Deal Desk Lead

Smiths Group•Edgewood, MD

21h•$105,600 - $158,400

About The Position

Smiths Detection is seeking an experienced Deal Desk Lead to build, standardize, and scale deal operations. The role serves as a strategic bridge between Sales, Legal, Finance, Capture/Contracts, and Product teams, supporting U.S. Federal Government (USG), State, Local, and Education (SLED), and Commercial business. It balances complex, long-cycle government contract structures with streamlined approval processes for faster commercial and state and local transactions. The Deal Desk Lead advises on complex enterprise deals, pricing, discounts, commercial packaging, contract terms, public-sector compliance, and channel margins. The role owns and improves Salesforce and CPQ Quote-to-Cash workflows, approval governance, deal-review cadence, and operational reporting. It also partners with Product and FP&A on SKU launches, packaging, and price-book updates. The position is permanent and requires U.S. citizenship; the successful candidate must hold or be able to obtain a Secret-level national security clearance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
5–8+ years of direct experience in Deal Desk, Sales Operations, Revenue Operations, or Commercial/Federal Contracts, ideally in enterprise B2B and/or B2G sales, IT hardware, or hybrid solution environments.
Deep familiarity with USG procurement vehicles and regulations, including GSA schedules, GWACs/IDIQs, FAR/DFARS impacts on commercial pricing, and channel partner margins.
Hands-on experience with SLED purchasing, including state procurement codes, cooperative contracts, and fiscal budget timing.
Working knowledge of SaaS revenue recognition principles (ASC 606), ARR/ACV metrics, and subscription renewal economics.
Advanced expertise with Salesforce CRM and enterprise CPQ systems such as Salesforce CPQ, DealHub, or similar.
Expert financial modeling skills in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
Current or ability to obtain a Secret-level national security clearance.
U.S. citizenship is required.
Understanding of contract law, risk management, and negotiation strategies.
Strong contract negotiation skills, especially for complex, high-value agreements.
Excellent communication, organization, and analytical abilities.
Ability to identify risks and recommend effective mitigation strategies.
Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities.
Ability to plan and execute contract activities independently, make timely decisions within delegated authority, and escalate issues appropriately.
Ability to work collaboratively across diverse teams and communicate effectively with stakeholders.
Ability to maintain accurate and auditable commercial records.

Nice To Haves

Professional qualification in contract management.
Experience with federal, state, and local government contracting.
Familiarity with contract lifecycle management tools.
Experience with contract management or CRM systems.
Bachelor’s degree in business/finance, legal studies, or contract management.
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or equivalent practical experience.
Experience working alongside Defense/Intelligence capture teams or managing deals requiring FedRAMP/DoD IL-authorized solutions.
Strong cross-functional diplomacy, balancing firm governance and fiduciary duty with a high-touch, solution-oriented approach for Sales teams.

Responsibilities

Advise Sales and Marketing management on complex, non-standard enterprise deals across USG, SLED, and Commercial accounts.
Assist with pricing models, discounting frameworks, multi-year ramp structures, and custom commercial packaging that protect gross margins and accelerate deal closure.
Partner with Contracts, Legal, Finance, and other stakeholders to align commercial terms with company policies, public-sector procurement constraints, and deal economics.
Identify business terms in solicitations and contracts and lead negotiation of those terms in accordance with company policies, guidelines, and authorities.
Collaborate with Contracts, Legal, and Finance to ensure deal pricing complies with federal requirements, including FAR/DFARS, COTS determinations, and GSA MAS discounting and Price Reductions Clause monitoring.
Structure teaming, subcontracting, and reseller margins across Federal Systems Integrators and distribution partners.
Adapt contracting terms for SLED frameworks.
Implement and enforce Sales approval matrices and escalation thresholds.
Own and optimize Salesforce and CPQ Quote-to-Cash workflows to reduce quote turnaround time and non-standard contract review delays.
Manage Commercial deal-review rhythms using low-friction, high-velocity workflows.
Chair weekly Deal Desk review sessions and conduct win/loss pricing retrospectives and pipeline margin health checks.
Track and report Deal Desk KPIs, including quote turnaround time, deal velocity, discounting by tier and segment, margin realization, and contract concessions.
Partner with Product and FP&A to operationalize SKU rollouts, packaging tiers, and price-book adjustments across sales channels.
Plan and execute assigned contract activities independently, make decisions within delegated authority, and escalate issues appropriately in partnership with legal subject-matter experts.
Maintain accurate, auditable commercial records and help protect the company from undue risk while supporting revenue, margin, and operational efficiency.