Sales Coordinator
Location: Challenger Learning Center, 160 Washburn Street, Lockport, NY 14094
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: Base rate, plus commission and performance bonuses, expected to total $40,000 to $50,000+ annually for successful candidates.
Schedule: 15–30 hours per week, based on booking activity and performance
Work Location: Primarily in person, with some remote work possible
Job Overview
Challenger Learning Center is seeking a motivated Sales Coordinator to help grow participation in our STEM education programs, simulated space missions, mobile planetarium experiences, school visits, summer programs, community events, and group bookings.
The main goal is to help fill our year-round calendar by generating new bookings with schools, districts, libraries, camps, scout groups, homeschool groups, community organizations, businesses, and event partners throughout Western New York and beyond.
We are looking for someone who can help us grow beyond our current booking patterns by filling both the school year and slower seasonal periods, including summer, school breaks, evenings, weekends, and community event opportunities.
A successful candidate whose bookings support a 30 hour week is expected to earn between $40,000 to $50,000 per year after commissions and bonuses.
About Our Programs
Challenger Learning Center offers hands-on STEM experiences for students, families, and community groups, including:
- Simulated space missions where students take on roles as astronauts, engineers, scientists, and mission control specialists.
- Mobile planetarium programs using inflatable domes for schools, libraries, camps, and community events.
- Large-scale planetarium event opportunities for schools, districts, and community partners.
- STEM clubs, workshops, outreach events, and educational programs for learners of all ages.
Our programs are designed to be exciting, educational, memorable, and accessible to a wide range of learners.
Key Responsibilities: Sales, Booking Growth
- Identify and contact new schools, districts, teachers, administrators, PTAs, libraries, scout groups, camps, homeschool groups, youth organizations, community centers, businesses, and event organizers.
- Promote Challenger Learning Center programs, including simulated space missions, mobile planetarium rentals, large planetarium residencies, STEM workshops, open houses, and community events.
- Generate new paid bookings through email outreach, phone calls, follow-ups, networking, and relationship-building.
- Help fill the calendar year-round, including the school year, summer, school breaks, evenings, weekends, and slower booking periods.
- Follow up with interested groups and guide them from inquiry to confirmed booking.
- Build and maintain a prospect list and track outreach, conversations, next steps, and confirmed bookings.
- Help develop and improve outreach scripts, email templates, sales materials, and program descriptions.
- Communicate clearly with the education and operations team to ensure bookings are realistic, well-coordinated, and aligned with staffing and program capacity.
Partnerships and Community Relationships
- Build relationships with schools, libraries, camps, youth-serving organizations, community groups, businesses, and local partners.
- Represent Challenger Learning Center at selected community events, school fairs, open houses, meetings, and networking opportunities.
- Identify partnership opportunities that could lead to school visits, mobile planetarium rentals, large events, sponsorships, residencies, or recurring STEM programming.
- Maintain positive communication with prospects and partners before and after bookings.
Marketing and Program Support
- Support promotion of upcoming programs, events, open houses, and booking opportunities.
- Assist with basic marketing tasks such as email campaigns, newsletters, social media content ideas, event promotion, and outreach materials.
- Gather feedback from visiting groups and share insights with the team.
- Help identify seasonal sales opportunities, including summer camps, school-year field trips, professional development days, scout programs, library events, and community STEM events.
Short-Term Priorities
- Building a targeted outreach list of schools, districts, libraries, camps, scout groups, homeschool groups, community organizations, and event partners.
- Contacting new prospects each week through email, phone, and in-person outreach.
- Following up with interested leads and helping convert them into confirmed bookings.
- Promoting mobile planetarium programs, space mission programs, open houses, and large-scale planetarium opportunities.
- Helping create or improve outreach templates and sales materials.
- Tracking activity, leads, follow-ups, bookings, and revenue opportunities.
- Identifying ways to fill slower periods in the calendar, especially summer, school breaks, evenings, weekends, and non-school-day opportunities.
Qualifications
- Experience in sales, outreach, customer service, education, events, community engagement, nonprofit programming, or partnership development.
- Comfortable contacting new people by email, phone, and in person.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Organized, persistent, friendly, and able to follow up consistently.
- Comfortable representing a mission-driven educational organization.
- Interest in STEM, education, youth programs, museums, planetariums, space science, community events, or nonprofit work.
- Ability to work independently and manage multiple prospects and follow-ups.
- Basic comfort with email, spreadsheets, calendars, and contact tracking tools.
- Flexible schedule, mostly weekdays during business hours, with occasional nights or weekends as needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Existing relationships with schools, districts, libraries, camps, scout groups, homeschool groups, community organizations, or local businesses in Western New York.
- Experience with educational program sales, field trip booking, event sales, sponsorships, fundraising, or community partnerships.
- Familiarity with CRM systems, social media, email newsletters, or digital marketing tools.
- Experience in nonprofit, museum, STEM, school, camp, or informal education settings.
- Comfort speaking with educators, administrators, parents, community leaders, and event organizers.
Compensation
This position pays $17.00 per hour, plus commission and performance bonuses. The position is expected to begin at 15–30 hours per week based on booking activity, revenue generated, and organizational need.
Commission
The Sales & Outreach Coordinator will earn 10% commission on new paid bookings they generate through active outreach.
Eligible new business may include:
- New school visits
- Simulated space mission bookings
- Mobile planetarium rentals
- Large planetarium residencies
- Business or organizational partnerships: Libraries, Scouts, Homeschool, Community events
- Other new paid STEM program bookings
Commission is paid after the program, event, rental, or residency is completed and payment has been received.
Commission is not paid on standard repeat bookings, renewals, existing bookings, bookings already in progress before hire, or routine inbound inquiries that do not require meaningful sales outreach.
Performance Bonuses
In addition to hourly pay and commission, the Sales & Outreach Coordinator may earn annual performance bonuses based on eligible new paid booking revenue generated. Bonus thresholds:
- $5,000 bonus at $100,000 in eligible new booking revenue.
- Additional $5,000 bonus at $150,000 in eligible new booking revenue.
- Additional $5,000 bonus at $200,000 in eligible new booking revenue.
- Additional $5,000 bonus at $300,000 in eligible new booking revenue.
Performance bonuses are based on eligible new business generated by the Sales & Outreach Coordinator and are paid after revenue has been collected.
Benefits
- Flexible schedule.
- Mission-driven work supporting STEM education.
- Opportunity to help grow a community educational organization.
- Hands-on exposure to planetarium programs, simulated space missions, STEM events, and educational partnerships.
- Performance-based earning potential.
Pay: From $40,000.00 per year
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Lockport, NY 14094
