Vice President of Sales, Higher Education

About the role

Instructure seeks a visionary Vice President of Sales, Higher Education to spearhead the growth and evolution of its academic offerings. This leader will own the full sales lifecycle for the Higher Education vertical across North America, orchestrating strategies that amplify institutional impact and learner success. The role demands a partnership-driven executive who champions both revenue expansion and deep customer relationships. You will translate the company mission of empowering people through learning into tangible business outcomes by driving new logos and maximizing existing account value. Success in this position will be defined by your ability to build scalable sales systems and foster a culture of excellence. You will report directly to the Chief Growth Officer and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of educational technology. This is a chance to lead a critical business unit with significant influence over product direction and market positioning.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Architect and own the annual and quarterly bookings strategy, ensuring robust pipeline generation and predictable revenue for the Higher Education segment.
• Design and deploy a comprehensive go-to-market strategy tailored to public, private, community college, and system-level institutions across the North American region.
• Spearhead new customer acquisition initiatives while orchestrating account expansion programs to deepen penetration within strategic university and college portfolios.
• Instill rigorous forecasting discipline to drive consistent forecast accuracy through meticulous pipeline inspection and operational governance.
• Analyze complex market dynamics to identify emergent growth opportunities, evolving customer needs, and competitive differentiators.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing sales leadership cohort, including Regional Vice Presidents and Directors of enterprise sales.
• Cultivate a culture of accountability, collaboration, and coaching that empowers teams to achieve exceptional performance and ethical standards.
• Champion the recruitment and retention of elite enterprise sales professionals, focusing on building diverse and resilient teams.
• Establish clear operating rhythms, performance metrics, and leadership development pathways to ensure scalable execution.
• Create an inclusive environment that prioritizes customer obsession and enables teams to deliver outstanding results for educational institutions.
• Forge strong executive-level relationships with presidents, provosts, chief information officers, and instructional leaders to influence strategic decisions.
• Act as the executive sponsor for marquee customers, ensuring their strategic initiatives align with Instructure's capabilities and vision.
• Represent Instructure at premier industry conferences, executive forums, and higher education gatherings to elevate the brand presence.
• Collaborate closely with institutional partners to interpret market shifts and integrate feedback into long-term strategic planning.
• Partner with the Customer Experience organization to optimize renewal strategies, drive product expansion, and bolster retention metrics.
• Align go-to-market initiatives with the Marketing department to amplify demand generation, brand awareness, and thought leadership in the sector.
• Synchronize efforts with Product, Solutions Engineering, Finance, and Revenue Operations to ensure strategic alignment from concept to commercialization.
• Provide active leadership in pipeline reviews, forecast calls, and executive business planning sessions to drive revenue predictability.
• Leverage advanced data analytics to assess performance, optimize resource allocation, and enhance the effectiveness of sales operations.
• Continuously evaluate and refine sales processes, organizational structures, and methodologies to support sustainable scale and efficiency.

Requirements

• Bring a minimum of 12 years of progressive enterprise Software-as-a-Service sales experience, with a track record of leading complex sales cycles.
• Demonstrated history of building, leading, and scaling large enterprise sales organizations through multiple layers of management.
• Possess deep expertise in selling sophisticated software solutions to public and private higher education institutions.
• Proven capability to consistently achieve and exceed ambitious revenue, growth, and profitability targets.
• Exhibit a strong executive presence and comfort engaging with C-suite stakeholders, including presidents, CIOs, and board-level officials.
• Mastery of enterprise-grade forecasting models, pipeline management techniques, and sales operational best practices.
• Exceptional skills in coaching, developing talent, and leading cross-functional teams toward shared objectives.
• Hold a Bachelor's degree as a foundational requirement; possession of an MBA is strongly preferred.
• Willingness to travel domestically to support key customers, lead team meetings, and attend industry conferences as necessary.

Nice to have

• Strategic leader who seamlessly balances visionary thinking with meticulous operational execution.
• Innate customer-first mindset driven by a passion for improving educational outcomes and student success.
• Data-driven decision maker who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth, and constantly evolving environments.
• Collaborative executive who excels at building authentic, trust-based partnerships across functions and hierarchies.
• Inspirational leader known for developing high-performing, resilient, and inclusive teams.
• Extensive experience navigating long, intricate enterprise sales cycles and complex executive negotiations.
• Deep-seated passion for education technology innovation and the transformation of institutional learning models.

Practical notes

Travel may be required within the United States to support customers, internal team meetings, and industry events.

This role operates under full-time employment guidelines.

Visas are not applicable to this role as the location is restricted to the United States.

Candidates must meet the eligibility criteria without exception to proceed in the hiring process.