Solution Sales Manager

Job title: Solution Sales Manager

About the Role As a Solution Sales Manager, you will lead new business development primarily in the EECT market (Engineering, Energy, Chemicals and Technology) sectors where our data and analytics capabilities provide strategic value. Your mission is to identify and close opportunities that generate both recurring subscription revenue and strategic services engagements. You will work as part of a broader account team, bringing deep solution expertise across data, technology, and consulting to drive complex, multi-component deals that transform how our customers accelerate R&D and drive innovation.

What You'll Do

• Build trusted advisor relationships with senior R&D and business leaders in target accounts, understanding their strategic priorities and innovation imperatives.
• Bring market insights, competitive intelligence, and industry best practices to customer conversations, leveraging Elsevier's unique position across the global R&D ecosystem.
• Establish credibility as a consultative partner who understands both the science and the business of corporate R&D.
• Engage with stakeholders across technical and business functions to assess current capabilities, identify gaps or missed opportunities, and quantify potential business impact.
• Develop integrated solution strategies that combine Elsevier's data assets, SciBite semantic technologies, and strategic Professional Services to address complex customer challenges.
• Translate complex data, technology, and consulting solutions into clear business value propositions, demonstrating measurable ROI and strategic impact for R&D productivity, time-to-market, and competitive advantage.
• Partner with Professional Services leadership to identify opportunities for strategic consulting engagements, including competitive intelligence, AI/ML implementation, data strategy, and custom analytics solutions. Collaborate on scoping to position services as strategic partnerships that drive business outcomes, not tactical project work.
• Deliver new business sales across Elsevier's full portfolio of data products, semantic technologies, and Professional Services offerings to achieve individual revenue targets spanning recurring subscriptions and services engagements.
• Collaborate closely with Account Managers to provide solution expertise and drive execution while they maintain overall customer relationship ownership.
• Maintain disciplined pipeline management and accurate forecasting using CRM tools, balancing short-term revenue targets with long-term strategic account development and customer lifetime value.
• Structure and negotiate complex, multi-component deals involving data licensing, technology subscriptions, and services statements of work.
• Work closely with Technical Sales, Project Management, Professional Services, and Product teams to ensure successful solution design, customer deployments, and high satisfaction.
• Stay current on industry trends, digital transformation initiatives, and AI/ML innovation in EECT market to provide strategic insights and maintain competitive advantage.

What We're Looking For

• Broad understanding of products and solutions, with the ability to translate intangible concepts into tangible value. Strong intellectual curiosity and technical aptitude, with the capability to present complex topics in a clear, concise manner. Experience working with sciences such as engineering, or other data-intensive enterprise environments a major plus.
• Ability to interpret internal and external business issues and apply them effectively within the role.
• Leadership: Does not require formal supervisory responsibilities, but capable of providing informal guidance to less experienced team members.
• Problem-Solving: Able to resolve straightforward issues using technical expertise, judgment, and established precedents.
• Impact: Able to ensure high quality of individual work and positively influences team performance while operating within established policies and guidelines.
• Interpersonal Skills: Can direct client engagement with moderate opportunities for negotiation. Understanding of how data and software are used to support research, analytics, and decision-making is highly desirable.
• Language: Fluent Japanese and business level English.
• Experience: Ideally 5 years of sales experience.