RVP - UK Defence and Inteligence

Referral Board; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage for you and family

Flexible locations and schedules

Generous vacation days

Volunteer time allowance

Job summary

Referral Board seeks a high-energy Regional Vice President to lead the UK Defence, Intelligence, and National Security sales function. You will build a scalable public sector sales motion, guide 1st Line Leadership, and drive growth across MoD and the wider Intelligence Community.

This is a leadership role reporting to the Global VP for Public Sector sales. You will manage a team of account executives, craft regional strategies, and collaborate with cross-functional partners to win major

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of enterprise SaaS or software sales teams in UK Defence, MoD or National Security.
• Deep understanding of public sector procurement pathways in UK defence.
• Ability to lead in a complex, matrixed global technology organization.
• Growth mindset: resilience, curiosity, scale mission-critical sectors.
• Strong analytical and data-driven decision‑making skills.
• Experience designing structured sales strategies, capture plans, and territory models for government accounts.
• Existing relationships with key UK defence primes, systems integrators, and crown stakeholders.
• Holding active UK Security Clearance (SC or DV) or eligibility for vetting.

Responsibilities

• Manage and grow a team of Account Executives focused on UK Defence and National Security.
• Build and execute a winning sales strategy within UK defence procurement frameworks.
• Foster energy, growth mindset, and high performance to achieve exceptional results.
• Lead from the front in strategic government deals and coach the team.
• Design scalable, compliant sales processes and capture plans.
• Coordinate with Product, Marketing and Public Sector Partner teams to deliver mission-ready value.
• Ensure quota attainment and apply Elastic’s enterprise sales methodology in long‑cycle public sector deals.
• Drive teamwork and continuous improvement across the sales organization.
• Travel regularly across the UK to support deal creation and closure; mentor field teams.
• Collaborate with Elastic leadership to ensure secure customer experiences from onboarding to deployment.

Skills

Proven sales leader

UK Defence knowledge

Public sector procurement

Matrixed global tech org

Growth mindset

Analytics & data-driven

Strategic sales strategy

Defense primes relationships

Security clearance eligibility

Job description

Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale — unleashing the potential of businesses and people. The Elastic Search AI Platform, used by more than 50% of the Fortune 500, brings together the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to enable everyone to accelerate the results that matter. By taking advantage of all structured and unstructured data — securing and protecting private information more effectively — Elastic’s complete, cloud-based solutions for search, security, and observability help organizations deliver on the promise of AI.

Elastic, the Search AI company, is looking for a NEW high-energy Regional Vice President to manage the Sales function across the UK Defence, Intelligence, and National Security sectors. This position offers a unique opportunity to manage and shape Elastic’s strategy for this critical public sector vertical, including new logo acquisition across the Ministry of Defence (MoD), prime contractors, and the wider Intelligence Community. You will be responsible for 1st Line Leadership across the sector—establishing a scalable, repeatable public sector sales motion and unlocking growth in one of Elastic’s most mission‑critical segments. This role will report into the Global Vice President for Public Sector sales.

What You Will Be Doing

• Manage and grow a team of Accomplished Account Executives dedicated to the UK Defence and National Security markets.
• Build and execute a winning sales strategy tailored to the unique procurement frameworks, security protocols, and mission objectives of the UK defence landscape.
• Foster a culture of energy, growth mindset, and high performance—motivating your team to achieve extraordinary results.
• Lead from the front: actively engage in strategic, high-value government deals, coach your team, and set the standard for excellence.
• Design and implement scalable sales processes, compliant capture management plans, and strategic account segmentation across defence commands and intelligence agencies.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Marketing, and specialized Public Sector Partner/SI teams to deliver mission-ready value and innovation to customers.
• Ensure quota attainment and drive Elastic’s enterprise sales methodology within complex, long‑cycle public sector procurement routes (e.g., Crown Commercial Service frameworks).
• Champion teamwork, transparency, creativity, and continuous improvement.
• Travel regularly across the UK to assist in deal creation, secure facility meetings, and closure, as well as providing strong leadership and support to your field team.
• Partner across Elastic’s leadership community to ensure a seamless, highly secure customer experience from onboarding to deployment.

What You Bring

• Proven sales leader with extensive experience running high‑performing enterprise SaaS or software sales teams within the UK Defence, MoD, or National Security verticals.
• Deep understanding of UK public sector procurement pathways and defense framework agreements.
• Experienced to lead in a complex, matrixed global technology organization.
• Growth mindset: resilient, curious, and motivated to build and scale a mission‑critical sector.
• Strong analytical and data-driven decision‑making skills.
• Experience designing and implementing structured sales strategies, capture plans, and territory management models for government accounts.
• Existing relationships with key UK defence primes, systems integrators, and crown stakeholders.
• Holding an active UK Security Clearance (SC or DV clearance), or eligibility and willingness to undergo the vetting process.

Bonus Points

• Prior experience at an open-source or developer‑centric infrastructure company.
• Familiarity with how observability (logs, metrics, traces) and security analytics (SIEM/XDR) protect critical national infrastructure (CNI) and support cyber defence operations.

Additional Information - We Take Care of Our People

As a distributed company, diversity drives our identity. Whether you’re looking to launch a new career or grow an existing one, Elastic is the type of company where you can balance great work with great life. Your age is only a number. It doesn’t matter if you’re just out of college or your children are; we need you for what you can do.

We strive to have parity of benefits across regions and while regulations differ from place to place, we believe taking care of our people is the right thing to do.

• Competitive pay based on the work you do here and not your previous salary
• Health coverage for you and your family in many locations
• Ability to craft your calendar with flexible locations and schedules for many roles
• Generous number of vacation days each year
• Increase your impact - We match up to $2000 (or local currency equivalent) for financial donations and service
• Up to 40 hours each year to use toward volunteer projects you love
• Embracing parenthood with minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave

#LI-PM1

Elastic is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law, ordinance or regulation.

We welcome individuals with disabilities and strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all individuals. To request an accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email [e-mail] We will reply to your request within 24 business hours of submission.

Elasticsearch develops and distributes encryption software and technology that is subject to U.S. export controls and licensing requirements for individuals who are located in or are nationals of the following sanctioned countries and regions: Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic (“DNR”), and the Luhansk People’s Republic (“LNR”). If you are located in or are a national of one of the listed countries or regions, an export license may be required as a condition of your employment in this role. Please note that national origin and/or nationality do not affect eligibility for employment with Elastic.

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As set forth in Referral Board’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

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