The Role
Own and grow relationships with school accounts, drive retention, expansion and new business. Lead operational and commercial projects, consultatively guide school leaders through recruitment, build pipeline via calls, and collaborate with sales, operations and product teams to improve service delivery in a fast-paced, mission-driven startup.
Summary Generated by Built In
Senior Account Manager: London (Oval), United Kingdom
Type: Full-time
Salary: £45,000- £60,000 OTE
*If your salary expectations do not meet our banding, please do still apply, as there is flexibility for industry experience
👋 Hi, I’m Bill, Head of Account Management at Zen Educate, and I’m looking for Senior Education Recruitment Consultants who want to tackle a very real, very important problem: helping schools get the teachers they need, when they need them, without wasting millions on old-school recruitment agencies. If you’re someone who loves building relationships, solving meaningful problems, and being part of a mission-driven team… this might be your thing.
🌍 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.
💼 What this role looks like in practice
This isn’t your standard “manage a few accounts and send a few emails” kind of job. As an Account Manager at Zen, you’ll be:
- Own the relationship with key accounts school accounts including retention, expansion, and new business.
- Build and develop relationships with Senior Stakeholders across networks within your region e.g. Executive Headteachers, MAT CEOs.
- Take the lead on operational and commercial projects within your team.
- Lead school leaders through successful recruitment processes using a consultative approach.
- Call schools and build pipeline.
- Work collaboratively with the sales, operations, and the technology team to continuously improve efficiency in delivering value to schools.
- Get your hands dirty. Like any true start-up, no two weeks will be the same and a general interest in mucking in and just getting the job done is crucial.
🙌 Who you are
You don’t have to tick every single box, but we think you’ll thrive here if you’re:
- Naturally enthusiastic and curious (we’ll train you on everything else!).
- Confident picking up the phone, handling objections, and building trust fast.
- Someone with a proven track record of hitting sales targets (or smashing similar KPIs).
- A team player who loves being part of a close-knit group.
- Passionate about having a positive social impact (bonus points if you care deeply about education).
- Someone with a growth mindset is always looking to learn and improve.
💡 What you might like or dislike
Every company has its tradeoffs, so here’s some real talk to help you decide if this is the right fit for you.
✅ You might love it if:
- You want a role where your work has a tangible social impact.
- You like fast-paced environments where things are always evolving.
- You’re excited about the idea of working in a mission-driven startup that’s scaling rapidly.
🤔 You might find it tricky if:
- You prefer highly structured corporate environments with fixed processes.
- You don’t like ambiguity. Sometimes we’re building the plane while flying it.
- Picking up the phone and having conversations with decision-makers feels uncomfortable.
🎁 What’s in it for you?
- Competitive salary + ownership in the company.
- 25 days holiday + all the usual UK public holidays.
- A central London office with perks like fresh fruit, bike parking, showers, an on-site gym, and a café.
- 1-1 coaching to keep you growing personally and professionally.
- Meaningful work – this isn’t just another SaaS tool; you’re literally helping schools save money and pay teachers more.
- 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 & 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.
Please note before applying
This role is based full-time at our London office and requires onsite attendance five days per week during term time. We encourage applications from candidates who live in or near the local area of this office, or plan on relocating.
This role is based full-time at our London office and requires onsite attendance five days per week during term time. We encourage applications from candidates who live in or near the local area of this office, or plan on relocating.
🚀 Ready to make a difference?
If you’ve read this far and you’re excited (maybe even a little nervous) about the opportunity, apply now! We’d love to chat.
Skills Required
- Proven track record of hitting sales targets or similar KPIs
- Confident making outbound calls, handling objections, and building trust quickly
- Experience owning relationships with key accounts and engaging senior stakeholders
- Willingness to take lead on operational and commercial projects within the team
- Able to work onsite at the London office five days per week during term time
- Passion for social impact and education
- Growth mindset and openness to coaching and continuous improvement
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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!
