Account Executive, Higher Education

Canva · Austin

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Job Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hello, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship office is in Sydney, Australia, but we've made our way from down under, to a campus in Austin, Texas which is now home to our US operations. This is a hybrid role in Austin, Texas, so you must be able to commute to our office 2 times a week. 
 

About the Team

At Canva, our Higher Education Account Executive team is dedicated to helping educational institutions of all kinds create stunning visual content that inspires and engages students. Our team consists of experienced sales consultants who have a passion for education and a deep understanding of the unique needs and challenges of higher education institutions.

Our Account Executives collaborate closely with colleges and universities to understand how they teach, communicate, and connect. We offer solutions that help faculty share content more easily, help marketing teams reach future students, and help every department create visuals that support learning and growth.

We are committed to building long-term relationships with our customers and providing exceptional customer service every step of the way to help you take higher education institutions to the next level.

About the Role

As a Higher Education Account Executive at Canva, you’ll own our Scaled Higher Education portfolio across the U.S. market, supporting universities with fewer than 5,000 students. You’ll be responsible for driving growth across a broad portfolio of institutions, identifying opportunities to expand Canva’s presence and helping universities adopt and scale the platform across their campuses.

Partnering closely with Customer Success, you’ll manage the university lifecycle from initial engagement and onboarding through adoption, retention, and expansion. You’ll use data and user insights to prioritize opportunities across your territory, build scalable growth strategies, and engage administrators, faculty, and other key stakeholders to drive meaningful adoption.

This role combines high-volume portfolio management with strategic selling. You’ll balance opportunities across the U.S. market, exceed revenue targets, and help establish Canva as a trusted partner for higher education institutions throughout the region.

• What you'll do
• As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. This will give you a flavour of the type of things you'll be working on when you start, but this will likely evolve.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Own the Scaled Higher Education business across the U.S. market. You'll own the strategy, planning, execution, and results for a portfolio of universities with fewer than 5,000 students, identifying and prioritizing opportunities to drive adoption, growth, and revenue across the region.
• Manage and grow a broad portfolio of universities. You'll build relationships with key university stakeholders and develop scalable sales approaches that enable you to effectively engage and grow multiple institutions across your territory.
• Drive university-wide adoption. You'll work with administrators, faculty, and other stakeholders to demonstrate Canva's value, navigate the buying process, and support successful deployments across departments, faculty, and students.
• Build a healthy and predictable business. You'll manage your pipeline and portfolio with a strong understanding of where to focus your time, balancing new opportunities with expansion across existing institutions to consistently deliver against your targets.
• Understand the Higher Education customer. You'll develop a strong understanding of the needs, priorities, and challenges facing universities across the U.S., and use those insights to position Canva as a valuable partner for teaching, learning, communication, and collaboration.
• Use data to identify growth opportunities. You'll leverage account, usage, and market insights to prioritize institutions, uncover expansion opportunities, and inform your sales strategy.
• Partner cross-functionally to scale impact. You'll collaborate closely with Customer Success and teams across Canva to share customer insights, improve our approach to the Higher Education market, and create repeatable strategies that can scale across the region.
   

What we're looking for

• Experience in Higher Education or Education Technology. You understand how universities evaluate, purchase, and adopt technology and can effectively engage with stakeholders across academic and administrative teams.
• Strong sales experience. You have experience owning a sales territory or portfolio, managing pipeline, navigating sales cycles, and consistently working toward revenue and growth targets. Experience selling SaaS, education technology, or other technology solutions is highly valued.
• Scaled portfolio management skills. You're comfortable managing a broad book of business and know how to prioritize your time and opportunities based on customer potential, engagement, and likelihood to grow.
• A consultative approach to selling. You can uncover customer needs, connect them to Canva's value, and build compelling business cases that resonate with different university stakeholders.
• Understanding of technology adoption. You understand how institutions evaluate and roll out new technology and can help customers navigate the path from initial interest to broader university adoption.
• Excellent communication skills. You create clarity by making complex ideas simple and can confidently present, influence, and tell a compelling story to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Strong business planning and execution. You can translate territory and account insights into clear priorities, execute against a plan, and adapt quickly based on results.
• Cross-functional collaboration. You enjoy working closely with Customer Success and other teams to deliver a strong customer experience and identify opportunities for growth.
• Growth mindset. You're curious, adaptable, and eager to learn as Canva's Higher Education business continues to evolve and scale.
   

• What's in it for you?
• Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll also experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity, and fun woven throughout life at Canva. We also offer a range of benefits designed to set you up for success, both in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:

• Equity packages — we want our success to be yours too
• Health benefits plans to support you and your wellbeing
• 401(k) retirement plan with company contribution
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents and carers
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup, and more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge, and support you personally
   

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills, merit and business needs, in compliance with applicable local laws.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above - we still want to hear from you!

When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process. Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

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