Head of Technical Pre-Sales
Sales & Business DevelopmentPosted 17 Jul 2026
Advertised as “Head of Technical Pre-Sales – Cyber & AI Security”
Posted 17 Jul 2026
Advertised as “Head of Technical Pre-Sales – Cyber & AI Security”
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
At Kainos, we’re problem solvers, innovators, and collaborators - driven by a shared mission to create real impact. Whether we’re transforming digital services for millions, delivering cutting-edge Workday solutions, or pushing the boundaries of technology, we do it together.
We believe in a people-first culture, where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your contributions truly make a difference. Here, you’ll be part of a diverse, ambitious team that celebrates creativity and collaboration.
Ready to make your mark? Join us and be part of something bigger.
Our Head of Sales – Cyber & AI Security is a technically credible seller who creates clarity, signal and momentum for our Cyber & AI Security offerings across Digital Services. You will build visibility, generate demand and lead presales execution, while connecting what customers are asking for back into our Product and Services teams.
You will work closely with the Head of Product and Head of Services to align Services, Products and Sales – turning market signal into opportunities, turning opportunities into high‑quality proposals, and turning successful delivery back into compelling stories, case studies and repeatable plays.
This is a management-level, hands‑on role for someone who is comfortable owning complex security sales cycles end‑to‑end and speaking credibly with senior customer stakeholders about cyber security, AI security and cloud security, while collaborating with our architects and engineers.
Build and run internal and external go‑to‑market (GTM) campaigns for Cyber & AI Security, in partnership with central Marketing and Sector BD leads.
Shape clear, differentiated value propositions for our Cyber & AI Security services, accelerators and products.
Lead a regular cadence of thought leadership activities (e.g. conference talks, webinars, articles, community events) to build credibility and demand.
Ensure our internal and external web presence reflects the full breadth of Cyber & AI Security capability, including services, IP and case studies.
Own all proposals for Cyber & AI Security opportunities, leading the story, shaping the solution outline and assembling inputs from Product and Services.
Maintain and continually improve sales collateral, case studies, credentials and a reusable proposal library for Cyber & AI Security.
Lead Cyber & AI Security content for larger, cross‑capability or cross‑sector bids, ensuring that what we promise is aligned with what we can deliver and what our IP can support.
Coordinate presales contributions, taking help from architects and engineers when required, using them to provide technical depth, patterns, estimates and sector insight, while retaining ownership of the overall response.
Build and maintain a Cyber & AI Security pipeline dashboard, giving clear visibility of opportunities, stages, owners and next actions.
Work with sector BD leads and account owners to identify and progress upsell and cross‑sell paths within existing Digital Services accounts.
Run regular opportunity reviews with Product and Services to clarify where sales, delivery or IP input is required; unblock actions and keep opportunities moving.
Use customer and market insight to highlight recurring patterns and emerging themes, feeding them into the Product roadmap and Services workforce planning.
Operate the Microsoft security and AI partnership on behalf of the Cyber & AI Security capability – managing co‑sell registrations, co‑marketing opportunities and alignment with Microsoft priorities across security, AI and cloud.
Work with the Head of Product and Head of Services to identify and support joint campaigns with Microsoft and other strategic partners, ensuring they convert into qualified pipeline.
Use partner programmes, incentives and marketplaces (e.g. listings and accelerators owned by the Head of Product) to support partner‑led and partner‑influenced opportunities.
Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior customer stakeholders, acting as a consistent point of contact across presales and early delivery.
Stay close to in‑flight engagements to identify upsell and cross‑sell opportunities, feeding them into the pipeline in partnership with account teams.
Turn delivery outcomes into stories, case studies and reference material, demonstrating the impact of our work across cyber security and AI security.
Bring customer feedback, win/loss analysis and market trends into strategic planning with the Head of Product and Head of Services.
You will:
Have substantial experience in technical presales, sales leadership or business development for security‑related consulting, platforms or services, working closely with architects and engineers.
Be able to engage credibly on cyber and cloud security topics, such as securing web applications and cloud platforms (e.g. AWS or Azure), typical attack vectors (e.g. OWASP Top 10) and common security standards (e.g. NCSC, NIST, CIS, PCI, GDPR, OWASP ASVS, SOC2). You do not need to be the deepest technical expert, but you must be able to understand and articulate these concepts to customers.
Demonstrate strong commercial awareness, understanding how digital and security services generate income, how pipeline translates into revenue, and how commercials, risk and delivery models interact.
Have a track record of owning and converting complex bids: structuring responses, coordinating multi‑disciplinary teams, and improving win‑rates through reusable content and clear value propositions.
Show excellent communication and influencing skills, adapting your style for executives, technical stakeholders and delivery teams, and handling challenging conversations constructively.
Be comfortable working across multiple sectors and accounts, building networks and collaborating with central Sales, Sector BD and Marketing colleagues.
Demonstrate experience of collaborating with and mentoring technical staff, using their expertise effectively in presales while protecting their delivery commitments.
It would be great if you also:
Have experience working with Microsoft or other major cloud / security vendors in co‑sell or co‑marketing motions.
Have contributed to or led security‑focused thought leadership, such as conference talks, blogs, webinars or community events.
Have experience in Agile delivery environments, and understand how pre-sales decisions affect delivery teams, utilisation and capability development.
This role is aligned to the Kainos Leadership Competency Framework, drawing on the six core competencies:
Personal Performance
Working with Others
Setting Direction, Development and Accountability
Supporting and Delivering the Strategy
Commerciality and Risk
Communicating and Influence
Our vision is to enable outstanding people to create digital solutions that have a positive impact on people’s lives. We expect everyone to live our values every day by being: determined, honest, respectful, creative and co‑operative. These values underpin how we work with each other and with our customers.
Kainos is a high‑growth IT services company providing digital technology solutions and agile software development to enterprise customers. We have a strong track record delivering transformational projects across government, healthcare and the private sector.
At Kainos, we believe in the power of diversity, equity and inclusion. We are committed to building a team that is as diverse as the world we live in, where everyone is valued, respected, and given an equal chance to thrive. We actively seek out talented people from all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other characteristic that makes them who they are. We also believe every candidate deserves a level playing field.
Our friendly talent acquisition team is here to support you every step of the way, so if you require any accommodations or adjustments, we encourage you to reach out.
We understand that everyone's journey is different, and by having a private conversation we can ensure that our recruitment process is tailored to your needs.