Automation Advisor - Public Sector (Minneapolis, MN, US, 55442)

Tennant Company; Minneapolis (MN); Remote; USD 104,000 - 156,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Health benefits

Paid vacation

Job summary

Tennant Company is seeking a Public Sector Automation Advisor to drive strategic commercial opportunities in education, federal civilian agencies, state and local government, and DoD. You will shape strategy, target accounts, and procurement pathways, combining enterprise automation selling with public budgeting and contracts knowledge.

Open to candidates in any location or remote, this role requires strong leadership and a track record of navigating complex public-sector deals and multi-site

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and minimum 7 years of complex B2B sales with public entities or capital equipment.
• Navigate multi-stakeholder opportunities, formal acquisition processes, and long sales cycles.
• Strong consultative discovery, executive communication, and account planning skills.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% nationally for customer development and events.

Responsibilities

• Define national public-sector robotics strategy and routes to market.
• Navigate government and education buying structures, bids, and funding cycles.
• Develop opportunities across campuses, agencies, and installations.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams and maintain CRM accuracy.

Skills

Public sector sales

Account planning

Stakeholder management

Strategic selling

ROI analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

CRM software

Procurement systems

Job description

Location: United States - Minneapolis, MN

Pay: $104,000 - 156,000

With more than $1B in revenue, Tennant Company is a globally recognized leader in the cleaning equipment industry. For the past 150 years, we have been passionate about developing and manufacturing innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers. At Tennant Company, we are committed to stewardship and creating a cleaner, safer and healthier world. With manufacturing, operations and sales, service, and support functions across the globe, your journey at Tennant can take you places you never expected.

Public Sector Automation Advisor

Education | Federal Government | State and Local Government | Department of Defense

Build Tennant Robotics into a trusted automation partner across education and government by creating a procurement-native, repeatable public-sector growthmotion.

The Public Sector Automation Advisor is a strategic commercial leader and government-market expert responsiblefor setting strategy and developing autonomous cleaning opportunities across K-12 and higher education, Federalcivilian agencies, state and local government, and the Department of Defense. The role combines enterpriseautomation selling with deep knowledge of public budgeting, acquisition, contracts, and stakeholder alignment.

Location: Open to candidates in any location or remote.

Market Mission

• Define the national public-sector robotics strategy, priorities, target accounts, and routes to market.
• Help local sales teams navigate government and education buying structures, contract vehicles, funding cycles, bids, and formal procurement requirements.
• Develop agency, system, campus, installation, and multi-site opportunities that can scale beyond a single facility.

Core Responsibilities

Develop and Advance Robotics Opportunities

• Build and maintain a focused portfolio of high-potential targets, including new customers, existing Tennant customers not yet using robotics, and installed-base expansion opportunities.
• Research target organizations, stakeholders, operating environments, business priorities, and automation maturity.
• Create informed outreach and account-based pursuit strategies with field sales, strategic accounts, channel partners, Marketing, and leadership.

Lead Discovery and Solution Development

• Understand the customer's cleaning operation, labor model, workflow, facility conditions, performance,requirements, and business objectives.
• Evaluate automation fit, identify readiness risks, and translate customer challenges into clear use cases and measurable outcomes.
• Design the evaluation pathway, including site assessments, demonstrations, testing, pilots, success criteria, and multi-site validation.

Build the Business Case

• Translate capabilities into operational and financial value, including labor optimization, consistency, safety, data visibility, service support, and scalability.
• Develop credible ROI assumptions and adapt the value proposition for operations, facilities, procurement, finance, IT, security, and executive stakeholders.
• Position automation as a long-term operating capability rather than a stand-alone equipment purchase.

Orchestrate the Opportunity

• Serve as commercial quarterback when designated, maintaining the opportunity strategy, stakeholder map, risks, next actions, and path to decision.
• Coordinate account teams, technical resources, Customer Success, Service, Product, Engineering, Marketing, Pricing, and executive sponsors.
• Maintain accurate CRM information and provide a reality-based view of timing, customer commitment, deployment readiness, and deal risk.

Public-Sector Market Leadership

• Map buying groups and influencers, including facilities, public works, education operations, procurement, contracting, finance, IT/security, sustainability, and executive leadership
• Identify viable purchasing pathways and coordinate with Tennant legal, contracts, pricing, strategic accounts, and channel resources.
• Create directive training and practical pursuit guides for local teams covering prospecting, qualification, contracting pathways, stakeholder mapping, and opportunity advancement.
• Represent Tennant Robotics with government agencies, education systems, public-sector associations, partners, and industry forums.

Experience and Capabilities

• Bachelor's degree and minimum 7 years of complex B2B sales or business-development experience involving public entities, regulated procurement, or capital equipment.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate multi-stakeholder opportunities, formal acquisition processes, and long sales cycles.
• Strong consultative discovery, executive communication, account planning, and commercial judgment.
• Ability to travel a minimum of 50% nationally for customer development, field enablement, evaluations, and industry events.

Preferred Background

• SLED, Federal, DoD, education, public infrastructure, or government-contracting background.
• Experience selling capital equipment, facilities solutions, technology, security, automation, or operational services to public entities.
• Working knowledge of cooperative purchasing, schedules, state contracts, solicitations, bids, RFPs, and public budgeting.
• Existing relationships with public-sector buyers, contract partners, integrators, distributors, or prime contractors.

Critical Competencies

• Government-market fluency and procurement judgment.
• Ability to convert complexity into practical field direction.
• Executive credibility, constructive candor, and disciplined opportunity management.
• Operational curiosity and sufficient technical credibility to guide evaluations without overstating expertise.

Measures of Success

• Qualified public-sector pipeline and new customer access.
• Progression of opportunities through contracting, evaluation, pilot, and commercial stages.
• Repeatable field adoption of public-sector playbooks and purchasing pathways.
• Accuracy of opportunity strategy, forecast, risks, and procurement readiness.
• Expansion from individual facilities into systems, agencies, campuses, or installations.

Total Compensation = Pay range + Benefits

Posted salary ranges are made in good faith. Tennant Sales and Service Co. reserves the right to adjust ranges depending on the experience/qualifications of the selected candidate as well as internal and external equity. The salary range reflects both entry into the role and future growth. Total Compensation = Base Salary + Benefits

Benefits = A comprehensive benefits package including multiple medical plan options, 401(k) with a 100% match up to 6%, paid vacation time, 8 paid company holidays and 3 personal holidays dental and vision coverage, wellness rewards, robust family support programs, company‑paid disability and life insurance, and a full Employee Assistance Program.

Defining Our Employee Value Proposition

At Tennant Company, we…

Discoverfulfilling work with opportunities for growth and meaningful recognition.
Drivethe quality and innovation our customers rely on in our products and services.
Connectwith people who care about each other, ourbrandsand our communities.

These are the principles that define how our employees experience Tennant Company, make Tennant a great place to grow your career, and are at the core of our legacy and future. Together, they serve as guideposts for working with our customers, our partners and one another.

Begin your journey with us. Let's reinvent how the world cleans.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Tennant Company is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made on the basis of individual skill, ability, reliability, productivity, and other factors important to performance. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, veteran status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or any other basis protected by state or federal law or local ordinance.