Sales Associate

Overview

• Visa sponsorship: Unfortunately, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants should have the right to work in the UK at the time of application.
• Background checks: Due to the nature of the work we do with global governments and partners, all employees need to pass background checks, verifying your identity, education (if relevant), work history, sanctions, criminal record, adverse financial history and right to work.
• You can expect to hear from us, no matter the outcome, by: 23rd January 2026
• Working pattern: Full time, Hybrid (3 days in office), London, UK
• Salary expectations: We aim for transparency on salary bands. If our range is misaligned with your expectations, we'd welcome an open conversation as early as possible.

About Apolitical Apolitical's mission is to make governments smarter for people and the planet and we reach over 40 million public servants through our partnerships with governments globally. We are the largest global network for governments, used by 270,000+ public servants in 160 countries to find and share best practices and gain skills on critical topics from AI to climate change to emerging technologies.

Governments use Apolitical to solve public sector transformation challenges - from AI augmentation to reskilling. We offer governments five interoperable components - research and analysis, workforce productivity tools, customisable training, vibrant learning communities and high impact convenings. Everything we do is powered by our unique global network and real-time data.

Apolitical is trusted by 60+ governments and leading organisations that work with governments. Governments include schools of government, departments, ministries and government adjacent bodies in the UK, Canada, India, EU, UAE, Brazil, Ethiopia, Singapore and more. Global foundation partners include the Bezos Earth Fund, Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, who view governments as key stakeholders in achieving systemic change.

Apolitical's corporate partners include organisations such as Google, AWS and Microsoft who work with us at scale with governments and public sector bodies worldwide.

Our Government AI Campus and our Government Energy and Climate Campus are examples of our success in bringing together corporate and philanthropic intent with great technology to deliver impactful government learning and capability building on a global scale.

About the Role We're entering a new phase of growth and looking to bring more structure and storytelling power to our commercial efforts. As we deepen our work with corporates, foundations and governments, we need someone who can combine sales energy with business thinking, who is developing their skills in how to pitch, persuade and build narrative in a way that sharpens strategy and accelerates momentum.

Summary of the role This is a mid-level role designed for someone with a consulting-style skillset who's ready to apply it in a fast-paced, mission-driven sales environment. You'll help shape how we tell our story to diverse partners, supporting the commercial team across the sales funnel, with a focus on the top half. That includes everything from pitch deck design and proposal writing to CRM rigour and insight generation.

You'll work horizontally across our commercial function, supporting multiple partner types. This is likely to be the first of several roles of its kind, creating a pathway for future specialisation as we grow.

Impact on our mission Apolitical exists to equip public servants with the tools and skills to solve the world's hardest problems. Revenue from these partnerships enables us to scale our work, deepen our impact and accelerate the shift toward smarter, more effective public institutions. Your work will directly influence how we engage new partners, strengthen existing relationships and shape what the future of government transformation looks like.

Tasks and remit You will:

• Develop and refine sales materials including pitch decks, partner proposals and one-pagers
• Craft tailored narratives for government, philanthropic and corporate partners, helping sharpen our messaging across audiences
• Analyse commercial performance and pipeline data to generate insights that inform strategy and improve conversion
• Support proposal development by coordinating across the commercial team, ensuring timely and compelling submissions
• Improve sales processes including CRM workflows, contact tracking and follow-up protocols to increase efficiency and visibility across the team
• Contribute to business development activities by scanning the market and supporting lead generation and tracking

You won't:

• Own revenue targets or close deals independently. This is a strategic and enabling role, not a quota-carrying one
• Lead cold outreach, although you may occasionally support outreach content or analysis

Onboarding milestones Within one month, you will:

• Shadow commercial team members to build context on our pipeline, partners and priorities
• Familiarise yourself with our CRM, pitch materials and proposal archive
• Identify areas where our existing materials or processes can be improved

Within three months, you will:

• Lead the creation of pitch decks and proposals for specific opportunities
• Track and synthesise key market developments to inform partner conversations
• Build dashboards or reports that give the team better visibility over sales performance

Within six months, you will:

• Be the go-to team member for structuring narratives, coordinating proposals and improving how we present Apolitical to the world
• Own and maintain core commercial collateral
• Run defined sales processes such as weekly CRM reporting or proposal coordination with increasing autonomy

Success looks like As a mid-level contributor at Apolitical, you'll be expected to:

• Demonstrate ownership of specific business development initiatives and lead generation activities, supported by your manager
• Manage stakeholder relationships with professionalism and precision, internally and externally
• Drive process improvements across CRM workflows, proposal development and partner communications
• Produce high-quality sales insights, dashboards and reports that support business decisions
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Customer Success, Product, Learning, Events and Marketing to support revenue-driving activities
• Communicate clearly and consistently, using Apolitical's tone of voice in all partner-facing materials

You'll also model our leadership principles :

• Builder energy: You take initiative and move work forward, even in ambiguity
• Force multiplier: You support peers and raise the standard around you
• Weatherproof: You stay steady through shifting priorities and adapt quickly
• Sharp thinker: You structure problems clearly and make evidence-based suggestions
• Give a damn: You take ownership and deliver meaningful outcomes that move the mission forward

About you This is a great fit if you:

• Have 1-3 years of experience in consulting, commercial strategy or business operations, ideally in fast-paced, impact-oriented environments
• Love crafting clear, persuasive narratives and translating complexity into compelling materials
• Have an eye for operational detail such as pipelines, processes or CRM systems
• Thrive in horizontal roles with cross-functional collaboration
• Are energised by mission and the opportunity to shape something that's still evolving

Let us know if you have:

• Experience supporting partnerships with government, foundations or corporates
• Worked on RFPs, procurement processes or institutional grant proposals
• Knowledge of HubSpot, Salesforce or other CRMs

This likely won't be the right role if you:

• Prefer to work on a single project at a time. This is a juggling role
• Want a clear-cut specialism. This role requires breadth and generalist thinking
• Expect a traditional sales or marketing funnel structure. We often build as we go

Don't meet every single expectation? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. Apolitical is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.