Sales Manager – Public Sector

Sales Manager – Public Sector

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced Sales Manager – Public Sector to lead and grow our government and public institution business. You will own the full sales cycle, from spotting opportunities early and building relationships with key decision-makers to leading business opportunities or tender responses and closing multi-year contracts. You will need a strong grasp of public procurement processes and a proven record of selling complex IT services and solutions into the public sector.

Key Responsibilities

• Business Development & Sales Strategy

• Develop and execute a public sector sales strategy aligned with company growth targets and government technology priorities.

• Identify, qualify, and pursue new opportunities across national, regional, and local government entities as well as other public institutions.

• Build and maintain a healthy sales pipeline, with accurate forecasting and regular reporting to leadership.

• Meet or exceed quarterly and annual revenue, bookings, and margin targets.

• Tenders & Procurement

• Monitor procurement portals, tender notices, and framework agreements to catch opportunities early.

• Lead bid/no-bid decisions and coordinate responses to RFIs, RFPs, EOIs, and tenders.

• Work with technical, delivery, legal, and finance teams to prepare compliant, competitive, high-quality proposals.

• Ensure full compliance with public procurement laws, regulations, and ethical standards.

• Stakeholder & Account Management

• Build trusted relationships with senior government officials, CIOs, ICT directors, procurement officers, and other key stakeholders.

• Manage and expand existing public sector accounts, finding upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

• Understand clients' policy goals, budget cycles, and digital agendas, and position solutions to support them.

• Represent the company at government forums, industry events, conferences, and trade associations.

• Partnerships & Collaboration

• Develop strategic partnerships with technology vendors (e.g., Microsoft, AWS, Oracle, SAP, Cisco), system integrators, and local partners to strengthen bids.

• Work closely with solution architects and pre-sales consultants to shape solutions that meet client requirements.

• Share market intelligence and client feedback with marketing and service delivery teams.

• Contract Negotiation & Closing

• Lead commercial negotiations, pricing strategy, and contract finalization within approved guidelines.

• Ensure smooth handover to delivery teams and stay involved to keep clients satisfied and win repeat business.

• Qualifications & ExperienceRequired

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, Computer Science, Marketing, or a related field.

• 7+ years of B2B sales experience in IT services, consulting, or technology solutions, with at least 4 years selling to the public sector.

• Proven track record of winning and closing large, complex public sector contracts.

• Solid knowledge of public procurement laws, tendering processes, and government budgeting cycles.

• An established network of relationships within government ministries, agencies, or public institutions.

• Good understanding of IT solutions such as cloud, cybersecurity, ERP, digital government platforms, data analytics, and managed services.

• Excellent proposal writing, presentation, and negotiation skills.

• Preferred

• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification.

• Professional certifications in sales, procurement, or project management (e.g., CIPS, PMP, PRINCE2).

• Experience with donor-funded or development partner projects (e.g., World Bank, AfDB, USAID, EU).

• Familiarity with CRM tools such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or Microsoft Dynamics.

• Experience with public-private partnership (PPP) models.

• Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking with a results-driven mindset

• Strong relationship-building and influencing skills at senior levels

• High integrity and commitment to ethical business practices

• Ability to handle long, complex sales cycles with patience and persistence

• Excellent written and verbal communication

• Team player who works well across departments

• Key Performance Indicators

• Revenue and bookings against target

• Pipeline value and conversion rate

• Tender win rate

• New accounts acquired and growth in existing accounts

• Client satisfaction and retention