Head of GovTech and Procurement

Job Title: Head of GovTech and Procurement

Location: London (Shoreditch) - in the office at least three days a week

Salary: Competitive (dependent on experience)

About the Startup Coalition

Startup Coalition is an independent advocacy group that serves as the policy voice for technology-led start ups and scaleups in the UK. The Startup Coalition was founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and fights for a policy environment that enables early-stage British tech companies to grow, scale and compete globally.

About our new GovTech and Procurement Programme: Pipeline

Pipeline is Startup Coalition’s new programme designed to help government buyers reach into the UK’s exciting startup ecosystem and directly connect the best of British startups and scaleups to procurement officers in Government. You can read more at startupcoalition.io/pipeline

About the role

You will be the vital link between the UK's most innovative startups and the public sector. Your mission is to demystify government procurement for founders while helping government buyers discover cutting-edge solutions. This is an entirely new role and we are looking for someone to work directly with Startup Coalition’s Executive Director to shape it.

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Leading the Startup Coalition’s new Pipeline programme directly linking startups with public sector buyers
• Organising pitch sessions, meet the buyer and other events where startups demo directly to those who hold the purse strings.
• Working with procurement teams to simplify "Invitation to Tender" (ITT) documents so they don't scare off early-stage companies.
• Evangelising on how British startups can revitalise and reshape the public sector for taxpayers and citizens.
• Maintaining a database or "map" of the UK’s govtech landscape to support matchmaking efforts.
• Leading on policy development and advocacy efforts on procurement.
• Identifying opportunities to engage new actors on both the policy and business end
• Raising the profile of Pipeline within Government, targeting key departments and decision makers
• Chipping in on everything else. We run a small operation, so everyone works together to deliver great policy work that helps achieve a policy environment that enables tech startups and scaleups to grow and scale effectively.

Experience & Skills

This role is suitable for someone who...

• Has a solid understanding of government procurement and of the public sector tech market
• Is entrepreneurial and a self-starter. We are looking for a builder who is excited by this mission and is action-oriented
• Is positive, optimistic and enthusiastic, and who loves politics and policy in equal measure.
• Is approachable and happy spending a lot of their time talking to founders, policymakers and other folks in the ecosystem.
• Believes in the power of early-stage tech entrepreneurs to improve the lives of citizens

Interviews will be on a rolling basis. The start date for the role is ASAP.