Account Director, Cision

Public Sector

$170-195k

OTE

OTE ranges based on individuals based in New York, Illinois, Colorado, Washington, and California

Salesforce

Senior and Expert level

Remote from US

More information about location

PR and marketing software

Open for applications

PR and marketing software

1001+ employees

B2BAnalyticsCommunicationDigital MediaSaaSData AnalysisMedia

Open for applications

$170-195k

OTE

OTE ranges based on individuals based in New York, Illinois, Colorado, Washington, and California

Salesforce

Senior and Expert level

Remote from US

More information about location

1001+ employees

B2BAnalyticsCommunicationDigital MediaSaaSData AnalysisMedia

Company mission

To use their software to provide prompt and professional resolutions that allow PR and Marketing professionals to focus on optimal communication.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

5–7+ years of quota-carrying sales experience, with a strong emphasis on public sector business development and net new growth
Demonstrated success in building pipeline, shaping opportunities, and closing deals within government environments
Familiarity with government procurement processes, contract vehicles, and partner ecosystems (or the ability to quickly ramp) Proven ability to sell into complex, multi-stakeholder organizations and navigate long, competitive sales cycles
Strong proficiency with sales tools (e.g., Salesforce, Office 365, sales engagement platforms)
Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills—especially in mission-driven and technical sales conversations
Strategic mindset with the ability to align solutions to agency priorities and operational outcomes
Understanding of Earned, Owned, and Social media landscapes

What the job involves

As part of our global team, you'll thrive in an environment that champions curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, all while making meaningful contributions to the brands we accelerate
Join us in shaping the future of communication and building authentic connections that matter. Whether you're solving complex problems or driving bold innovations, your growth is our success, and together, we’ll create the conversations of tomorrow
The Account Director is responsible for driving new business growth and shaping pipeline across government accounts, with a focus on identifying, qualifying, and closing strategic opportunities across agencies and public sector organizations
This role is expected to build and maintain 3–5x pipeline coverage and consistently exceed annual new business targets
This role operates as a hunter with a capture mindset—developing early-stage opportunities, aligning solutions to mission requirements, and positioning the organization for success across RFIs, RFQs, RFPs, and partner-led opportunities
The Account Director partners cross-functionally (Solutions Engineering, Insights, Product, Legal, Leadership, and external partners) to deliver differentiated, mission-aligned solutions
While the primary focus is new logo acquisition and expansion within target accounts, the role also maintains a select portfolio of existing customers, ensuring continuity, renewal, and targeted growth within those relationships
Own pipeline creation and revenue growth across a defined set of government accounts
Identify, qualify, and shape net new opportunities through proactive outreach, market intelligence, and partner engagement (e.g., resellers, integrators, contract vehicles)
Execute a capture-oriented sales approach—influencing requirements early, aligning to mission priorities, and positioning ahead of formal procurement
Lead full sales lifecycle execution including discovery, stakeholder mapping, solution alignment, pricing strategy, negotiation, and close
Build and maintain relationships with key decision-makers and influencers across Communications, Public Affairs, Digital, Procurement, and Executive Leadership
Position and sell across the full portfolio of solutions, aligning capabilities to use cases such as media monitoring, narrative intelligence, crisis communications, and audience engagement
Develop and manage a robust, qualified pipeline with clear progression across stages and accurate forecasting
Partner with internal teams to deliver compelling proposals, technical solutions, and responses to RFIs/RFPs
Leverage and expand partner ecosystem relationships (e.g., Carahsoft, Four Inc., SHI, and other contract vehicle partners) to accelerate deal velocity and access
Maintain awareness of government procurement processes, including federal (FAR/DFARS) and state/local purchasing frameworks
Support renewal and expansion efforts within assigned existing accounts, ensuring retention and identifying upsell opportunities
Maintain disciplined execution across pipeline hygiene, forecasting, account planning, and sales activity metrics

Our take

As marketing and PR continues to be digitised, software that helps streamline and make their communication more efficient is in high demand. Cision ranks amidst the top PR Software companies and boasts over 100,000 public relations and marketing professionals globally.

The company is well established as a Media and Influencer Targeting Software and has rapidly become the market leader. As influencers have become more plentiful and effective, there is a forecast growth of brand spend on influencer marketing. Tools such as Cision are therefore looking to be in higher demand.

It is a global enterprise with a vast team of over 2000 employees, making it a company able to deal with high-frequency requests. Cision is already ranked as a leader in the $3 billion communications intelligence software and services market. In January 2025, Guy Abramo took over as CEO, having previously led legacy data management company GIS.