Account Director II - Forward Deployed

The Role   Own expansion and modernization across a portfolio of complex, high-profile Regional Enterprise accounts by connecting customer priorities to measurable outcomes enabled by network, cloud, security, managed services, and related technology solutions.      You independently plan the account approach, create demand, shape commercial outcomes, and lead cross-functional pursuit teams without formal authority. Your deep understanding of customer business and financial priorities, market context, and relevant solutions makes you a trusted specialist who develops customers’ and colleagues’ understanding.      Main Responsibilities     Own account strategy and create demand    - Own and execute account strategies for complex or high-profile Regional Enterprise customers, including accounts with significant revenue, broad geographic reach, and diverse needs.    - Analyze each customer’s business model, financial priorities, operating challenges, technology environment, and buying signals to identify whitespace, stakeholders, use cases, and funding paths.    - Build qualified expansion pipeline through executive relationships, proactive discovery, account intelligence, partners, marketing, and focused prospecting.    - Prioritize opportunities and resources based on customer value, solution fit, competitive dynamics, risk, and revenue potential; provide input that improves colleagues’ account approaches.      Shape decisions and solutions    - Lead consultative discovery with executive, business, technical, operational, and financial stakeholders to define desired outcomes, value at stake, decision criteria, and urgency.    - Translate customer needs into outcome-based solution narratives and quantified business cases addressing value, investment, implementation considerations, risk, and cost of inaction.    - Serve as a recognized expert in one or more business, sales, product, or service areas; develop customer and colleague understanding through informed points of view and best practices.    - Direct and coordinate Solutions Engineering, Customer Success, Product, Delivery, Marketing, channel, and partner resources around clear customer and commercial objectives.      Lead commercial outcomes    - Own expansion opportunities through qualification, solution validation, proposal, negotiation, close, and transition to activation.    - Exercise broad authority and moderate-to-considerable discretion, within company governance, to shape and negotiate product, service, pricing, and commercial terms with senior customer stakeholders.    - Establish mutual action plans, stakeholder commitments, milestones, and next steps; identify customer risk, competitive threats, and dependencies early.    - Lead small-to-medium cross-functional pursuit teams without supervisory authority and hold contributors accountable for agreed actions and customer outcomes.      Operate with discipline and sound judgment    - Maintain rigorous account plans, stakeholder maps, pipeline coverage, qualification, forecasts, next steps, and CRM records.    - Use AI, agents, and automated workflows to improve research, prioritization, meeting preparation, follow-through, and opportunity management; validate outputs and apply sound judgment.    - Share customer and market insight, coach peers on proven practices, and help improve sales execution and solution fit.       Qualifications   - 6+ years of complex B2B sales experience, or equivalent evidence of capability, with sustained success growing existing customer relationships and achieving sales goals.    - Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education and experience; practical experience with AI-enabled sales tools is preferred.    - Experience owning complex or high-profile accounts and advancing multi-stakeholder technology opportunities from discovery through negotiation and close.    - Deep expertise in one or more relevant domains, such as customer business and financial drivers, networking, cloud, security, managed services, or enterprise technology sales.    - Demonstrated judgment and discretion in structuring and negotiating product, service, pricing, or commercial terms with senior customer stakeholders.    - Ability to plan account strategy independently, influence colleagues’ approaches, and lead cross-functional teams without formal authority.    - Strong executive communication, business-case development, forecasting, pipeline management, and CRM discipline.    ABOUT ALKIRA Alkira, a Lumen company, is building the future of enterprise networking: one programmable platform to connect, secure, and operate every cloud, site, partner, data center, and AI workload. Founded by Amir and Atif Khan, the creators of Viptela and pioneers of the SD-WAN market, Alkira was built to radically simplify how enterprises deploy and manage network infrastructure. Today, as part of Lumen, we are bringing that cloud-native operating model to a global network foundation trusted by the world’s largest enterprises. Our platform helps customers move faster without managing hardware, stitching together providers, or operating fragmented cloud networks. Teams can build and scale connectivity on demand, apply consistent security and segmentation, and gain visibility across distributed environments from one place. At Alkira, you’ll help shape the next chapter of networking: cloud-like consumption, private-network performance, and total control across the enterprise. We move fast, solve hard problems, and build technology that changes how global businesses connect. Join us and help build the future of networking. COMPENSATION   This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors.  Location Based Pay Ranges:  $109,649 - $146,192 in these states: AZ  UT $115,133 - $153,507 in these states: CO  NV  OR   $120,617 - $160,812 in these states: CA  TX  WA   Life at Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution Life at Alkira is human and connected, even in a fast moving, AI‑focused organization. We set clear expectations and trust people to meet them. With real support and shared accountability, teams collaborate better, move faster, and deliver meaningful outcomes.  Our Lumen 8 behaviors guide how we interact, make decisions, and work together, shaping a culture built to perform and win.  To learn more about Life at Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution and how we live into the Lumen 8, please visit:   https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/life-at-lumen   Background Screening If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page. Job-related concerns identified during the background screening may disqualify you from the new position or your current role. Background results will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.   Equal Employment Opportunities We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, religion, veteran status, disability, genetic characteristic or information, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, or other legally protected status (collectively, “protected statuses”). We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination in any employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, discipline, termination, job assignments or training.   Privacy Notice Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal information collected during the recruitment and hiring process. Our Applicant Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect applicant information, as well as how individuals may request access to or deletion of their personal data. To review Alkira's Global Employment Applicant and Talent Community Privacy Notice, please visit: https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/privacy-notice   Disclaimer The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions. In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Please be advised that Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution does not require any form of payment from job applicants during the recruitment process. All legitimate job openings will be posted on our official website or communicated through official company email addresses. If you encounter any job offers that request payment in exchange for employment at Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution, they are not for employment with us but may relate to another company with a similar name.