Head of Sales, APAC

About the Role

Accela is seeking an experienced Head of Sales, APAC to build and own new business development across Australia and New Zealand. This is a greenfield, high-impact opportunity—not inheriting a mature pipeline, but architecting one from the ground up. You'll have the autonomy and strategic mandate to shape the region's sales foundation and drive sustained growth in a mission-critical government software market.

This role reports directly to the General Manager of APAC and positions you as the region's primary new business leader, with clear accountability for pipeline development, deal closure, and regional expansion.

Your Core Mandate

• Identify and shape opportunities before they formally come to market
• Build a validated pipeline with 12–24 month visibility
• Win a small number of high-value, complex enterprise deals
• Establish the strategic foundation for sustained regional growth

Specific Responsibilities

• Drive net new logo acquisition across Australia and New Zealand
• Build and maintain a forward-looking sales pipeline with clear visibility
• Develop and nurture relationships across state and federal government agencies
• Position Accela early in government procurement cycles
• Lead complex enterprise sales processes from origination through contract close
• Influence cross-functional teams to support deal execution and customer success
• Establish and maintain thought leadership within the APAC government sector

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of proven experience in enterprise sales or business development
• Demonstrated track record of closing complex, high-value deals ($1M+)
• Experience working with or selling into government agencies (highly preferred)
• Strong understanding of procurement-driven sales environments and government buying cycles
• Ability to operate independently while influencing and collaborating across functions
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills
• Strategic thinking with the ability to balance short-term wins and long-term pipeline building

About Accela

For nearly 20 years, Accela has been an industry leader in designing and delivering government software solutions that improve operational efficiency, increase citizen engagement, and enable thriving communities. Today's citizens expect convenient, transparent access to government services, yet agencies are tasked with doing more with less. Accela's mission has never been more critical.

Accela provides a robust, cloud-based platform of government software solutions that accelerate growth, efficiency, and transparency in communities of all sizes. From planning and permitting to building management, service request management, and beyond, Accela's SaaS offerings level the playing field for small and medium-sized governments while enabling agencies of all sizes to leverage enterprise-grade technologies.

The platform's open, flexible architecture helps government agencies address immediate needs while ensuring preparedness for emerging challenges. Accela serves hundreds of government agencies across North America and beyond, processing millions of transactions annually and helping modernize the citizen experience.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Accela is committed to developing and nurturing a workplace community where differences are celebrated and every team member feels psychological safety and belonging. We actively invest in evolving our practices, policies, and philosophies to enable diversity to thrive and support equitable opportunity for all employees.

💰 Compensation not publicly listed. Market estimate for similar roles: from $70K, varying by experience and location.