Managing Director, Sales Operations – Market Activation

Grant Thornton (US)

Managing Director driving sales performance and pipeline health at Grant Thornton. Overseeing demand generation, solutions, proposals, and enabling market leadership while activating priority accounts.

Posted 6/4/2026full-timeChicago • Illinois • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $225,000 - $405,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Drive Sales Performance & Pipeline Health
Manage performance against sales quota across CREs
Establish and enforce standards for pipeline quality, accuracy, coverage, and conversion
Identify performance and pipeline gaps early and drive corrective action
Improve consistency and predictability of results across markets
Activate Priority Accounts & Accelerate Deals
Ensure priority accounts have clear growth plans and active pursuit strategies
Track pipeline and revenue progression; refocus effort where momentum stalls
Step into critical pursuits to remove blockers and increase deal velocity
Align the right teams and solutions to opportunities and prevent internal misalignment
Enable Market Leadership & Accountability
Provide regional market leaders with performance visibility and actionable insights
Translate strategy into repeatable market‑level execution
Reinforce accountability across teams and markets
Drive Cross‑Solution Growth
Increase multi‑solution penetration within priority accounts
Ensure firm capabilities consistently appear in live pursuits
Align sales activity to strategic offerings
Oversee Demand Generation, Solutions & Proposals (Governance & Alignment)
Provide oversight across demand generation, solution development (Audit, Tax, Advisory), and proposal delivery
Ensure alignment to priority accounts, active pipeline, and revenue outcomes
Pressure‑test campaign effectiveness, solution relevance, and proposal quality, speed, and win rates
Redirect focus when activity is not translating into pipeline or revenue
Drive coordination across teams without adding unnecessary process
Remove Barriers to Growth
Identify and address behaviors limiting client access or account expansion
Promote multi‑threaded client engagement
Ensure cross‑firm collaboration and reduce siloed execution
Lead the Commercial Operating Rhythm
Own the commercial operating cadence
Lead weekly pipeline and performance reviews
Drive monthly market performance assessments
Ensure every review results in clear decisions, actions, and accountability

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree, MBA preferred
12+ years of experience in sales, commercial operations, or growth leadership
Proven ability to improve pipeline quality and revenue performance
Experience operating across sales, marketing, and solution teams
Strong understanding of complex, multi-solution environments (Audit, Tax, Advisory preferred)
Experience working across regions or global teams
Ability to influence senior stakeholders without direct authority.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Benefits for internship positions: Grant Thornton interns are eligible to participate in the firm’s medical, dental and vision insurance programs and the firm’s employee assistance program.
Interns also receive a minimum of 72 hours of paid sick leave and are paid for firm holidays that fall within their internship period.
Benefits for seasonal employee positions: Grant Thornton seasonal employees are eligible to participate in the firm’s medical, dental and vision insurance programs and the firm’s employee assistance program.
Seasonal employees may also be eligible to participate in the firm’s 401(k) savings plan and employee retirement plan in accordance with applicable plan terms and eligibility requirements.
Seasonal employees receive a minimum of 72 hours of paid sick leave.
Grant Thornton employees may be eligible for a discretionary, annual bonus based on individual and firm performance, subject to the terms, conditions and eligibility criteria of the applicable bonus plan or program. Interns and seasonal employees are not eligible for bonus compensation.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

sales performance managementpipeline managementdemand generationsolution developmentproposal deliveryrevenue performance improvementmulti-solution environmentsperformance visibilitymarket performance assessmentsaccount expansion

Soft Skills

leadershipinfluencing stakeholderscross-team collaborationaccountabilitystrategic executionproblem-solvingcommunicationcoordinationdecision-makingclient engagement

Certifications

Bachelor's degreeMBA