Client Development Advisor - Public Sector Alliances & Partnerships

McKinsey & Company seeks a Client Development Advisor for Public Sector Alliances & Partnerships, based in specific U.S. locations. The role involves collaborating with the Public Sector Go-To-Market team to develop strategic partnerships, manage relationships with various stakeholders, and support client development efforts. Candidates should have over 7 years of experience in public sector alliances and a strong understanding of procurement and contracting strategies.
Your Growth

You will be based in one of our following locations - San Francisco, Southern California, Silicon Valley, Houston, Dallas, New York or Washington - DC office - as part of McKinsey's Social Sector, Healthcare and Public Entities (SHaPE) practice.

The SHaPE practice provides management consulting services to governments at the federal, state and local levels as well as private sector healthcare payors and providers.

In your role, you will serve as the 'voice of McKinsey' within the partner firm and the 'voice of the partner firm' within McKinsey as you work closely with colleagues to bring the best of our partnership portfolio across the client development lifecycle.

You will forge effective relationships across McKinsey's distributed and non-hierarchical organization with consultants and client development advisors in the SHaPE practice as well as teaming partners.

Your Impact

In this role you will collaborate closely with the Public Sector Go-To-Market (GTM) team to identify and drive strategic partnership opportunities in the state and local government sector.

You will support client development efforts, leveraging partnerships to strengthen pipeline development, teaming arrangements, and contract pursuits.

You will drive creation and iteration of playbooks and assets with teaming partners to enhance our capabilities and competitive positioning in major state and local procurements.

You will work with internal risk, contracts, operations, and client teams to integrate partnership strategies into key market plays and client pursuits.

You will support and manage relationships with strategic partners, including large primes, small businesses, technology providers, and government agencies.

You will oversee small business programs including mentor-protégé and joint venture partnerships, ensuring alignment with growth objectives and compliance requirements.

You will lead efforts to structure, negotiate, and operationalize teaming agreements, Memo of Understanding (MoU), and other partnership vehicles.

You will support risk and due diligence of partnership ecosystem including service delivery integration.

You will represent the company in industry events, conferences, and networking forums to build and expand alliances and attend industry conferences, networking events, and government forums to build brand presence and identify strategic opportunities.

You will lead outreach efforts to industry partners, associations, and government stakeholders to expand engagement in the state and local ecosystem.

You will conduct market scans and competitive intelligence analysis to identify trends, emerging players, and partnership opportunities.

You will facilitate client engagements and targeted outreach initiatives to strengthen relationships and drive business development.

Your qualifications and skills
• 7+ years of experience in public sector alliances, business development, or government contracting, preferably in state and local markets
• Strong understanding of public sector procurement, contracting vehicles, and teaming strategies
• Demonstrated success in managing partnerships, joint ventures, and alliances to drive business growth
• Experience with small business programs, teaming, and ecosystem partnerships
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally with client development, capture, delivery, and legal teams
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Ability to travel as needed for client engagements, partner meetings, and industry events
• Experience working in a consulting or professional services environment supporting state and local government clients
• Understanding of emerging technology trends in the public sector
• Background in managing strategic alliances with technology providers and small businesses
• U.S. citizenship; ability to obtain a certain level of security clearance mandated by the relevant U.S. government branch or agency