The Role
Lead commercial operations for London schools: set targets, manage Account Managers, build senior school relationships, execute campaigns, improve booking efficiency, drive retention, and increase platform adoption.
Summary Generated by Built In
Account Manager Lead
Location: Oval, London - onsite
Type: Full-time
Salary: £50-65K OTE
*If your salary expectations do not meet our banding, please do still apply - salary banding is based on transferable skills, tenure, industry experience, and interview performance
🌍 What we’re building and why
Here’s the challenge: UK schools spend over £2 billion a year on temporary staff. But £600m of that goes straight into the pockets of recruitment agencies, money that should be going back into classrooms and teachers’ pay. So we’re doing things differently. Zen Educate is an online platform that gives schools instant access to fully vetted teachers and support staff. Since launching in 2017, we’ve already saved schools over £30 million, that’s gone straight back to where it matters most. We've just closed a $37m Series B (the biggest EdTech round in Europe last year!), and we’re scaling fast in the UK and the US 🚀. It’s an exciting time to join, have a huge impact, and grow alongside us.
Looking to make a difference?
You’ll be joining Zen in a key leadership position. This is an exceptional opportunity for someone looking to apply themselves and make a difference with great responsibility and autonomy to shape the product for years to come. We’re still young and you’ll play a pivotal role in the growth of the company and team.
Responsibilities
- Responsible for the commercial success of Zen in supporting schools in London.
- Own commercial output, set targets and execute strategies, build relationships with school leaders and upskill wider teams.
- Collaborate with team leaders across the business, design and execute effective campaigns.
- Provide line management to Account Managers.
- Increase efficiency of days booked and build strategic relationships with stakeholders.
- Build senior strategic relationships with senior stakeholders within your region - Executive School leaders, Trust CEOs etc.
Success KPIs
- YoY revenue growth of schools in London.
- YoY Active school growth of schools in London.
- YoY School retention - Growth of schools in new markets.
- Effective marketing and new business campaigns with how we attract schools & staff.
- Resourcing efficiency and prioritisation; candidates vetted and placed.
- Platform adoption % of Zen Educate features.
Requirements
- Prior management experience of at least one year, with direct line management of more than two people.
- Have a good understanding of the pain points of schools and demonstrate a passion and desire to work for a company that is solving these challenges.
- Have either commercial leadership or school leadership experience, preferably both, with demonstrated success in either field.
- A history of rapid career growth and be excited about further growth opportunities.
- A solution-oriented mindset, be a team player and have an understanding of the importance of collaboration.
🎁 What’s in it for you?
- Meaningful work – this isn’t just another SaaS tool; you’re literally helping schools save money and pay teachers more.
- Competitive salary + ownership in the company.
- 25 days holiday + all the usual UK public holidays.
- 1:1 coaching to keep you growing personally and professionally.
- Life & Health Insurance, Cycle to Work Scheme, Electric Car Scheme.
🌱 How we hire
We like to hire fast and onboard well. Here’s what you can expect:
- Quick chat with our recruiter – to get to know you and cover the basics.
- Role-focused conversation – we’ll talk about how you approach account management, building relationships, and hitting targets.
- Practical Task and role play – to see how you’d think on your feet with a realistic school conversation.
- Culture chat with the team – making sure it’s a good fit both ways.
We’re direct and transparent. If it’s a yes, great! If it’s a no, we’ll let you know quickly.
Diversity and Inclusion
At Zen, we strive to build a culture of equity and inclusion, where everyone is respected, valued and appreciated for their unique traits, experiences and perspectives. We are committed to creating a safe, inclusive and equitable environment where our team can thrive, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disability, religion or beliefs. We value our differences and believe that practices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion help us create a fairer, more compassionate environment for all.
We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and different experiences and perspectives — just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with. We believe in hiring the best people from the widest pool and creating an inclusive culture where people’s voices are heard and all our team can look forward to coming to work.
We are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of our community and promoting an equitable and inclusive environment for all. We seek out diverse opinions, beliefs, and experiences because they collectively make us stronger; we’ve had former teachers, pilots, fundraisers, engineers, lawyers, marketers, social media experts and more join our team.
Skills Required
- Prior management experience of at least one year with direct line management of more than two people.
- Good understanding of the pain points of schools and a passion to work on solving these challenges.
- Commercial leadership or school leadership experience (either required; both preferred).
- A history of rapid career growth and enthusiasm for further growth opportunities.
- Solution-oriented mindset, team player with strong collaboration skills.
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The Company
What We Do
At Zen our mission is to change the world of education recruitment. Schools spend over £2bn a year on agency staff, with over £600m per year of that spent on fees that go straight to recruitment agencies. So far, we've saved UK schools over £14m in supply teaching recruitment costs, and that number grows every day, allowing schools to invest further into children’s wellbeing and attainment. We're not just redefining recruitment; we’re upskilling our supply staff to provide the highest quality teachers and TAs to schools. Each supply staff member is Level 2 Safeguarding trained, guaranteeing the safety and wellbeing of children in your school. Using our online platform, schools can access hundreds of fully vetted high-quality teacher & TA profiles, who they can book instantly at the click of a button. We don't stop at just providing a platform – we have a dedicated school success team here to support you every step of the way. When you succeed, we succeed!
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