VP of District Partnerships

About the role

We're looking for a full-cycle partnerships leader who finds, closes, and owns our largest district relationships.

Our partner districts are renewing and expanding, and demand is outpacing our team. You'll be our first dedicated partnerships hire, working directly with the founders to bring on larger deals: $50K+ annual district contracts, multi-district agreements, and state-level contracts.

This is a full-cycle role. You'll source, close, and own a portfolio of at least 10 large accounts. The person who wins a district's trust stays with that district through launch, renewal, and expansion, while our program team runs day-to-day delivery.

We're looking for someone who loves the hunt and the long game equally, and who's excited to build the partnerships function as we grow.

What this looks like in practice

• You build your own pipeline of accounts worth $50K+ a year through your network, regional education service centers, state associations, and conferences.
• You run the full sales cycle, from discovery and proposal through procurement, board approval, and signed contract.
• You shape pricing and multi-year structures for larger deals with the founders.
• You stay the lead on every account you close. You partner with our program team on launch, run mid-year and end-of-year reviews with district leaders, and own renewal and expansion.
• You take over select large accounts already under contract and grow them, including into new departments within existing districts.
• You coordinate with our commission-based GTM consultants on territory and hand-offs.
• You represent College Contact at conferences and in front of superintendents and school boards, and bring what you hear back to shape our pricing and offerings.
• You set up the CRM, pipeline, and playbook we'll scale from.

This role is probably not for you if you want to hand off accounts after the contract is signed, or if you prefer a steady book of small, transactional deals. It might be exactly for you if you want to own your biggest relationships from first meeting to multi-year partnership.

Where this role is headed

This is a senior, full-cycle role today, and a team leadership role as we grow.

In the first year, that means hitting your new-business target, launching every account you close well, and building the playbook the next hires will follow. As we scale, it means hiring and leading a partnerships and partner success team, and taking formal ownership of district revenue.

We're explicit about this because we want someone who wants it: who is energized by building a team and a function, not just a book of accounts, and who is ready to be accountable for both.

What you bring

• 7+ years in full-cycle K-12 or public sector sales, closing and renewing large contracts
• Experience managing large enterprise accounts with multiple stakeholders and multi-year terms
• Existing relationships with district leaders in Texas and California
• Working knowledge of district budgets, procurement, board approval, and federal funding
• Credibility in the room with superintendents, cabinets, and school boards
• Strong written communication: proposals, RFP responses, and clear updates to district partners are part of how you deliver
• Comfort with a small team and a fast pace: you'll wear a lot of hats and face ambiguity. That should energize you, not bring you down.
• Interest in leading. You want to hire, coach, and set direction, not only close deals

Nice to have

• Experience with state education agencies, large urban districts, or nonprofit partners
• Experience with Texas CCMR accountability, GEAR UP grants, or Federal Work-Study
• Experience as an educator, district administrator, or counselor
• Spanish fluency

About College Contact

College Contact bridges the gap between student potential and district accountability. We partner with school districts nationwide to help students explore and pursue meaningful futures through college, career, and military readiness curriculum, technology, and 1:1 coaching from certified near-peer mentors. By combining practical resources with meaningful human support, we help students complete critical milestones, follow through on their goals, and help districts meet state CCMR requirements and accountability targets.

We're an Austin-based, venture-backed C corp, a Techstars company, founded by two co-founders who started it as undergrads. We're small, we move fast, and the people we hire now will shape what the company becomes.

Compensation, benefits, and logistics

• $170K–$210K on-target earnings: $120,000–$150,000 base plus $35,000–$70,000 in variable pay
• Variable pay is commission on new and expanded contracts, plus renewals on the accounts you own, with accelerators above target and a ramp period in year one
• Equity option grant, with the choice to trade part of it for a higher base
• 100% health coverage
• Dental & vision
• WeWork office membership
• Based in Austin, TX; remote within Texas considered. Travel is approximately 50%.
• Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship
• A blue suit (if you know... you know!)

Equal Opportunity Employer

College Contact is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. All employment decisions, including hiring, promotion, compensation, and termination, are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs.