Account Director - Secure Government (North) at CDW

The purpose of the Account Director role is to establish and maintain strong relationships with key clients, understanding their business needs and objectives to provide tailored IT solutions. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in the Policing or Defense Sector. Developing and implementing comprehensive account strategies that maximise client satisfaction and retention whilst achieving the company goals of driving revenue and profitability. Fostering long-term partnerships with both clients and partners is of the utmost importance and overall commercial accountability, viability and profitability of a deal is held by the role of Account Director at CDW. 

The Account Director supports business objectives through: 

• Revenue growth

• Customer retention 

• Strategic alignment  

• Market insights  

Success Measures:

• Developing and implementing sales strategies, conducting sales campaigns, and leading negotiations for long-term contracts 

• Strategic account management, develop and implement account plans and objectives to achieve sales targets and client objectives 

• Ownership of gross profit target and forecast numbers, maintaining accurate sales forecasts and reporting on account performance as well as tracking and reporting on individual, account and team performance against KPIs 

• Regular engagement and meetings with the customers to build relationship and understand needs 

• Leading virtual teams comprising sales and sales support, solution and technical specialists and pre-sales co-workers 

• Act as the key interface between the customer and all relevant divisions  

• Lead strategic customer engagements (services, transformation, multi capability, complex deals) 

• Accountable for overall customer experience 

• Lead whitespace to scale revenue 

• Holding overall accountability for Bid/No Bid decisions  

• Building new business relationships using existing industry contacts  

• Playing an integral role in new business pitches  

• Leading strategic vendor relationships for allocated customer accounts 

• Work in alignment with relevant vendors and partners  

• Stay up-to-date with industry trends and the competitive landscape 

• Experience working in or selling to high growth tech companies or digital native enterprises. 

• Proven track record of exceeding sales targets in complex, consultative sales environments  

• Experience of leading virtual teams across an organisation 

• Experience influencing and supporting customer decision making up to and including C-Level 

• Experience of executing against defined strategy for account territories in line with organisational goals 

• Experience of developing and executing against strategic account plans 

• Strong understanding of enterprise level technology trends 

• Comfortable with digital tools, CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce) and virtual collaboration platforms. 

• Experience in the Public Sector, including tender processes (delete as appropriate) 

Desirable experience  

• Understanding of current and emerging technology trends and the ability to articulate the impact this is having on organisations. 

• Ability to articulate and discuss ESG principles and how technology can drive sustainable outcomes. 

Skills 

• Strong opportunity qualification and forecasting skills 

• Strong business and financial acumen. An ability to connect technology to business, technical, operational and financial goals  

• Strong executive presence and ability to influence senior stakeholders 

• Resiliency, flexibility and agility. An ability to execute while managing ambiguity 

• Strong relationship management skills e.g. stakeholder management, building strong customer partnerships and conflict resolution 

• Competencies 

• Communication skills - Demonstrates the ability to combine communication, negotiation, and storytelling skills with experience in technology consulting to effectively convey complex solutions to clients, ensuring clarity, engagement, and successful outcomes 

• Customer-centric mindset - Applies deep customer empathy, industry knowledge, and leadership experience to drive customer-centric initiatives, ensuring consistent delivery of value and alignment with client needs and desired outcomes 

• Relationship management - Leverages strong relationship management capabilities, including stakeholder engagement, customer partnership building, and conflict resolution skills, to foster trust and drive collaborative, long-term success across complex environments 

• Strategic and critical thinking – Using insight and analytical skills to align customer objectives with broader business goals. Able to anticipate opportunities and challenges, ensuring solutions benefit both the client and the organisation 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business, Technology, or a related field 

• Certifications in sales methodologies (e.g. MEDDPICC, Challenger)