Strategic Account Executive, Public Sector

Kong Inc.; England; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Kong Inc., the AI Connectivity Company, is seeking an experienced Strategic Account Executive to drive growth in UK public sector accounts. You will be the face of Kong for prospects, owning territory and navigating procurement processes.

The role requires a proven track record in enterprise software sales, open source experience, exceptional negotiation skills, and willingness to travel 30-50% to customer and partner sites across the UK.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience selling enterprise software to large public sector accounts.
• Proven track record of hitting targets and closing complex deals.
• Experience with open source, APIs, or infrastructure software a big plus.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills.
• Willingness to travel 30-50% within the UK.

Responsibilities

• Sell Kong Enterprise Platform to major public sector customers. Meet individual quota and objectives.
• Take ownership of your territory, navigating public sector procurement processes and contract structures.
• Provide account leadership in pre- and post-sales processes and drive opportunities to closure.
• Travel to customer and partner sites as required (30% - 50%).

Skills

Enterprise software sales

Public sector experience

Open source familiarity

Negotiation & closing

Stakeholder management

Job description

Are you ready to unlock intelligence?

If you don’t think you meet all of the criteria below but are still interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box - we’re looking for candidates that are particularly strong in a few areas, and have some interest and capabilities in others.

About the Role

About the Role: We are looking for an experienced sales professional, ideally with open source experience, who will be selling into UKI public sector accounts. The ideal candidate has been a part of the sales efforts for other early-stage enterprise products in an entrepreneurial setting. The Strategic Account Executive will be integral to our growth plan and in acquiring new public sector accounts. Kong's Account Executive will be the primary point of contact and the face of Kong for our prospects.

What You'll Do

• Sell the Kong Enterprise Platform to major public sector customers. Meet individual quota and objectives.
• Take ownership of your territory, which includes understanding and navigating public sector procurement processes, contract structures, and buying criteria, ensuring pipeline accuracy based on evidence, and working opportunities to closure.
• Provide account leadership and direction in the pre- and post-sales process, maintaining a deep understanding of public sector business objectives, and contribute to analysis on wins/losses.
• Ability to travel to customer and partner sites as required (30% - 50%). And any additional tasks required by manager.

What You'll Bring

• A true desire to see customers and organizations benefit from the investment they make with Kong.
• 10+ years of experience in selling enterprise software, with a proven track record of hitting targets within major public sector accounts; experience with open source, APIs, and/or infrastructure software a big plus.
• Ability to leverage established relationships within target public sector accounts and utilize proven sales techniques for success.
• Effective communicator and strong interpersonal skills, capable of building trust with key public sector stakeholders and digital transformation leaders.
• Excellent negotiation, presentation, and closing skills within complex public sector buying environments. Motivated, driven, and results-oriented.

Bonus Points

• Experience with fast-growing startups is a plus. Familiarity with public sector procurement frameworks and complex deal structures.

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About Kong

Kong Inc., the AI Connectivity Company, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.