Sr Director, Public Sector Sales

Proofpoint; Reading; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Comprehensive benefits

Flexible work environment

Annual wellness and community outreach

Global collaboration and networking

Job summary

Proofpoint is seeking an experienced Sales Director to lead the Public Sector Sales Team covering the UK, building and scaling a high-performance field sales engine for enterprise accounts.

You will recruit and develop top talent, engage CISO/CIO/CTO audiences, and drive strategic growth across the region with a strong focus on value-based selling and executive-level engagements.

Qualifications

• Experience in hyper growth, building large orgs in Public Sector
• Knowledge of the cyber security market and threat landscape
• Familiarity with consultative, value-based sales methodologies (e.g., Force Management, Challenger, MEDDIC)
• Proven record leading a successful new business sales team and driving sustained growth
• Channel-centric go-to-market experience, both direct and channel-led
• Strong team-building, leadership, and inspirational skills across diverse teams
• Strong business planning, pipeline building, and accurate forecasting abilities
• Existing influential customer relationships and trusted advisor status with CSOs

Responsibilities

• Lead sales for new and existing enterprise customers, achieving or exceeding revenue targets.
• Define and report on metrics to measure sales activity performance, forecast and analyze deals.
• Identify resource requirements and growth opportunities.
• Develop and maintain client and partner relationships to scale the business.
• Support and manage contract negotiations, overcoming major objections.
• Provide regional market insights and align priorities with leadership for Public Sector.
• Recruit, lead, coach and inspire senior sales executives.
• Manage goals, performance assessments, and career development with solution selling.
• Collaborate with Sales Engineering, Professional Services, Marketing and Support to close deals and drive customer satisfaction

Skills

Public sector sales leadership

Cybersecurity market knowledge

Challenger/Force Management/MEDDIC

Team building & coaching

Channel & direct sales mix

Strategic planning & forecasting

Executive stakeholder engagement

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

About Us

Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.

How We Work

At Proofpoint you'll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values:

• Bold in how we dream and innovate
• Responsive to feedback, challenges and opportunities
• Accountable for results and best in class outcomes
• Visionary in future focused problem-solving
• Exceptional in execution and impact

The Role

We are seeking an experienced, proven, entrepreneurial Sales Director to lead our Public Sector Sales Team covering the UK territory.

You will be responsible for:

• Recruiting, developing, and retaining a highly talented field sales team
• Achieve annual Enterprise bookings quota with monthly and quarterly targets

Within this role we need you to identify, grow, and close new business at executive levels (CISO/CIO/CTO) in Public Sector accounts within the designated territory. Presenting compelling business cases to senior stakeholders both internally and externally. Creating positive momentum in the cybersecurity market. Implementing strategic growth within the region, setting the direction, and ensuring execution against plan.

This is an exciting opportunity to play an integral part of a dynamic and fast-growing next generation security company, and you will have the opportunity to take the business to the next level.

Your day-to-day

• Lead sales for new and existing enterprise customers, consistently achieving or exceeding quarterly and annual revenue targets capturing market share
• Define and report on metrics to measure performance of sales activities, accurately forecast and present deal analysis
• Determine resource requirements, identify significant and profitable growth opportunities
• Develop and maintain client and partner relationships to increase business scalability
• Effectively support and manage contract negotiations facilitating resolution of major sales objections presented by customers
• Working with the EMEA leadership team provide insight on value proposition, positioning, local market knowledge and agree priorities for region and Public Sector market
• Recruit, lead, coach and inspire a talented team of senior sales executives
• Manage employee goal setting, performance assessments, career planning and development driving the adoption of solution selling
• Collaborate with Sales Engineering, Professional Services, Marketing and Support to close deals, drive revenue and adoption, and to meet and exceed customer satisfaction

What you bring to the team

• Experience in hyper growth, building out large organizations at scale, within the Public Sector (Central and Regional)
• Knowledge of the cyber security market and current threat landscape
• Familiarity and experience using consultative, value based sales methodologies (Force Management , Challenger Sales, MEDDIC, etc)
• Proven record of leading a successful new business sale team as well as a hunger for success beyond targets and sustained growth
• Channel-centric in approach to go-to-market and experience of working effectively within a direct sale led and Channel-led sales organisation
• Expert team builder, team player and leader who understands you win as a team, and has the ability to inspire and create loyalty, trust, and respect across not only their team, but also cross-functionally
• Commercial acumen and attention to detail, thinks strategically, but stays on top of tactical execution as well as the ability to lead a large and culturally diverse team in coordination with managers and through managers
• Able to create a business plan, build a strong business pipeline, accurately forecast and close business
• Existing influential customer relationships and able to understand the security threat landscape, and become the trusted advisor of the CSO

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Comprehensive benefits
• Career success on your terms
• Flexible work environment
• Annual wellness and community outreach days
• Always on recognition for your contributions
• Global collaboration and networking opportunities

Culture

Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to [e-mail].

Why Proofpoint?

At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:

BRAVE Values

Proofpoint is BRAVE in everything we do, and our values aren’t just words—they shape how we work, collaborate, and grow. We seek people who are bold enough to challenge the status quo, responsive in the face of ever-evolving threats, accountable for delivering real impact. We value those with a visionary mindset who anticipate what’s next and push cybersecurity forward, and we celebrate exceptional execution that ensures we continue to defend data and protect people.

Equal Opportunity

Proofpoint is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.

Proofpoint has been honored with six Best Places to Work Awards in 2024 by workplace culture leader Comparably, including Best Company Career Growth, Best Company Outlook, Best Global Culture, Best Engineering Teams, Best Sales Teams, and Best HR Teams. We are the leader in human-centric cybersecurity. Half a million customers, including 87 of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint to protect their organizations. We're driven by a mission to stay ahead of bad actors and safeguard the digital world.