Year Up United is on a mission to end the Opportunity Divide and ensure that every young adult has the skills, experiences, and support to break through barriers and achieve their full potential in their careers.

Since 2001, Year Up United has partnered with employers to empower tens of thousands of young adults to launch their careers through one of the nation’s largest earn and learn internship programs. Year Up United has built and grown talent partnerships with hundreds of employers nationwide, serving as an early career talent partner and enabling employers to invest in the communities in which they live and work.

The Opportunity

Year Up United is at a pivotal moment in its evolution. With a nationally recognized brand, deep relationships with leading employers, a proven track record of connecting young adults to meaningful careers, and a portfolio of workforce solutions with significant potential for growth, the organization is now poised to reimagine and accelerate its commercial strategy for its next chapter.

The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) will join Year Up United at a moment of both transformation and opportunity. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the (CCO) will serve as a key member of the Executive Leadership Team and be responsible for developing and executing Year Up United’s enterprise revenue growth and go-to-market strategy. This leader will build, scale, and optimize a high-performing sales and account management organization focused on generating and retaining employer partnerships, expanding workforce solutions, and driving sustainable earned revenue growth that advances Year Up United’s mission. Year Up United already has meaningful commercial assets from which to build. The opportunity now is to bring greater commercial discipline and creativity to these assets, strengthening business development, diversifying industries and customers, and identifying new earned-revenue opportunities that can expand both impact and financial sustainability.

The CCO will bring an entrepreneurial mindset, strong commercial acumen, the ability to translate market opportunities into scalable business solutions, and a passion for creating opportunities for others. The ideal candidate has experience building and leading revenue-generating/sales organizations, partnering with Finance to create financial models and business cases, identifying new market opportunities, and developing innovative partnerships that drive measurable growth.

This executive will collaborate internally with Marketing, Finance, Program and Delivery, and Product leaders to align customer acquisition, account expansion, and workforce development solutions with organizational priorities. An important aspect of the role is understanding customers and ensuring teams are addressing partner needs. The role will leverage data, market intelligence, and financial analysis to evaluate growth opportunities, optimize sales performance, and develop creative solutions for employers and strategic partners.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Chief Commercial Officer will be relentless in pursuing opportunities for the people Year Up United serves, while embodying a customer-centric culture, strengthening Year Up United’s position as a workforce talent solution provider, and developing scalable systems and capabilities that support long-term organizational growth and impact.

In keeping with Year Up United’s values, this role will provide direct service to students in accordance with the expectations for all staff (e.g., joint coaching, mentoring, tutoring, etc.).

Key Responsibilities

Revenue Growth Strategy & Business Development

• Develop and execute a comprehensive enterprise sales strategy aligned with organizational growth objectives and revenue targets.

• Enhance customer success strategy, ensuring a continued customer-centered approach and focus on growth and retention of key partnerships. Identify, evaluate, and pursue new market opportunities, strategic partnerships, and revenue-generating initiatives.

• Build multi-year growth plans supported by robust financial modeling, forecasting, and scenario planning.

• Establish revenue goals, performance metrics, and accountability frameworks across the sales organization.

• Partner with executive leadership to develop and assess innovative business models that expand organizational reach and impact.

• Translate emerging workforce and labor market trends into actionable growth strategies and service offerings.

• Partner with staff to lead employer advisory boards to ensure training and offerings evolve with employer needs.

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO and Board regarding revenue growth opportunities, market positioning, and commercial strategy.

Employer Partnerships & Market Expansion

• Lead enterprise efforts to acquire, retain, and expand relationships with employers across industries and geographies.

• Develop innovative workforce solutions that address employer talent needs while creating opportunities for Year Up United participants.

• Establish revenue-generation partnerships with corporations, workforce intermediaries, industry associations, and ecosystem partners, with the goal of connecting more people to professional opportunities resulting in economic mobility.

• Build scalable approaches to account acquisition, account management, customer success, and partnership expansion.

