The Role
As a Sales Development Representative, you will engage with new schools via phone and email, book meetings for account managers, and collaborate with the team to support educators and drive sales.
Summary Generated by Built In
Sales Development Representative
Location: London, UK (Oval)
Type: Full Time (5 days in office - remote working options during school holidays)
Salary: up to £30,000 per annum + Uncapped Commission
👋 Hi, I’m Nick, the Head of Sales Development at Zen Educate.
I’m hiring Sales Development Representatives to be the first point of contact for new schools and help to continue to engage new schools with our amazing offering.
As an SDR, you’ll be right at the frontline of what we do, introducing headteachers and school leaders to a smarter, fairer, more affordable way to hire great educators. If you love talking to people, want to break into tech, and care about making an impact, keep reading.
Why this matters 💪
Zen is transforming education staffing. UK schools spend over £2bn a year on supply staff, £600m of that goes straight to recruiters. We built a better way: a tech-driven platform that connects schools with teachers directly, saving time, money, and stress.
Since launching in 2017, we’ve saved schools over £30 million, and we’re just getting started. In 2024, we closed the largest EdTech funding round in Europe and are expanding fast across the UK and US.
We are looking for someone to join our high-performing SDR team, who are focused, driven, and friendly. This is a fantastic launchpad into Tech and SaaS sales, with great support, clear progression, and lots of opportunity.
What you’ll actually do 🎬
Let’s get specific. Here’s what you’ll be doing day-to-day:
Reaching out to new schools by phone, email, and LinkedIn, being their first impression of Zen Educate.
Learn how to tell a compelling story and speak confidently about our platform and mission.
You will be asking smart questions to understand the school's needs, and identify where we can add value
You will book meetings for our Account Manager and Account Executives to attend so that we can showcase our platform and offering.
Use our Zen Platform to track your outreach and pipeline
You will work with our educators to help find them exciting opportunities within new schools, creating profiles and helping them find work!
You’ll collaborate daily with the new business team to ensure we keep progressing.
You will experiment with new approaches to continue to drive success
Celebrating wins and learning from every conversation
Why this role is unique ⭐️
You’ll be the face of Zen for new schools, setting the tone for long-lasting partnerships.
You’ll work directly with our top-performing SDRs and the wider New Business team.
You’ll be part of a fast-growing team that’s serious about your growth and development, with consistent development and career reviews.
You’ll help build a product that supports teachers and improves education outcomes whilst saving schools money.
What makes you a great fit 👍
You’ll thrive here if:
You love talking to people and don’t shy away from picking up the phone
You’re curious and coachable
You’re motivated by targets and always looking to improve
You want your work to matter and are excited by Zen’s mission
You’re comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with ambitious goals
You prefer and enjoy working in an office based, collaborative environment rather than remotely.
You want your work to matter and are excited by Zen’s mission
You’re organised and know how to manage your time effectively
What won’t work here 👎
Let’s be honest — this isn’t for everyone:
You avoid the phone or dislike speaking with new people
You expect results without putting in consistent effort
You’re not open to feedback or learning from mistakes
You prefer rigid, slow-moving environments
🤝 Our hiring process
We move fast and respect your time.
Intro call with a member of our people team – A quick chat to get to know each other and cover the basics
An online first stage interview (with me)– To talk in more detail about your career history and your aspirations.
A technical role play task and a culture interview at our office (final stage) - You will be given a sales cold calling task to prepare for the day, and will have a culture interview with two members of our team.
Perks & benefits
Competitive base salary + uncapped commission
Equity in the company
25+ days holiday (and we actually encourage you to take them!)
Central London office with gym, showers, café, and bike parking
5 Days in the office during term time (reduced hours and WFH options during summer holidays)
Electric car and cycle-to-work schemes
Life coaching, health insurance, and life insurance
A team that celebrates wins, lifts each other up, and cares about making a difference
If this sounds like your kind of role, don’t overthink it — apply now.
We’re excited to meet you.
Diversity and Inclusion 🌍
At Zen, we strive to build a culture of equity and inclusion where everyone is respected, valued and appreciated. We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives — just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with.
We’re committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of our community and creating a workplace where everyone can thrive.
Am I A Good Fit?
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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!
