Partner Sales Director - Public Sector (SLED)

The best sales organizations achieve the most when they are selling outstanding products, solutions, and services backed by an extraordinary company. That’s what you get when you’re part of selling for Appian. We are passionate about driving digital transformation by delivering the speed, agility, and efficiency our customers need to compete and grow.

Appian is seeking a Partner Sales Director – Public Sector (SLED) to collaborate with our Public Sector leadership team and drive strategy and go-to-market execution across our State, Local, and Education partner ecosystem. This role will be responsible for fostering executive alignment, generating consistent incremental partner-sourced revenue, and supporting exceptional service delivery.

This role will align partners across executive, sales, technical, marketing, and delivery functions around Appian solutions to scale the business. The ideal candidate is a strategic and experienced partnerships leader who can develop joint business plans, drive enablement, secure executive buy-in, establish strong cross-functional relationships, and create a consistent operating rhythm that strengthens partnerships and accelerates revenue growth across the SLED market.

This role is based at our headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Appian was built on a culture of in-person collaboration, which we believe is a key driver of our mission to be the best. Employees hired for this position are expected to be in the office five days a week to foster that culture and ensure we continue to thrive through shared ideas and teamwork. We believe being in the office provides more opportunities to come together and celebrate working with the exceptional people across Appian.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and execute strategic business plans across Appian’s SLED partner ecosystem.

• Drive end-to-end partner strategy across co-sell, resale, demand generation, marketing, enablement, and delivery motions.

• Build executive alignment between Appian and strategic partners to establish shared priorities, investment plans, and growth objectives.

• Generate consistent incremental partner-sourced pipeline and revenue through joint go-to-market initiatives.

• Establish a strong operating rhythm with partners, including business reviews, pipeline inspection, action tracking, and executive engagement.

• Build relationships across partner executive, sales, technical, marketing, and delivery organizations.

• Identify customer, partner, and marketplace trends that create opportunities for joint solutions and new routes to market within state, local, and education accounts.

• Partner with service providers to develop compelling consulting and implementation practices around Appian’s software platform.

• Collaborate with Appian Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Product, and Services teams to ensure coordinated execution across partner initiatives.

• Support the development of joint offerings, campaigns, enablement programs, and account strategies aligned to SLED priorities.

• Navigate competing internal and external priorities while maintaining accountability for partner outcomes.

• Use data, market insights, and performance metrics to evaluate partner health, identify execution gaps, and recommend corrective actions.

• Present partnership strategy, business impact, pipeline performance, and growth recommendations to senior internal and external stakeholders.

• Create scalable partner management processes and workflows that improve consistency, accountability, and execution.

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Incremental partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and revenue.

• Effectiveness of joint co-sell, resale, marketing, and demand-generation motions.

• Executive alignment and engagement across Appian and strategic SLED partners.

• Development and execution of joint business plans.

• Growth of partner-led service practices and solution offerings around Appian.

• Strength and consistency of the partner operating rhythm, including business reviews and action follow-through.

• Cross-functional alignment across Sales, Marketing, Services, Customer Success, and partner teams.

• Overall health, productivity, and strategic value of Appian’s SLED partner ecosystem.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of enterprise software sales, partnerships, alliances, business development, channel, or related go-to-market experience.

• 7+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, channel management, or strategic alliance roles strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated experience in the government SLED market within a software company, technology distributor, systems integrator, or consulting organization.

• Proven success building and executing partner ecosystem go-to-market strategies.

• Experience leading strategic alliance relationships and identifying mutual business interests that create measurable growth.

• Deep understanding of SLED contracting, procurement, sales processes, and industry trends.

• Strong understanding of how government integrators and consulting firms operate and how software companies can help accelerate their growth.

• Experience selling or partnering with C-level executives and senior decision-makers.

• Demonstrated ability to operate across co-sell, resale, demand generation, marketing, and service-delivery motions.

• Highly analytical and data-driven, with a strategic mindset and a pragmatic approach to execution.

• Strong program management skills with the ability to establish accountability and scalable partner management processes.

• Executive presence and strong written, verbal, and presentation skills.

• Proven ability to influence without direct authority and navigate competing priorities across diverse stakeholders.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-changing environment while operating with autonomy and clear accountability for results.

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Business, Computer Science, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working at a Global Systems Integrator, Federal Systems Integrator, regional systems integrator, or consulting organization delivering technology solutions to the SLED market.

• Experience transitioning from a systems integrator or consulting organization into a software or SaaS company.

• Working knowledge of business process automation and experience identifying and qualifying client solution areas.

• Experience orchestrating complex, multi-departmental solution sales.

• Experience helping service providers construct consulting and implementation practices around enterprise software products.

• Background in enterprise software, SaaS, cloud technology, or business process automation.

• Demonstrated success building new partner programs, routes to market, or joint solution offerings.

• Tenacious, competitive, thorough, and motivated by achieving superior results.

The base salary for this role is between $150,000–$300,000 per year and represents a good faith and reasonable estimate of the range at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant work experience, qualifications, internal peer equity, and market and business conditions that exist when extending an offer. A discretionary bonus may be awarded in recognition of individual and company performance.

In addition, Appian provides generous benefits offerings that include a 401(k) plan with company match, flexible time off, paid parental leave, medical, dental, and vision plans, life insurance, disability insurance, wellness programs, flexible spending accounts, health savings account contributions, an employee referral bonus program, and learning and development resources. Certain positions may be eligible for equity awards.

Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation, commission, bonus, or benefit plans.

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