Public Sector Account Director
Handshake
🇿🇦 Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants
This fully remote full time position at Handshake is open to applicants from South Africa. The estimated monthly salary is R400,833 – R462,500 ZAR. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.
Job Description
About Handshake
Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.
In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We've grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.
Why join Handshake now:
* Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
* Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world's top educational institutions
Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world's top educational institutions
* Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
* Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue
Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue
About The Role
As an Public Sector Account Director, you will be crucial in building and closing deals within the SLG sector. You will develop and nurture relationships with key stakeholders, identify opportunities, and drive the sales process from lead generation to deal closure across your accounts. This role requires in-depth knowledge of the hiring needs and challenges of large and small SLG agencies and an acute understanding of how they function. It will also require strategic thinking, relationship building, and a strong focus on achieving revenue targets. You will:
* Develop and cultivate deep relationships with senior executives at executive levels
Develop and cultivate deep relationships with senior executives at executive levels
* Meet or exceed annual quota by generating high volume of meetings with SLG and its large departments and agencies
Meet or exceed annual quota by generating high volume of meetings with SLG and its large departments and agencies
* Understand a department or agencies' business drivers, challenges and pain points
Understand a department or agencies' business drivers, challenges and pain points
* Navigate SLG acquisition processes and contracting
Navigate SLG acquisition processes and contracting
* Schedule, manage and run large department meetings with senior economic buyers within large SLG Departments
Schedule, manage and run large department meetings with senior economic buyers within large SLG Departments
* Create proposals, executive briefings, and conduct executive roundtables for HR and business leaders at SLG agencies
Create proposals, executive briefings, and conduct executive roundtables for HR and business leaders at SLG agencies
* Generate scalable pipeline and revenue to achieve 100% of annual quota attainment
Generate scalable pipeline and revenue to achieve 100% of annual quota attainment
* Lead participation in industry events to drive new business development
Lead participation in industry events to drive new business development
* Coordinate large-scale efforts across various departments to drive enterprise-wide agreements
Coordinate large-scale efforts across various departments to drive enterprise-wide agreements
* Utilize Salesforce.com on a daily basis to manage activity, leads, follow-up and pipeline
Utilize Salesforce.com on a daily basis to manage activity, leads, follow-up and pipeline
* Execute new sales activities in support of our market pursuit when requested
Execute new sales activities in support of our market pursuit when requested
You Have
* Proven knowledge of US government acquisition process and contracting
Proven knowledge of US government acquisition process and contracting
* 5+ years of Account Executive experience selling Saas based solutions into the SLG space
5+ years of Account Executive experience selling Saas based solutions into the SLG space
* Success in pitching and closing six-figure deals
Success in pitching and closing six-figure deals
* Experience navigating and building relationships within large departments and agencies within the SLG
Experience navigating and building relationships within large departments and agencies within the SLG
* Proven ability to negotiate large government contracts while developing off-cycle pipeline and new lead generation
Proven ability to negotiate large government contracts while developing off-cycle pipeline and new lead generation
* Proven success selling enterprise-wide solutions
Proven success selling enterprise-wide solutions
* Excellent customer-facing skills and abi
Tips for South African Applicants
Timezone Advantage
South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.
Salary in Context
At R400,833/month, this role pays well above the average South African remote salary. The USD equivalent ($21,667/mo) benefits from the favourable exchange rate.
Application Tips
Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.
Load Shedding Preparedness
If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.
About Handshake
Handshake is a company in the exec industry that hires remote workers from South Africa.