Partner Sales Director, Federal & Public Sector

Forward was founded in 2013 by four Stanford Ph.D.s, building the industry's first network digital twin: a mathematically accurate model of the production network. It's the foundation for autonomous networking, giving engineers and AI agents the ability to know the impact of every change before it touches production. We're accurate and evidence-driven, relentless about clarity, and we'd rather be certain than comfortable.

Global leaders like Goldman Sachs, PayPal, S&P Global, IBM and Dell trust Forward, alongside fast-growing enterprises and government agencies, realizing an average of $14.2 million in annual benefits, according to IDC. Some of the top Federal agencies are already buying and referenceable. Forward is backed by A. Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, MSD Partners, Omega Venture Partners, Section 32 and Threshold Ventures, and is headquartered in Santa Clara.

The Role

We're looking for our first Partner Sales Director for Federal and Public Sector to build and scale Forward's Federal, State, Local and Education (SLED) Partner ecosystem. You'll recruit and grow the Federal resellers, distributors,and MSPs who can both sell and deliver Forward, and you'll own a Partner-sourced and Partner-influenced pipeline number and the closed revenue that follows. This is a 100% channel role.

You'll report to the VP, Strategic Partnerships & Channel Sales, with a dotted line to the VP of Sales, Federal & Public Sector. You'll work hand-in-hand with the Federal Regional Sales Directors (DoW,for example Air Force,Navy/Marines, Civilian and their SE teams, and you'll be the voice of the Federal and Public Sector Partner inside Forward.

This is a builder's seat. Forward's Federal channel is early. Real distributor and reseller activity is in flight, but deal registration, enablement and the Forward Pathfinder Partner Program (F3P) are in early roll-out stages. You'll help define what F3P looks like for Federal and Public Sector, then run it.

Responsibilities

• Build the Federal and Public Sector Partner strategy. Work with the VP of Sales, Federal & Public Sector to align Partner coverage to agency and SLED account plans, and map whitespace across agencies, commands and SLED entities.
• Execute the Partner lifecycle: Recruit, Onboard, Enable, Grow.
• Recruit. Use existing Federal reseller, distributor and SI relationships to identify the most strategic Partners, including contract-vehicle holders (GSA MAS, SEWP, CIO-SP, ITES, state and cooperative contracts). Align Partner strengths to Forward's platform to create joint solutions that win agency attention.
• Onboard. Engage the right stakeholders on both sides to stand up a real go-to-market Partnership. Drive Partner agreements through to signature and make sure Forward is orderable in the Partner's systems.
• Enable. Map Partner and Forward sales stakeholders and build field relationships. Win Partner mind share with engaging sales and technical training, and roll out new products, pricing and Partner economics (margin, deal registration protection, incentives) to the Partner sales community.
• Grow. Own the number. Run metric-driven executive QBRs, build quarterly joint business plans with named targets and pipeline commitments, and heat-map Partner performance to fill gaps. Hold Partners to their commitments, and tier, grow or exit them based on results.
• Drive revenue with Federal sales. Partner with Federal RSDs and SEs on sell-to and sell-through opportunities, from Land & Expand deals to multi-Partner teaming on larger programs. Champion joint strategic opportunities inside Forward.
• Lead Partner marketing and demand generation. Work with Marketing on events, agency briefings, webinars and Federal-focused campaigns with priority Partners.
• Manage the business in Salesforce. Attach pipeline and deal registrations to the right Partners, and forecast Partner-sourced and Partner-influenced bookings weekly.
• Shape Forward Partner program for Federal. Help define and evolve rules of engagement, deal registration, channel conflict resolution and Partner tiers for a business running both direct and Partner motions.
• Be the voice of the Federal Partner. Feed Partner input to Product, Marketing, Legal, Finance and Operations.
• Travel up to 25%, mostly across the DC / MD / VA region, for Partner planning sessions and customer opportunities.

Requirements

• 7-10 years selling into or supporting the Federal Government market, with 5+ years in channel or Partner sales, including hands-on selling, not just program management.
• 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: 1) the End User; 2) the Partner; and 3) 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.

The expected On-Target Cash Earnings for this role is between 240k and 300k per year. Within this range, individual pay is determined by several factors including but not limited to, job-related skills, work experience, and relevant education/training.