US Field Strategist - EDU

Company Description

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

Who We Are

We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.

As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few!

Job Description

Your Career

The Field Strategist dedicated to EDU including R1 Universities, Higher Education, and large k-12 in the US is responsible for making Palo Alto Networks the undisputed leader in this specialized vertical, marshaling a cross-functional support team to deliver a growth plan that starts with foundational transactions, moves to solutions and branding, and become true market leadership and partnership with our government and education customers. As our face to the market, you bring years of direct cybersecurity experience in the vertical, and leverage your experience, network, and credibility to engage our customers and the industry at the most senior levels.

Your Impact

• Collaborate with marketing, sales, and BD to establish our core story for research universities and extend the foundation of our sales
• Evangelize our vision, point of view, and value proposition for key customer stakeholders
• Serve as the subject matter expert in building customer presentations and other collateral
• Guide the development of training and enablement for our sales teams and partners, including quick reference guides and LMS modules
• Identify and shape the top cybersecurity use cases, and provide expert content to campaign and field marketing teams to drive demand for repeatable sales plays
• Build us into the cybersecurity market leader and partner of choice for research universities
• Create solutions and validated designs that drive industry visibility, differentiated value, and industry best practices
• Join sales calls with C-level customers to help close our largest and most strategic deals
• Be our visible leader: keynote presentations at the leading industry events
• Work with Bus Dev to identify and secure partnerships with technology and consulting partners to establish an optimal GTM approach
• Embed with leading customers and industry groups to create partnerships, thought leadership, invention, and disruption to the way cybersecurity is consumed
• Provide testimony and support legislation to cast awareness on the proper scope and funding of cybersecurity needed in the research space

Qualifications

Your Experience

• Experience working for R1 universities/Higher Ed and K-12 in roles, focused on cybersecurity or chief IT roles in which cybersecurity was a primary function
• First-hand mastery of issues related to technology usage, and the most common software and technology providers in the ecosystem
• Extensive relationships and an excellent reputation in key industry groups
• Experience with public sector contracts, procurement terms and processes, and funding sources Program management skills, and ability to manage a cross-functional team
• Experience working in and establishing a variety of supplier/partner relationship models, ideally including insource/outsource and software license models
• Exceptional public speaking and C-Level customer consultative and relationship skills
• Research and analytical skills
• Proven ability to balance a complex workload, with short- and long-term requirements
• Ability to work autonomously within predefined parameters
• Travel 50-75%

Additional Information

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