Vice President, Government Affairs, Partnerships & Business Development

Job description

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Vice President, Government Affairs, Partnerships & Business Development based in the United States. This executive-level opportunity combines government affairs, business development, strategic partnerships, and corporate development within a growing vertical SaaS environment. The role will shape how public-sector markets adopt technology across transportation, towing, recovery, and public safety. You’ll influence policy and procurement strategies well before formal solicitations emerge, while remaining hands-on through proposals, negotiations, and contract awards. You’ll build relationships with government agencies, elected officials, industry associations, technology partners, and channel organizations. The position also offers significant ownership in developing statewide programs, funding strategies, technology alliances, and acquisition pipelines. Reporting directly to the CEO, you’ll help build a new strategic function from the ground up while carrying direct accountability for government and partnership revenue. Accountabilities Develop and lead government affairs and industry relations strategies across federal, state, and local markets, aligning policy and advocacy initiatives with commercial and revenue objectives. Build trusted relationships with government agencies, elected officials, regulatory bodies, industry associations, community leaders, and other stakeholders who influence public-sector technology adoption. Manage outside lobbyists and government affairs consultants, including scope, budgets, priorities, performance expectations, and measurable outcomes. Lead relationships with national, state, and regional towing and recovery associations, coordinating memberships, sponsorships, board participation, advocacy, and industry engagement. Shape legislation, licensing requirements, rate regulation, towing rules, compliance standards, and other policy initiatives in collaboration with associations, lobbyists, and industry stakeholders. Develop and execute government market strategies, determining priority markets, sequencing opportunities, and approaches in partnership with Sales leadership. Lead pre-solicitation engagement by identifying funding opportunities, influencing requirements, understanding procurement processes, and positioning solutions before formal RFPs are released. Work alongside the government sales organization throughout proposals, negotiations, and awards, carrying senior executive, political, and stakeholder relationships and helping remove policy or procurement obstacles. Develop statewide agency programs across areas such as transportation, motor vehicle administration, law enforcement, public safety, abandoned vehicles, liens, titling, and related workflows. Build repeatable playbooks for moving opportunities from legislative mandates and funding mechanisms through procurement, implementation, integrations, and go-live. Establish government and industry partnerships spanning contract vehicles, resellers, distributors, technology alliances, cooperative purchasing, and other channels. Manage relationships with major cloud partners, including co-selling, marketplace opportunities, partner funding programs, and joint public-sector pursuits. Identify federal and state grants, appropriations, incentive programs, and other funding mechanisms that can support public-sector technology purchases. Develop technology alliances with CAD, RMS, dispatch, and related platform providers to expand integration opportunities and public-sector adoption. Evaluate adjacent market opportunities, including parking and mobility, and develop appropriate partner and channel strategies. Source and qualify acquisition opportunities in government towing, impound management, and adjacent public-sector services, maintaining a strategic target pipeline. Support executive leadership and the board with acquisition evaluation, regulatory and contract-risk diligence, government contract portability, novation requirements, and integration considerations. Advise senior leadership on government relations, policy developments, regulatory risks, competitive dynamics, and public-sector growth opportunities. Establish KPIs and reporting for government affairs, partnerships, business development, and revenue performance, while building the capabilities required to scale the function. Requirements 12+ years of experience across government relations, business development, sales leadership, public policy, or related disciplines, with substantial exposure to complex legislative, regulatory, and government procurement environments. Demonstrated success building relationships with government agencies, elected officials, regulatory bodies, public-sector stakeholders, and industry leaders. Proven track record closing government contracts, managing public-sector pipelines, and generating revenue through federal, state, or local markets. Significant experience selling enterprise software to state agencies through complex, multi-year, statute-driven procurement processes, particularly in transportation, public safety, motor vehicle, revenue, or related environments. Experience working with government channel partners and contract vehicles, including GSA schedules, state term contracts, and cooperative purchasing arrangements. Experience with public-sector partner programs from major cloud platforms, including co-sell and marketplace models. Track record establishing technology or integration partnerships with platform vendors and other strategic ecosystem participants. Working knowledge of federal and state grant funding mechanisms and their application to public-sector technology initiatives. Experience managing external lobbyists, government affairs consultants, or policy advisors. Experience sourcing or supporting acquisitions, ideally within a private-equity-backed or acquisition-oriented organization. Deep understanding of government procurement, policy development, regulatory decision-making, and public-sector stakeholder dynamics. Ability to quickly develop expertise in towing, recovery, transportation, mobility, and public safety markets. Exceptional executive presence and credibility when interacting with C-suite leaders, government officials, elected representatives, and industry executives. Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, strategic thinking, relationship-building, and commercial judgment skills. Bachelor’s degree in business, public policy, law, economics, public administration, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. Benefits Executive-level opportunity with direct visibility and partnership with the CEO and senior leadership. Significant autonomy to build government affairs, partnerships, business development, and corporate development capabilities from the ground up. Direct accountability and impact on government and partnership revenue growth. Opportunity to shape legislation, procurement strategies, statewide programs, strategic alliances, and public-sector technology adoption. Exposure to high-value government contracts, technology partnerships, channel development, and corporate development initiatives. Remote work environment within the United States. Opportunity to influence product strategy through direct market intelligence, government feedback, and public-sector insights. Collaborative environment working across Sales, Product, Operations, Finance, and executive leadership. How Jobgether works: We use an AI-powered matching process to ensure your application is reviewed quickly, objectively, and fairly against the role's core requirements. Our system identifies the top-fitting candidates, and this shortlist is then shared directly with the hiring company. The final decision and next steps (interviews, assessments) are managed by their internal team. We appreciate your interest and wish you the best! Why Apply Through Jobgether? Data Privacy Notice: By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Jobgether will process your personal data to evaluate your candidacy and share relevant information with the hiring employer. This processing is based on legitimate interest and pre-contractual measures under applicable data protection laws (including GDPR). You may exercise your rights (access, rectification, erasure, objection) at any time. #LI-CL1