National Gov't Sales Manager

W. W. Grainger; Lake Forest (IL); Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 174,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

PTO 18 days

Company holidays

401(k) match

Job summary

Grainger, Lake Forest, IL, is seeking a National Government Sales Manager to drive profitable growth by executing the cooperative, agency, and segment strategy across government-related accounts. The role requires building executive relationships, negotiating profitable agreements, and coordinating across Grainger resources.

The position is hybrid in Lake Forest with a strong emphasis on cross-functional collaboration, market analysis, and delivering results in a complex government marketplace.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field required.
• MBA preferred.
• 7+ years of sales leadership experience.
• Government marketplace expertise.
• Experience negotiating large complex contracts.
• Ability to build strong relationships.
• Influence with leadership across partners.
• Strong written and verbal communications.
• Financial acumen and budgeting skills.
• Strategic thinking and cross-functional alignment.
• Proven track record of delivering results.
• Willingness to travel 20–40%.

Responsibilities

• Develop and grow government relationships to drive contracts.
• Provide direction and support to field teams on strategy.
• Negotiate and implement profitable government agreements.
• Develop initiatives to drive revenue, cost and profitability targets.
• Perform market analysis to identify focus areas and strategy.
• Share insights to drive customer engagement and demand.
• Collaborate with partners to leverage government set aside spend.

Skills

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Sales leadership

Government marketplace

Contract negotiations

Relationship building

Stakeholder influence

Communication skills

Financial acumen

Strategic thinking

Results oriented

Travel 20-40%

Education

Bachelor's Degree BS/BA

Master's Degree MBA

Job description

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Location: LAKE FOREST, IL, US, 60045-5201

Work Location Type: Hybrid

About Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc. is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America and Japan. At Grainger, We Keep the World Working®by serving more than4.6 million customersworldwide with maintenance, repair andoperating(MRO) products and value-added solutions delivered through innovative technology and deep customerexpertise. Known for its commitment to service and purpose-driven culture, the Company reported2025 revenue of$17.9 billion. For more information, visit www.grainger.com.

Compensation

The anticipated base pay compensation range for this position is $104,500.00 – $174,200.00. This role is eligible for an incentive target of up to 20% or $, based on the achievement of individual and company performance objectives in accordance with the current terms of the incentive program which are subject to change.

Rewards and Benefits

With benefits starting on day one, our programs provide choice and flexibility to meet team members' individual needs, including:

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment and 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist to support your emotional wellbeing.
• 18 paid time off (PTO) days annually for full-time employees (accrual prorated based on employment start date) and 6 company holidays per year.
• 6% company contribution to a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required.
• Employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and free access to financial counseling, education, and tools.
• Maternity support programs, nursing benefits, and up to 14 weeks paid leave for birth parents and up to 4 weeks paid leave for non-birth parents.

The pay range provided above is not a guarantee of compensation. The range reflects the potential base pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual base pay compensation will depend, in part, on factors such as geographic work location and relevant experience and skills.

The anticipated compensation range described above is subject to change and the compensation ultimately paid may be higher or lower than the range described above.

Grainger reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion at any time, consistent with applicable law.

The National Government Sales Manager will be accountable for business performance that is consistent with the Company's strategic direction. This role is expected to drive profitable growth by executing the Co-operative, Agency, and segment strategy of over $40M - $500M. This role will work across the government function with all sales teams to ensure the national strategy is effectively and consistently executed. These organizations have complex infrastructures which require excellent relationship management.

You Will

• Develop, maintain and grow Co-operative, Agency and segment executive relationships to drive contract compliance, expansion and to ensure Grainger becomes the organizations primary MRO provider in both product and services.
• Provide functional direction and personal involvement with the Co-operative, Agency and segment as required to support the field in the planning, penetration and barrier removal.
• Responsible for negotiating, maintaining, implementing profitable agreements, both with the customer and field-based sales resources and Grainger resources.
• Develop and implement Government key initiatives and programs that ensure revenue, cost and profitability targets are achieved.
• Responsible for comprehensive market analysis to determine segment focus areas and develop overall short-term and long-term segment strategies in collaboration with segment strategy team.
• Provides expertise to internal business partners establishing a deep understanding of needs, attitudes, and behaviors across segments and develops actionable insights that drive customer engagement and demand. While working cross functionally to ensure that the Co-operative, Agency and segment strategy solutions are in place and executed.
• Develop and collaborate with DA/Small Business partners to leverage government set aside spend.

You Have

• Bachelor's Degree BS/BA required
• Master's Degree MBA preferred
• 7+ years Previous Sales team leadership with 7+ yrs. professional experience required
• Expertise within government marketplace, stakeholders and government policies.
• Experience winning large complex contract negotiations and realization.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships inside and external to Grainger.
• Influence external environment and leadership levels across Company, Associations, Customers, Resellers and related markets.
• Deliver clear and concise written and verbal communications, presenting complex information in an accessible format.
• Demonstrates financial acumen and ability to manage budgets and understand financial models.
• Demonstrate strategic thinking through long-term planning and cross-functional alignment.
• Demonstrate experience in managing to results.
• 20% to 40% travel expected for this job.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible work environment that includes both providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the application and hiring process as well as throughout the course of one’s employment, should you need a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process, including, but not limited to use of our website, any part of the application, interview or hiring process, please advise us so that we can provide appropriate assistance.