Business Development Representative, Public Sector

Job Requirements

Job Description

Our purpose is to help a billion people find the right work! Phenom is an AI-Powered talent experience platform that is redefining the HR tech space. We have grown into a global organization with offices in 6 countries and over 1,500 employees. As an HR tech unicorn organization, innovation and creativity is within our DNA. Come help us make every talent moment Phenomenal!

About the role

We're building Phenom's public sector business from the ground up, and this is one of the first hires on the team. You'll open doors with federal agencies and state and local governments, split roughly evenly between the two, and hand qualified opportunities to the account executive.

This is a BDR role with a wider scope than usual, and it's not a pure high-volume activity job. You'll work as an extension of the sales team: prospecting, following up on inbound interest, and doing the research that shapes deals well before an RFP is released. That means tracking forecasts and RFIs, mapping incumbents and contract history, and working with Leadership, resellers and contract vehicles.

We're looking for someone with 2 to 4 years of business development experience in the public sector who already knows how government buys. Initial reporting structure is to the Head of Public Sector Business

If based within 50 miles of Horsham, PA, this would be 5 days/week on-site.

What you'll do

- Prospect into federal agencies and state and local governments by phone, email, LinkedIn, and events, aiming at HR, talent acquisition, workforce, and IT leaders, with messaging tied to each agency's mission and programs.
- Follow up on inbound public sector interest and qualify it on budget cycle, program maturity, and likely buying path before routing it to the account executive.
- Book and qualify first meetings for the account executive, and stay on the deal through handoff so nothing gets lost.
- Monitor and triage sources sought notices, RFIs, draft solicitations, and RFPs on SAM.gov and state and local procurement portals, and capture contracting contacts and early requirement signals.
- Build short contract history briefs using USASpending, FPDS, and state spend data: prior awards, incumbents, vehicles used, award patterns, and competitors.
- Spot prime and subcontractor relationships and teaming signals to inform our partner strategy.
- Research agency and state priorities (budgets, hiring backlogs, workforce plans) so outreach speaks to real problems, not generic pitches.
- Work with our resellers and contract vehicle partners to find and register opportunities.
- Help with early bid or no-bid conversations by pulling together what you know about the buyer, timing, and competition.
- Keep Salesforce current with capture-ready account notes: incumbent, org chart, likely vehicle, projected timeline, and next step.
- Represent Phenom at public sector events, virtual and in person, and own the follow-up afterward.
- Use AI tools every day to speed up research, account planning, and outreach.

What we're looking for

- 2 to 4 years of business development, BDR, or SDR experience in the public sector (federal, state, or local), ideally at a SaaS or govtech company.
- A track record of qualifying early-stage opportunities and booking real discovery meetings with senior buyers.
- Working knowledge of how government buys, from market research to solicitation to award. Familiarity with the FAR on the federal side and with state procurement rules.
- Hands-on experience researching opportunities and contract history in SAM.gov, USASpending, or FPDS.
- Active, sophisticated user of AI tools. You can speak concretely to how it has changed the way you work.
- Strong written communicator. Clean outreach, qualification summaries, and documentation without heavy editing cycles.
- Comfort with long sales cycles and many stakeholders, and the persistence to stay engaged over months.
- Organized enough to track dozens of accounts, deadlines, and partner conversations at once.
- Experience with Salesforce and a sales engagement tool like Outreach

Nice to have

- Experience with both federal and state or local buyers.
- Familiarity with contract vehicles and buying programs like GSA Schedules, NASPO ValuePoint, or state cooperative contracts.
- Capture experience: tracking opportunities early, teaming with partners, or supporting proposals.
- Experience with market intelligence tools like Deltek GovWin, GovSpend, or Federal Compass.
- Experience working with government resellers or distributors.
- Background selling HR tech, SaaS, or AI software.

How success is measured

In your first year, we'll look at:

- Qualified meetings booked per month:
- Qualified pipeline sourced per quarter:
- Opportunities identified from forecasts, RFIs, and partners before they go to formal bid:
- Top 25 Blueprints and execution

Government deals take longer than commercial ones, so we'll weight early pipeline building more heavily in your first six months.

Location, travel, and pay

- Location: Remote, anywhere in the US. DC Vicinity desirable
- Travel: Up to 20% for events and customer meetings.
- Pay: Base salary of $75,000 - $80,000 plus variable pay tied to pipeline and meetings.

Benefits

We want you to be your best self and to pursue your passions!

- Benefits/programs to support holistic employee health
- Growing organization with career pathing and development opportunities
- Tons of perks and extras in every location for all Phenoms!

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Our commitment to diversity runs deep! Diversity is essential to building phenomenal teams, products, and customer experiences. Phenom is proud to be an equal opportunity employer taking collective action to build a more inclusive environment where every candidate and employee feels welcomed.

We recognize there is more to be done. Our teams are committed to continuous improvement until these powerful ideas are ingrained in our culture for Phenom and employers everywhere!

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