Key Account Manager

Canada, United States
Remote
Posted Sep 18, 2026
1 position

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Employment type: Full-time
Experience level: Lead · 10+ years
Posting language: English
Working hours: 40 hours per week
Seniority: Mid-Senior level

Job summary

The role involves identifying and acquiring new clients for retained search services and managing those long-term relationships. The manager is responsible for setting client expectations and overseeing the process from the initial call through to placement.

Job details

Business Development & Account Manager — Sage Recruiting About Sage Recruiting Sage Recruiting is a boutique retained search firm. For 13 years, we've placed Software Engineering, Product, and Data leaders at startups, scaleups, and SMBs across Canada and the US. We work on retainer only. Little to no contingency, zero volume, no shortcuts. We're small and remote. Every person on the team carries real weight. The role We need someone to bring in clients and hold those relationships. We have recruiters to run your searches, but prefer someone 360 who can fill some of their own business. Your job is to sell retained search, which means setting the right expectations with clients and keeping the relationship strong from the first call through the placement and beyond. What you bring 10+ years of experience. More is better. You've built and held B2B relationships long enough to know what works and what doesn't. Consultancy presence. Clients should see you as a trusted advisor, not a vendor selling a service. That difference should come through in how you talk, how you listen, and how you push back when a client's expectations are off. Business development and account management skills. You can find new clients, close them, and keep them. You know how to grow an account past the first deal. Deep knowledge of retained search and executive recruitment. You can explain how retained search works, sell its value over contingency models, and manage client expectations through a long search process. Negotiation and closing. You can get a client to sign a retainer, and you can hold the fee when they push back. An existing network. CTOs, VPs of Engineering, founders, the people who make hiring decisions at software and tech companies. You already know some of them. Nice to have Fluency in the tech sector: software, product, and data teams specifically Enough technical recruitment knowledge to speak credibly with a CTO about what they're hiring for Comfort with comp and equity conversations across funding stages, from seed to growth Ability to write a clear, compelling search proposal on your own Team leadership experience, or the potential to grow into it Why Sage We are a women-owned and operated search firm with 13 years in the business. We are already operating as a retained search firm and have a strong client base. You'd be one of a handful of people driving new business, not one name in a long sales roster. The clients you land are yours to grow. The relationships you build show up directly in what we place and whom we work with next. We're not chasing size. We're picking our clients carefully and doing retained search the right way. If that's the kind of company you want to sell for, this is the role.

What you’ll do

Requirements

Candidates must have 10+ years of experience in B2B relationship management and deep knowledge of the retained search and executive recruitment industry. An existing network of CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and founders within the tech sector is required.