Public Sector Lead, Central Government

Scale AI; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Scale AI in the UK public sector is seeking a senior commercial leader to own civilian central government relationships, starting with HMRC, DWP and NHS, and to build a small delivery-focused team.

You will win deals from first contact through contract, shape frameworks and tenders, and ensure what you sell aligns with delivery capabilities, governance, and public‑sector decision making. This role reports to the Public Sector lead.

Qualifications

• Experience selling and delivering technology or transformation work to UK civilian central government.
• Knowledge of at least one major department (HMRC, DWP, NHS) and how it buys.
• Understanding of public sector procurement processes: frameworks and tenders.

Responsibilities

• Own our commercial plan and pipeline for UK civilian central government.
• Find, shape, and close deals from first conversation through to contract and delivery.
• Leverage existing relationships across HMRC, DWP, NHS to win work.
• Navigate frameworks, tenders and teaming, and select the most effective routes to market.
• Serve as a credible counterpart to senior civil servants and translate needs into deliverable work.
• Maintain close alignment between product, delivery, and sales to ensure feasible commitments.
• Hire and lead a small team over time and contribute to the UK public sector plan.

Skills

Public sector sales

Stakeholder management

Frameworks & tenders

Deal closing

Team leadership

Job description

The UK is making a wholesale shift to AI. The government's AI Opportunities Action Plan set out to "mainline AI into the veins" of the country, and the focus has now moved to delivery: the Incubator for AI ( i.AI ) is shipping tools like the Humphrey suite into departments, a Sovereign AI Unit and AI Growth Zones are being stood up, and civilian departments are under real pressure to move from pilots to production. Scale can play a foundational role in building the reliable AI applications that shift depends on.

We're looking for someone to lead that work in central government. This isn’t about staying in the office and managing a team of sales people, its about building the business from the front. You'd own our commercial relationships across civilian departments, starting where the near‑term pipeline is strongest: HMRC, DWP, and NHS.

This is a critical role reporting directly to the new Public Sector leader. You'd carry a number, win deals yourself, and build a small team behind you as the work grows. It suits someone who has sold into these departments before and knows how they actually make decisions, not just how the org charts look.

What you'll do

• Own our commercial plan and pipeline for UK civilian central government
• Find, shape, and close deals yourself, from the first conversation through to contract and into delivery
• Use the relationships you already have across departments like HMRC, DWP, and NHS
• Work the frameworks, tenders and teaming, and know which route to market is worth the effort and which isn't.
• Be a credible counterpart to senior civil servants, and turn what they need into work we can deliver
• Stay close to our product and delivery teams so what we sell is what we build
• Hire and lead a small team over time, and help shape the wider UK public sector plan with the UK Public Sector Lead

What we're looking for

• You've sold and delivered technology or transformation work to UK civilian central government, either from a vendor or from inside government
• You know at least one major department well (e.g. HMRC, DWP, or NHS) and how it buys
• You understand public sector procurement: frameworks, tenders, and buying that runs through a lot of stakeholders
• You've opened doors, run complex pursuits, and owned the result
• You have relationships with senior people across departments
• You do your best work when things are ambiguous and moving quickly

People who tend to fit this have spent years leading UK public sector work at companies like Palantir, Google, AWS, Microsoft or Oracle, at consultancies and systems integrators like Accenture, Deloitte, EY, Bain or McKinsey, or in senior commercial or programme roles inside the departments themselves.

Nice to have

• Experience with AI or data-heavy platforms
• Regulated, mission‑critical government programmes
• You've built or run a small go to market team before

You'd be building this market, not maintaining it. There's no playbook to inherit, which is rather the point. The deals you win, and the way you win them, will shape how Scale works with UK government for years.

PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.

About Us:

At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.

We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.

We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.

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