Vendor Alliances Manager - Cisco

Bytes Group; Leatherhead, Reading, London, Manchester; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in IT solutions seeks an Alliances & GTM Manager to enhance vendor relationships and strategize sales opportunities. This role focuses on driving revenue and collaboration with sales teams while managing customer engagements. The position promotes a culture of innovation and offers excellent development opportunities within a vibrant team.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Excellent learning and development opportunities

On-site gym and outdoor tiki bar

Company wellbeing and social events

Discounted private healthcare

Qualifications

• 2-3 years’ experience in a similar sales-focused role.
• Experience in selling software solutions.
• Comfortable presenting updates to sales and Specialists.

Responsibilities

• Manage and develop strategic vendor relationships.
• Collaborate to create vendor business plans.
• Deliver expected Vendor GP against annual targets.

Skills

Excellent organisational skills

Customer service skills

Multi-tasking

Sales skills

Commercial creativity

Education

A-level education

Job description

Bytes is a top provider of premium IT solutions and services, working with SMEs, corporations, and public sector organizations to modernize and digitally transform their IT infrastructures. Founded in 1982, Bytes has experienced significant growth, now employing over 750 people across seven locations in the UK and Ireland, with a turnover surpassing £2 billion.

At Bytes, we nurture talented individuals to achieve remarkable outcomes and are dedicated to supporting our employees through continuous training, guidance, and development to help you advance and fulfil your career goals. We foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, recognition, and inclusivity and offer a wide range of benefits to support staff wellbeing.

• Operating from modern, hybrid working environments with offices in Leatherhead, Reading, London, and Manchester
• 25 days holiday per annum plus bank holidays and Christmas period
• Excellent learning and development opportunities
• Open plan office with collaborative working spaces, on-site gym, outdoor tiki bar, coffee bar, and lunch area
• Company wellbeing and social events
• Sports and social clubs
• Incentive trips
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted private healthcare
• EV scheme and Ride to Work scheme
• Winners of an array of industry awards
• Great Place to Work Certified
• Sunday Times Top 100 Best Places to Work
• Supporters of 85+ charities with strong commitment to diversity and sustainability

POSITION DETAILS:

Position Title:

Reports to (POSITION):

Reports to (POSITION):

Alliances & GTM Manager

Team:

Department:

PURPOSE OF JOB:

Join our hardworking and dynamic team within the thriving Bytes community! This role is part of our Vendor Solutions Team.

In this sales-focused position, you'll be responsible for managing and developing strategic vendor relationships with Bytes, acting as a commercial and partnership expert.

Your goal will be to increase revenues and profits within our Vendor Solutions, working alongside sales teams and customers to create, win, and optimize sales opportunities.

You'll take ownership of various customer-facing opportunities, including upsell, expansion, and renewal engagements, across all customer segments: mid-market, corporate, enterprise, public sector, and channel.

Regular interaction with key stakeholders within Cisco and the internal sales team is essential, so strong communication skills across these areas are crucial.

You'll also collaborate closely with the Alliances & GTM Manager to build and own the Go-To-Market strategy and resources for the aligned vendors. This includes creating sales collateral, supporting marketing plans, and working with peers on multi-vendor messages.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Business Planning and Strategy

• Collaborate with the Head of proposition/Alliances & GTM Manager to own the creation and monitor the execution of the vendor business plan, ensuring the outcomes align with core business objectives.
• Track and manage direct vendor rebates.
• Organise, prepare, and co-present on vendor QBRs.
• Co-ordinate sales enablement, focus days, sales-based events, and vendor networking.
• Manage certification and specialisation requirements with vendors, working alongside Vendor Operations to ensure we remain compliant.
• Work closely with the marketing lead to ensure marketing activities are incorporated into the plan and communicated effectively with the vendor to encourage promotion. You will be expected to create relevant and appropriate content and messaging for each sales segment, supporting the marketing team with execution and follow-up of all initiatives.
• Create vendor investment plans, including MDF, incentives, and rebates.
• Organise and support consistent executive vendor alignment with Bytes, in line with the business plan.
• Lead Go To Market strategies and integration sales plays in conjunction with supporting vendors and peers.

Sales and Deal Management

• Be responsible for delivering the expected Vendor GP against the annual target. You will be measured against this.
• Own the progress and reporting of Renewal Retention, Refresh Potential, and Cross Sell/Upsell (including bi-annual tech update meetings with clients).
• Support Account Managers, Specialists, and the vendor in new business customer opportunities.
• Sell Bytes back into the vendor, building relationships and identifying customer opportunities through the vendor.
• Review and report on deal registrations for strategic vendors, tracking win/loss ratios and using this data to inform future activity.
• Undertake and review loss analysis data.
• Review whitespace data and present insights to sales teams and Specialists to drive customer engagement.
• Compile, distribute, and monitor propensity data analysis.
• Manage renewals proactively—engaging directly with customers and Account Managers, collaborating with the Specialist team if renewal is at risk, and reporting to Leads.
• Manage upsell opportunities proactively—engaging directly with customers and Account Managers, collaborating with peers and the Specialists team for multi-vendor options, and reporting to Leads.
• Support accurate forecasting in collaboration with Specialists and Account Managers.
• Assist customer engagements with Specialists and Account Teams as needed.
• Understand and enable sales to utilize cloud marketplaces as a transaction route for technology purchases.

Internal Systems and Documentation

• Maintain internal SharePoint (Compass) vendor pages, including minimum margins on the portal.
• Ensure the accuracy of the vendor taxonomy.
• Work with internal supply chain, Enterprise Networking, and distribution partners to ensure process efficiency, including marketplace offers.
• Use SharePoint (Compass) to promote news and updates about managed vendors.
• Encourage accurate use of CRM, collaborating with Specialists and Account Managers to ensure deal values and timelines are correctly recorded for forecasting and reporting.

Personal Requirements

• Deep commercial understanding of the Cisco partner programme (Partner 360).
• Growth mindset and positive attitude towards continuous learning, including sales and product topics.
• Comfortable presenting vendor-specific updates to sales and Specialists.
• Able to explain Cisco's USPs and value proposition.
• Understanding where Cisco complements other vendors.

WIDER TEAM NETWORK

Internal

• Sales, Specialists, Marketing, Head of Solutions, Alliances & GTM team.

External

• Working directly with sales teams, mainstream Distributors & Partners, and Cisco.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, & SKILLS:

Educational Qualifications:

• Educated to A-level standard.

ESSENTIAL

DESIRABLE

Professional Attributes

• Experience of selling software solutions.
• Experience in commercially compiling complex (vendor) quotes.

DESIRABLE

ESSENTIAL

DESIRABLE

Years of Experience

• 2-3 years’ experience in a similar role.

DESIRABLE

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

Other Requirements

• Excellent organisational and customer service skills.
• Multi-tasking team player.
• Outgoing and enthusiastic.
• Copes well under pressure.

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

ESSENTIAL

• Regarded as a trusted advisor in proposition area.
• Commercial creativity skills across product, services, and support.
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships across Bytes, customer, and vendor community.
• Ability to articulate proposition area to all levels, including up to executive level.
• Pro-active approach to maintaining customer base and driving new sales.