Sales Academy Director
Sales Academy Director
We are seeking a visionary and execution-oriented Sales Academy Director to build, scale, and lead a world-class enablement function across a complex, global sales organization. This leader will be the central architect of how our Sales teams learn, develop, and perform — directly supporting $500M+ in combined new business and renewal revenue across reference solutions and clinical decision support.
Sitting at the intersection of Sales, Marketing, Product, and Commercial Operations, this role is accountable for equipping every seller — from new hires to tenured enterprise reps — and every front-line manager with the knowledge, content, tools, and skills required to win in competitive, consultative healthcare and information markets.
Responsibilities
1. Onboarding & Continuous Learning
· Design, own, and continuously optimize a best-in-class sales onboarding program that measurably reduces time-to-productivity across all sales segments and geographies.
· Build structured, role-based learning curricula covering product knowledge, clinical domain expertise, market intelligence, and consultative selling skills — mapped to career levels from SDR through Senior Enterprise AE.
· Establish learning pathways, certifications, and milestone assessments that create clear development expectations at every stage of a seller's career.
· Partner with subject-matter experts to maintain and refresh content as products, competitive dynamics, and buyer personas evolve.
2. Sales Content & Playbooks
· Develop and maintain a comprehensive library of sales playbooks, talk tracks, objection-handling guides, and competitive battle cards tailored to reference and clinical decision support buyers.
· Partner with Product Marketing and Commercial to translate complex value propositions into seller-ready messaging that resonates with clinical, administrative, and procurement stakeholders.
· Create deal-stage-specific assets — from discovery question guides to business case and ROI templates — that accelerate pipeline velocity and improve win rates.
· Establish a content governance model ensuring assets are current, discoverable, and actively adopted across channels and geographies.
3. Sales Technology, Tools & Analytics
· Own the strategy and roadmap for the sales enablement technology stack, including the LMS/enablement platform (e.g., Highspot, Seismic), CRM integrations (Salesforce), conversation intelligence (e.g., Gong), and digital sales room solutions
· Drive adoption of sales tools through embedded training, reinforcement programs, and usage integrated into team workflows and manager coaching cadences.
· Define and track leading and lagging indicators of enablement effectiveness — rep ramp time, content utilization, certification completion, pipeline coverage, win rate, and quota attainment.
· Deliver regular reporting to senior leadership on the ROI of enablement investments and their measurable impact on commercial performance.
4. Sales Skills & Methodology
· Champion and embed a consistent sales methodology (MEDDPICC) across the global organization — from discovery and qualification through negotiation, closing, and renewal/expansion strategies.
· Build and deliver targeted skills development programs addressing consultative selling, value-based selling, executive engagement, competitive differentiation, and multi-stakeholder deal management.
· Leverage conversation intelligence, CRM, and manager coaching data to identify skill gaps at individual, team, and segment levels and design targeted, measurable interventions.
· Create just-in-time learning assets (micro-learning, video briefs, job aids) that reinforce skills at the moment of need without disrupting active selling time.
5. Front-Line Manager (FLM) Enablement
· Build a dedicated enablement program for first-line managers — the greatest multiplier of enablement impact — covering coaching skills, pipeline inspection, performance conversations, and team development planning.
· Develop a structured manager certification track to ensure consistent coaching quality and capability standards across all regions and business segments.
· Create a data-informed coaching framework that connects CRM and conversation intelligence insights to observable seller behaviors, enabling FLMs to lead development conversations with confidence.
· Partner with Sales Leadership on manager onboarding, new hire calibration, and succession planning.
6. Cross-Functional Alignment & Strategic Partnership
· Serve as a strategic partner to Sales Leadership, Product Marketing, Commercial, Sales Operations, and Customer Success to align enablement priorities with GTM strategy and commercial targets.
· Co-own the product launch readiness process with Commercial and Marketing, ensuring sellers are equipped, certified, and field-ready ahead of every major launch or market expansion.
· Drive systematic feedback loops from the field to central functions, surfacing market intelligence that improves messaging, content, and product positioning over time.
· Build and lead a high-performing, globally distributed Sales Enablement team — setting clear goals, developing talent, and fostering a data-driven, accountable culture.
· Operate as a working leader: directly design and deliver select high-impact programs — particularly flagship onboarding, manager certification, and strategic skill-building initiatives — while scaling delivery through the broader team.
Requirements
· Have 12+ years of progressive experience in Sales Enablement, Sales Training, Revenue Enablement, or a closely related commercial function, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
· Demonstrated success building and scaling enablement programs in a complex, multi-segment B2B environment with $300M+ revenue scope.
· Have a proven track record of designing and delivering programs that measurably improve rep ramp time, quota attainment, and overall seller productivity.
· Display experience developing front-line manager enablement and coaching frameworks that translate to field adoption and performance improvement.
· Have exceptional command of the modern sales enablement tech stack — LMS, enablement platforms, Salesforce CRM, and conversation intelligence tools.
· Able to translate data and analytics into actionable insights, prioritized roadmaps, and executive-level narratives.
· Able to operate effectively in a matrixed, global organization — influencing senior stakeholders and driving outcomes without direct authority.
· Display outstanding communication, facilitation, and executive presence; equally effective presenting to the C-suite and running frontline training workshops.
· Are comfortable operating as a working leader — capable of directly designing and facilitating high-stakes programs while simultaneously managing and growing a team.
Valued Experience
· Industry experience in healthcare information services, clinical decision support, scientific publishing, or professional/reference information solutions.
· Familiarity with clinical and academic buyer personas — clinicians, researchers, library administrators, hospital procurement, and C-suite health system leaders.
· Formal certification or deep proficiency in a recognized sales methodology (MEDDIC/MEDDPICC, Challenger, Sandler, Value Selling, or equivalent).
· Experience managing an enablement function through significant organizational change, portfolio expansion, or M&A integration.
· MBA or advanced degree in Business, Organizational Development, Education Design, or a related field
Work in a way that works for you
We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organization. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals.
Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive
About the Business
A global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals' advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. At Elsevier, your work contributes to the world’s grand challenges and a more sustainable future. We harness innovative technologies to support science and healthcare to partner for a better world.


U.S. National Base Pay Range: $136,100 - $252,800. Geographic differentials may apply in some locations to better reflect local market rates.



This job is eligible for an annual incentive bonus.





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