Public Sector Sales Lead, AWS Global Sales at Amazon Web Services

Description

• To lead and grow the organisation’s public sector revenue across South Africa by owning strategy, sales execution, stakeholder relationships, and market expansion into national, provincial, municipal government, state‑owned enterprises (SOEs) and Healthcare.
• The incumbent will serve as the leader of the team primary responsible as the interface between AWS and government entities, ensuring compliance with procurement, regulatory and governance frameworks, while achieving aggressive revenue and growth targets in the public sector.

Key job responsibilities

Strategy & Planning

• Define and own the public sector sales strategy for South Africa (including segmentation of national, provincial, municipal, and SOE markets).
• Develop and maintain a public sector sales plan, quotas, forecasts, and pipeline targets.
• Assess and prioritise which government departments, municipalities, agencies and SOEs to target.
• Monitor political, economic, regulatory, and policy shifts that may affect public sector budgets, tender cycles, and procurement regulations, and adjust approach accordingly.
• Align with product, marketing, and government affairs teams to ensure the offering and messaging are appropriate for public sector buyers.
• Business Development & Sales Execution
• Lead and grow the public sector sales team (e.g. senior account executives, bid managers) across the country.
• Establish sales targets, track performance, and ensure execution excellence.
• Oversee key account management for national departments, provincial governments, municipalities, SOEs and Healthcare.
• Ensure compliance with South African procurement policies, PFMA/MFMA, and B-BBEE guidelines.
• Work closely with partners, systems integrators, and consulting firms to accelerate adoption and broaden reach.
• Stakeholder & Ecosystem Management
• Build and sustain relationships with senior decision-makers, including Ministers, Director-Generals, CIOs, CFOs, and SOE executives.
• Engage with key public sector bodies such as National Treasury, DPSA, SITA, and regulatory authorities.
• Collaborate with local and international technology partners to deliver integrated solutions aligned to government priorities.
• Represent the organisation in government forums, policy discussions, and industry bodies.
• Act as the spokesperson for the public sector business, promoting the company’s thought leadership in digital transformation.
• Operational & People Leadership
• Lead a team of account managers and partner account managers, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Recruit, coach, and develop talent to strengthen sales capability across the organisation.
• Ensure accurate pipeline forecasting, CRM discipline, and reporting.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, operations, legal, and finance to deliver on objectives.
• Champion diversity, inclusion, and ethical standards in all engagements.
• Performance Measures / KPIs
• Achievement of public sector revenue and growth targets.
• Market share and customer acquisition in government and SOEs.
• Pipeline development and conversion rates.
• Customer satisfaction and stakeholder relationship quality.
• Compliance with governance, procurement, and reporting standards.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, or Master's degree in business, data science, public administration, finance, engineering, human resources or related field
• 10+ years of experience in sales or business development, including at least 5 in public sector or regulated industries.
• Proven leadership experience managing complex sales organisations and cross-functional teams.
• Deep understanding of South African public sector procurement frameworks (PFMA, MFMA, PPPFA) and ICT regulations.
• Strong commercial acumen, negotiation, and influencing skills at executive level.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal.
• Demonstrated success in driving digital or cloud transformation initiatives with government clients.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, or Master's degree in business, data science, public administration, finance, engineering, human resources or related field
• 10+ years of experience in sales or business development, including at least 5 in public sector or regulated industries.
• Proven leadership experience managing complex sales organisations and cross-functional teams.
• Deep understanding of South African public sector procurement frameworks (PFMA, MFMA, PPPFA) and ICT regulations.
• Strong commercial acumen, negotiation, and influencing skills at executive level.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal.
• Demonstrated success in driving digital or cloud transformation initiatives with government clients.