Specialist, Sales

Job Title: Enterprise Executive – Channel Sales (Africa) Location: Remote

Company: Pearson

Pearson Global Enterprise Sales Team

The Pearson Global Enterprise Sales Team focuses on enhancing workforce competitiveness and adaptability by unlocking human potential, productivity, and career progression. We collaborate with over 200 enterprises and governments to close skills gaps and develop critical talent. The division focuses on three main themes:

• Employability for the future of work

• Verified skills for better human capital decisions

• Shaping a skills system across governments, institutions, and employers.

We help enterprises drive productivity and growth by transforming workforce evaluation, assessment, and reskilling processes, and delivering vocational training and qualifications. We assist employers in understanding labor market dynamics and futureproofing their workforces, while helping workers gain necessary skills. Our mission is to improve career prospects by being a trusted skilling partner to enterprises and Governments supporting them to plan, source and develop talent.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Enterprise Executive, who will play a key role in building and managing strategic channel partnerships to scale our comprehensive Enterprise Learning and Skills solutions across enterprise clients. You will identify, onboard, and grow high-impact channel partners (consultants, resellers, training partners, and system integrators), while closing direct deals in white-space markets, to drive revenue and market penetration. In this role, you will build and nurture strategic relationships with key decision-makers, understand complex organizational needs, and develop tailored solutions that deliver measurable value to our enterprise clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Channel ecosystem management: Identify, onboard, and manage a portfolio of strategic ecosystem partners across Sub‑Saharan Africa (training providers, NGOs, system integrators, local EdTech’s, and consultancies) to scale Pearson ELS programs.

• Partner‑Led Go‑to‑Market Execution: Design and execute partner‑led go‑to‑market strategies aligned to enterprise, government, and donor priorities, enabling large‑scale workforce transformation and skilling delivery.

• Partner Enablement: Enable partners on solution positioning, program design, assessment models, and delivery standards.

• Partner Performance tracking: Track partner pipeline, commercial performance, and program impact, balancing revenue objectives with outcome‑based metrics required by different stakeholders.

• Forecasting, CRM and Reporting: Maintain disciplined forecasting, CRM governance, and reporting across partner‑led and direct opportunities, adapted to long sales cycles and multi‑stakeholder SSA engagements.

• Direct Business Development and Market Expansion : Drive direct business development with enterprises, governments, and institutions in priority or under‑covered SSA markets, acting as the commercial lead where no local sales coverage exists.

• Complex Deal and Program Structuring: Shape and lead complex, multi‑party opportunities, including national skilling programs, enterprise workforce initiatives, and blended learning‑assessment‑credential solutions.

• Public Sector and Donor‑Funded Engagement: support partners to engage with ministries, agencies, navigating RFPs, tenders, and donor‑funded initiatives (e.g. World Bank, GIZ, AfDB, EU, bilateral donors).

• Entrepreneurial mindset: Ability to identify opportunities, take ownership, build momentum from ambiguity, and drive initiatives end‑to‑end while effectively coordinating cross‑functional and partner resources.

Relevant Skills and Experience

• Channel & Partner Management: Demonstrated experience building and managing distributor, reseller, and ecosystem partner relationships in markets where direct sales presence may be limited.

• Strategic Account & Solution Selling: Strong capability in strategic account planning, consultative solution selling, and managing complex, multi‑stakeholder sales cycles.

• Market & Cultural Acumen: Strong understanding of regional business cultures, procurement practices, enterprise buying behaviors, and partner dynamics across African territories.

• Commercial & Financial Capability: Proven ability to negotiate and close complex deals, articulate ROI and business value, and apply sound financial acumen in enterprise and institutional contexts.

• Execution & Cross‑Functional Delivery: Experience coordinating cross‑functional teams and managing execution across sales, delivery, and partner stakeholders, with awareness of regional compliance requirements and skilling standards.

• Regional Enterprise Sales Experience: Proven track record of successfully selling enterprise solutions across South and East African markets, with the ability to navigate diverse business environments and market maturity levels.

Qualifications

• Proven Sales Background: Several years in enterprise sales with a history of meeting or exceeding revenue targets in a software or technology environment.

• Market knowledge: Strong of regional differences in, and business cultures throughout African territories

• Autonomy, & Execution Capability: Demonstrated ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy in complex and evolving markets, requiring minimal day‑to‑day supervision.

• Language: Fluent in English (French/or Portuguese would be a plus)

• Product experience: Experience in selling tech, AI-driven solutions, and educational, learning and/or skills technology products.

• Travel: Ability to travel in the region as required