Strategic Account Executive, UKI

Kong Inc.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Kong Inc., the AI Connectivity Company, is seeking an experienced Strategic Account Executive to drive new public sector accounts, focusing on Central Government. You will own the sales cycle from prospecting to closure, building relationships with government stakeholders and digital transformation leaders.

You will navigate government procurement processes, meet quota, and travel as required to customer and partner sites (up to 50%).

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in selling enterprise software.
• Experience with public sector procurement processes is highly valued.
• Proven ability to hit targets in a quota-driven environment.
• Experience with open source, APIs, and/or infrastructure software is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Sell Kong Enterprise Platform to Central Government and broader public sector customers.
• Meet individual quota and objectives.
• Take ownership of your territory and navigate government procurement processes and framework agreements to move opportunities to closure.
• Provide account leadership in pre- and post-sales cycles and understand public sector mission objectives.

Skills

Enterprise software sales

Public sector sales

Open source experience

Territory ownership

Negotiation and closing

Job description

Are you ready to unlock intelligence?

About the Role:

We are looking for an experienced sales professional, ideally with open source experience, who will be selling into Central Government departments and public sector agencies. The ideal candidate has been a part of the sales efforts for other early-stage enterprise products in an entrepreneurial setting and understands the unique complexities of public sector procurement. 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 Central Government and broader public sector customers.
• Meet individual quota and objectives.
• Take ownership of your territory, which includes understanding and navigating government procurement processes, framework agreements, 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 mission 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 citizens and public sector 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; experience with open source, APIs, and/or infrastructure software a big plus.
• Ability to leverage established relationships in enterprise accounts and utilize proven sales techniques for success.
• Effective communicator and strong interpersonal skills, capable of building trust with government stakeholders and digital transformation leaders.
• Excellent negotiation, presentation, and closing skills within complex buying environments.
• Motivated, driven, and results-oriented.

Bonus Points

• Experience with fast-growing startups is a plus.

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.