Federal & Public Sector Partner Channel Leader

Forward Networks; Maryland; On-site; USD 240,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Forward Networks seeks its first Partner Sales Director for Federal and Public Sector to build and scale our Partner ecosystem across Federal, State, Local and Education. You will recruit and grow Federal resellers, distributors, and MSPs who can sell and deliver Forward, owning a broad partner‑sourced and partner‑influenced pipeline.

You’ll report to the VP, Strategic Partnerships & Channel Sales, with a dotted line to the VP of Sales, Federal & Public Sector, and work with regional SE teams.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years selling into or supporting the Federal Government market, with 5+ years in channel or Partner sales.
• Proven success recruiting and growing Federal resellers, distributors, aggregators with consistent performance against Partner revenue, pipeline and closed‑won targets.
• A record of exceeding quota in an Enterprise software ARR model.
• An existing network of Federal Partners you can leverage immediately.
• Working knowledge of Federal procurement and contract vehicles (GSA MAS, SEWP, CIO-SP and similar) and how Partners use them to win.
• SLED channel experience, including state and cooperative purchasing contracts, a plus.
• Three Customer mentality: End User; the Partner; and the Forward Sales team you support.
• Excellent communication: credible with both a Partner's CEO and their reps in the field.
• Deep understanding of the networking and security market and Forward's buyers.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Build the Federal and Public Sector Partner strategy and align coverage to agency plans.
• Execute the Partner lifecycle: Recruit, Onboard, Enable, Grow.
• Recruit strategic Federal resellers, distributors and contract-vehicle holders to win agency attention.
• Onboard partners and drive agreements to signature in Partner systems.
• Enable sales stakeholders with training, pricing and Partner economics.
• Grow revenue by managing pipeline, quarterly plans and partner performance.
• Drive revenue with Federal sales through sell‑to and sell‑through opportunities.
• Lead Partner marketing and demand generation targeting Federal campaigns.
• Manage pipeline in Salesforce and forecast partner-sourced bookings.
• Shape the Forward Partner program for Federal and resolve channel conflicts.
• Be the voice of the Federal Partner to internal teams.
• Travel up to 25% across DC/MD/VA for planning sessions and opportunities.

Skills

Federal government sales

Channel/Partner sales

Enterprise software sales

Quota achievement

Federal procurement knowledge

Networking market knowledge

Communication with partners

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Forward Networks seeks its first Partner Sales Director for Federal and Public Sector to build and scale our Partner ecosystem across Federal, State, Local and Education. You will recruit and grow Federal resellers, distributors, and MSPs who can sell and deliver Forward, owning a broad partner‑sourced and partner‑influenced pipeline.

You’ll report to the VP, Strategic Partnerships & Channel Sales, with a dotted line to the VP of Sales, Federal & Public Sector, and work with regional SE teams.