Director, Early Learning Market Development

Highlights for Children

. Expand Highlights' presence in priority early learning markets, building on momentum and lessons learned from Florida .

Posted 10/23/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in developing market-specific strategies and building sustainable growth opportunities in early childhood education. Proven ability to lead teams, foster relationships, and navigate funding and procurement processes to drive revenue generation.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Market DevelopmentRevenue GenerationCustomer Relationship ManagementEarly Learning Funding KnowledgeTeam Leadership

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Market DiscoveryProposal DevelopmentOpportunity ManagementStrategic PlanningForecasting

Soft Skills

Relationship BuildingCommunication AbilitiesOrganizational SkillsCommercial JudgmentAdaptability

Industry Keywords

Early Childhood EducationEarly Learning CoalitionsCollective Purchasing OrganizationsPublic AgenciesStakeholder Engagement

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Expand Highlights' presence in priority early learning markets, building on momentum and lessons learned from Florida
Develop and maintain relationships with Early Learning Coalitions, public agencies, regional networks, and other organizations influencing purchasing decisions and access
Identify opportunities through market discovery, customer engagement, and understanding of local funding, procurement, and decision-making processes
Develop market-specific strategies connecting customer needs with Highlights solutions, including semicustom approaches
Lead opportunities from initial engagement through proposal development, procurement, implementation, renewal, and expansion
Represent Highlights' mission, brand, content, and expertise while building trusted long-term partnerships
Generate revenue from new and existing markets while building foundations for sustained growth
Evaluate opportunities based on customer need, market accessibility, funding pathways, and long-term growth potential
Maintain visibility into key opportunities, customer relationships, market conditions, and next steps
Bring market insights and recommendations into strategic planning and growth decisions
Remain engaged in customer relationships, market development activities, and critical growth opportunities
Recruit, coach, and lead market-facing resources, including employees, independent representatives, and flexible coverage models
Establish operating disciplines around customer engagement, opportunity management, forecasting, and execution
Partner cross-functionally to align solutions, pricing, proposals, implementation, and customer support with market needs
Capture and share market learning, customer insights, and proven practices
Represent Highlights in industry forums, conferences, and customer settings

Requirements

What you’ll need

Significant experience developing markets and generating revenue in early childhood education or a closely related field
Demonstrated success entering new markets, building customer relationships, and creating sustainable growth opportunities
Experience working with collective purchasing organizations, Early Learning Coalitions, public agencies, workforce or regional networks, or similar stakeholder groups
Strong understanding of early learning funding, procurement, decision making processes, and the broader provider landscape
Proven ability to identify opportunities, navigate ambiguity, move quickly, and convert relationships into meaningful business outcomes
Experience leading, coaching, or coordinating distributed market facing teams and flexible coverage models
Strong commercial judgment, relationship building skills, communication abilities, organization, and follow through
Ability to balance strategic thinking with direct execution and adapt quickly based on market feedback and emerging opportunities