• Identify opportunities to diversify revenue streams and strengthen long-term financial sustainability.

Sales Operations & Enablement

• Design and implement scalable sales processes, operating models, and performance management systems.

• Uphold rigorous pipeline management, forecasting, and reporting practices.

• Drive operational excellence through process optimization, technology adoption, and data-driven decision-making.

• Evaluate and implement sales enablement tools, CRM enhancements, AI-enabled technologies, and automation solutions that improve sales productivity and effectiveness.

• Develop sales playbooks, training programs, and enablement resources to enhance organizational capabilities.

• Ensure consistency in customer experience and commercial engagement practices across all markets.

Financial Modelling & Strategic Planning

• Build business cases and financial models to evaluate strategic investments, new products, partnerships, and growth initiatives.

• Partner closely with Finance to develop revenue forecasts, investment strategies, and performance measurement frameworks.

• Analyze market opportunities, customer segments, pricing strategies, and profitability considerations.

• Develop creative, financially viable solutions to address customer needs while advancing organizational objectives.

• Use data and analytics to guide resource allocation and investment decisions.

Executive Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Marketing to strengthen market positioning, value proposition, and demand generation strategies.

• Collaborate with Product and Program leaders to ensure solutions align with customer needs and organizational capabilities.

• Work closely with Finance and Operations to align growth initiatives with organizational priorities and resources.

• Present growth strategies, forecasts, and business performance updates to executive leadership and the Board.

• Influence enterprise-wide decision-making through strategic insights and market intelligence.

Team Leadership

• Build, lead, and develop high-performing sales, placement success, and revenue operations teams.

• Recruit, coach, and retain exceptional sales, placement success, and revenue operations leaders and team members.

• Establish performance expectations, development plans, and succession strategies.

• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and customer focus.

• Create capability-building programs that strengthen consultative selling, business development, and strategic partnership skills.

Regional / National Support

• Serve as the organization’s subject matter expert on revenue growth strategy, sales excellence, customer acquisition, and commercial partnerships.

• Represent Year Up United externally with employers, industry partners, and key stakeholders.

• Support enterprise initiatives that drive organizational growth, sustainability, and mission impact.

• Ensure compliance with organizational policies, contracting standards, and partnership governance requirements.

Site Team / Learning Community Member

• Serve as a coach or mentor for a small number of current students.

• Participate in or facilitate weekly group sessions with students.

• Attend staff meetings and trainings.

The Candidate

The successful candidate will bring significant commercial leadership experience, a strong entrepreneurial orientation, and a passion for creating economic opportunity and advancing workforce development outcomes.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in sales, business development, revenue growth, partnerships, consulting, strategy, or related functions.

• 8+ years of executive leadership experience leading high-performing commercial, sales, or growth organizations.

• Demonstrated success building and scaling revenue-generating organizations, business units, or growth initiatives.

• Strong entrepreneurial experience, including launching new products, services, ventures, business lines, or go-to-market strategies.

• Proven ability to develop sophisticated financial models, business cases, forecasts, and growth strategies.

• Experience identifying and evaluating new market opportunities and translating them into measurable business results.

• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence senior leaders, boards, customers, and external stakeholders.

• Deep understanding of sales operations, account management, customer success, and revenue forecasting.

• Experience leveraging data, analytics, CRM platforms, and technology solutions to improve business performance.

• Demonstrated ability to build creative, customer-focused solutions in complex and evolving environments.

• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship management skills.

• Experience with Salesforce, CRM platforms, and sales enablement technologies preferred.

• Experience evaluating and implementing AI-enabled sales and business development tools preferred.

• Passion for creating economic opportunity and advancing workforce development outcomes.

• Understanding of the Opportunity Divide and its drivers. Year Up United defines the Opportunity Divide as the gap between companies seeking skilled talent and young adults who lack access to the skills, experiences, and support to break through barriers and achieve their full potential in their careers.

Compensation

This position offers a competitive salary and includes a comprehensive benefits package. The anticipated compensation range is $340,000–$375,000.