Head of Civilian Government

SANS Institute; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job description

Head of Civilian Government

Department: Sales

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: London, UK

Reporting To: Country Lead, United Kingdom

Description

To be responsible for driving SANS growth within the UK Government sector, by leveraging a deep understanding of the cybersecurity landscape and developing and executing strategies to achieve business expansion. To identify and secure high-value contracts, managing existing partnerships, and embedding SANS programmes across Government departments and agencies, in alignment with SANS brand, values and mission.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development

• Understand the UK Government’s cybersecurity landscape, particularly Government Campus/CSL, to craft and implement strategies aimed at expanding SANS’ presence, increasing market share, and driving long-term growth.
• Develop strategies to better leverage the Government Campus as a platform to broaden SANS’ reach within the UK Government, ensuring alignment with the Security Profession Programme and the UK Cyber Security Council’s standards.
• Manage and expand direct relationships with existing Government departments, agencies, and arm’s-length bodies to achieve business growth.
• Engage and persuade senior Government officials by promoting SANS’ best-in-class cybersecurity training solutions.
• Understand the full SANS portfolio to identify opportunities and differentiate our offerings from competitors.
• Stay abreast of current and emerging cybersecurity trends within the UK Government and globally and integrate this knowledge into strategic planning.
• Translate cybersecurity industry developments into solutions that address customer challenges and align with their goals.
• Effectively communicate SANS’ business strategy and the broader SANS brand value proposition.
• Conduct face-to-face meetings with senior government stakeholders to foster strategic relationships.
• Provide accurate sales forecasts in line with SANS’ CRM (Salesforce) and business processes.

Programme Development

• Identify cybersecurity skills gaps within government bodies, leveraging the Cabinet Office’s Security Profession Career Framework. Support and help embed the UK Government’s Security Profession Programme and the UK Cyber Security Council’s 16 disciplines across government departments.
• Identify and win new business for SANS across various Government sectors and agencies.
• Facilitate the seamless onboarding of newly acquired departments into SANS programmes and services.

Client Relationship Management

• Serve as the single point of contact for senior UK Government stakeholders, ensuring satisfaction, long-term partnership and growth.
• Ensure the delivery of a world-class customer experience by proactively managing customer success and satisfaction.
• Conduct regular, effective reviews of assigned accounts to assess performance and identify opportunities for further engagement.
• Proactively network within the UK Government sector and attend relevant industry-specific events to build relationships and generate new leads.

Additional Responsibilities

• Take ownership of performance metrics, including sales targets, KPIs, and other set objectives, ensuring they are met or exceeded.
• Lead the tender process for academy procurement opportunities within the Government sector.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with peers and senior executives across SANS to align strategies and goals.
• Uphold and promote the SANS brand, mission, and values in all professional interactions.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a field-based B2B sales role within Government, the Military or Law Enforcement.
• Demonstrable experience of implementing and delivering strategic plans to increase market share and long-term growth.
• Knowledge and understanding of standards set by UK Cyber Security Council.
• Deep understanding of the UK Government Campus.
• Experience selling Cyber Security Solutions – training or L&D is desirable.
• Experience in account management.
• Able to deliver against agreed KPIs and targets.
• Able to align and prioritise multiple client accounts whilst delivering a world-class service.
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills in a business environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills.
• Sales-focused and commercially aware of new business opportunities.
• Able to manage change, whilst aligning and prioritising multiple tasks.
• Strong IT Skills, including experience of working with all Microsoft Office products.
• Able to use social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
• Proficient in managing customers using a CRM system.
• Able to work well under pressure.
• Ability to use initiative and creativity to overcome customer objections.
• Decisive and forward-thinking, with strong vision and strategic capability.
• The ability to plan and prioritise own workload and work to strict deadlines.
• Ability to plan, forecast and report against sales plan and targets.
• Translate customer needs into customer-driven solutions.
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team.
• Ability to network and communicate at all levels both internally and externally.
• Ability and desire to travel to SANS events in Europe and London.
• Knowledge of the Cyber Security Training sector.
• Competent in using Salesforce and Tableau.
• Cyber Security background/qualification.