Senior Account Director - Public Sector

To thrive as a company and meet our impact goals, we must cultivate a culture of high-performance. You can read about our culture principles here . We know managers are often the single-largest driver of employee satisfaction and growth, and our talent is our biggest asset. Because of that, we’ve identified consistent expectations for all of Guild’s people managers — helping you know what to expect from your experience here. If you are an Internal Candidate, please apply via our Internal Job Board . ---- Guild is hiring a Senior Account Director – Public Sector based in the above states to help advance the next frontier of workforce education and career mobility. As a key member of our Public Sector Team, you’ll play an important role in identifying, assessing, and helping operationalize growth opportunities that expand Guild’s reach—particularly through partnerships with innovative states and local municipalities to support outcomes-based workforce development initiatives. This is a strategic and execution-oriented role with a strong emphasis on building and owning relationships. You’ll contribute hands-on to shaping early-stage public-sector opportunities—from research and discovery through pilots and early scaling—while collaborating closely with the Vice President of Public Sector and cross-functional partners. You’ll help bring new opportunities to life and support Guild’s mission by unlocking partnerships at the state and local level. This role is well-suited for a strategic operator and relationship-builder who is comfortable with ambiguity, enjoys building from scratch, has experience managing complex public-sector accounts, and is passionate about expanding access to education and economic opportunity. Key Responsibilities: Market Research & Opportunity Identification Conduct market research to surface and assess new public-sector opportunities across funding ecosystems and priority geographies. Analyze regulatory environments, policy trends, and local, state, and federal funding programs to inform account strategy and market entry approaches. Support the development and testing of market hypotheses and opportunity concepts within assigned territories or accounts. Synthesize research findings into clear insights to inform account planning and growth strategy. Account Development & Origination Partner with B2B Marketing and Public Sector leadership to help originate and shape new public-sector accounts and expansion opportunities (0→1 and early growth). Build and manage relationships with state and local stakeholders to understand needs, constraints, and alignment with Guild’s capabilities. Apply established frameworks to evaluate opportunity fit, strategic value, and scalability within the Guild ecosystem. Contribute to go/no-go assessments and prioritization decisions based on early signals of traction, feasibility, and mission alignment. Opportunity Validation & Solution Design Lead or support early engagements, pilots, and proof points to validate demand, feasibility, and impact within public-sector accounts. Collaborate with funders, partners, and beneficiaries to refine value propositions and solution design. Support the development of business models and funding structures aligned with Guild’s impact and financial objectives for state and local buyers. Go-To-Market Execution & Account Growth Partner cross-functionally (marketing, product, learning marketplace, government affairs, operations) to translate validated opportunities into executable go-to-market plans Help define and track key success metrics and leading indicators of account health and market traction, including revenue and total education spend. Support early GTM execution by sharing real-time market feedback and identifying where additional local engagement or advocacy may be required. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Strategic Support Work closely with internal teams such as Finance, Legal, Policy, and Product to ensure public-sector opportunities