custom Programs

• Job Type : Officer of Administration
• Regular / Temporary : Regular
• Hours Per Week : 35
• Salary Range : $150,000 - $165,000

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training.

The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Associate Dean, Executive Education, the Executive Director, Custom Programs is responsible for the development and growth of the custom program business across The Americas, Europe, The Middle East & Africa.

The incumbent will manage a team focused on custom programs, business development and relationship management. The role holder will also be responsible for proactively securing their own portfolio of new and existing custom program clients and business in both the US and international markets.

The Executive Director, Custom Programs will be experienced in business development and complex B2B sales and will have the presence, knowledge, and experience to be able to establish him / herself as a trusted adviser and strategic relationship manager both internally and externally.

The candidate will have excellent communication skills, strong analytic ability and will be self-driven and results focused.

The incumbent will collaborate closely with Business School faculty as well as with the broader executive education team.

They will contribute to the strategic direction of the executive education business through closely working with the Senior Associate Dean and other senior leaders in the department.

The Executive Director, Custom Programs must have the professionalism and gravitas to be able to represent Executive Education when dealing with corporates, client institutions, faculty, partners, and CBS colleagues.

They must also be able to articulate Columbia Executive Education's custom and open enrollment program offer within a sophisticated B2B context.

Responsibilities

• Develops and implements a custom program strategy in close collaboration with the Senior Associate Dean. Drives custom program business growth in domestic and international markets.
• Supervises and manages the performance of the team of custom business development executives. Develops objectives and business targets for team members in line with overall team and department objectives.

Coaches and mentors team members and shares best practices.

• Manages resources effectively and efficiently - allocating opportunities, clients and leads to team members in a transparent way.
• Manages key client relationships and nurtures relationships with senior HR and L&D executives across industries and geographies to generate increased opportunities for executive education.
• Develops and manages a portfolio of corporate and / or institutional custom clients and programs. Build and execute on a business development strategy that dovetails with that of the department and with the other Senior Directors, Custom Programs.
• Creates and leads sales pitches and processes the optimize win rate. Participates in sales pitches and sales discussions with other team members, as required.
• Ensures the team generates creative, highly professional proposals that help secure new business and represent Columbia Business School's capabilities and brand.
• In collaboration with Senior Associate Dean, manages program pricing. Approves and negotiates commercial terms and contracts with clients, oversees program budgets and collaborates with the Executive Education operations team to allocate internal resources.
• Develops well-considered forecasts for the custom business, conduct sales and profitability analysis. Ensures business development and client management activity across the team is input into Salesforce and runs Salesforce reports as needed.
• Builds strong relationships with faculty so team has their support when : developing proposals and custom program designs;

pitching for business; designing and delivering programs. Ensures team clearly communicates faculty compensation relating to custom program development and delivery and to faculty-assisted business development.

Identify and mobilize new Business School professors to increase team of faculty supporting executive education's custom programs.

Establishes and maintains effective relationships with key divisions at Columbia Business School e.g., Finance & Administration, External Relations, Alumni Relations, and General Counsel to support the business development activities for new and existing custom clients.

Maintain an understanding of and points of view about current and future trends in executive education.

Develops and maintains a comprehensive understanding of Columbia Business School's Executive Education internal and external environment in order to respond strategically to business needs.

Evaluate marketing and sales results through an analytical approach to provide the Vice Dean and Senior Associate Dean of Executive Education with recommendations for optimal resource allocation.

Work closely with the Senior Associate Dean and Vice Dean to initiate growth in the domestic and international markets.

Conduct client face-to-face business meetings at the highest levels of organizations in order to secure business globally.

Other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required, MBA or other advanced degree in a related subject area preferred. A minimum of 6-8 years of experience is required, preferably in consulting, consultative sales / business development, or marketing.
• Strong team management and relationship-building capability. Experience selling complex services to senior corporate decision-makers.

Excellent written and oral communication skills and very strong interpersonal skills. Must have proven sales and negotiation ability.

Must be able to multi-task, to prioritize, and to deal with change. Expertise in Microsoft Office applications and customer relationship management software.

Preferred Qualifications

International experience preferred. Entrepreneurial experience is also of interest.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.