Lead - Channel Sales

Sails Software Solutions; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 4,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshworks is seeking a Channel Manager - MEA to build, activate and grow the partner ecosystem across the Middle East and Africa region. You will identify partners, enable them to sell and deliver Freshworks solutions, and develop joint GTM plans to drive incremental revenue.

You will collaborate with Sales, Solution Consulting, Customer Success and Marketing to ensure partners become a meaningful growth channel, requiring strong commercial ownership and execution discipline.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of channel sales, alliances or partner management experience.
• Experience with SIs, MSPs, VARs or distributors.
• Experience managing enterprise sales cycles with partner-led opportunities.
• Experience across multiple countries/markets is strongly preferred.
• Background in SaaS, ITSM, ITOM, ITAM, cybersecurity or cloud tech is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute MEA partner strategy and recruit meaningful partners.
• Activate new partners and build enablement plans.
• Drive partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline generation.
• Align partner activity with account planning and sales leadership.
• Maintain partner governance and performance reviews.
• Support deal registration and cross-functional collaboration.

Skills

Channel sales

Partner management

Commercial ownership

Pipeline management

Forecasting

Communication & negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Job Description

We are looking for a Channel Manager - Middle East Africa (MEA) to build, activate and grow Freshworks partner ecosystem across the region.

This role is responsible for creating incremental business through the partner ecosystem - identifying the right partners, enabling them to sell and deliver Freshworks solutions, building joint go-to-market motions, generating qualified pipeline and ensuring strong execution across the partner lifecycle.

The role requires a strong balance of commercial ownership, partner management, sales alignment and operational discipline.

The Channel Manager will work closely with Sales, Solution Consulting, Customer Success, Marketing, Alliances and other cross-functional teams to make partners a meaningful growth channel for Freshworks.

. Partner Strategy Business Development

• Develop and execute the partner strategy for assigned markets and segments across MEA.
• Identify and recruit partners that can provide meaningful customer access, technical capability, industry expertise or geographic coverage.
• Evaluate partners based on their ability to generate pipeline, influence customers, implement solutions and build a sustainable Freshworks practice.
• Develop joint business plans with priority partners, including revenue objectives, target accounts, GTM activities and capability-building priorities.
• Build relationships with senior stakeholders within the partner organization and establish clear mutual accountability.

2. Partner Activation Readiness

• Own the activation of newly recruited partners and move them from onboarding to productive engagement.
• Drive partner readiness across product knowledge, sales capability, solution positioning, certifications and implementation capability.
• Identify capability gaps and create focused enablement plans rather than relying on generic training.
• Establish measurable activation milestones and monitor progress against them.
• Ensure partners have the tools, knowledge and internal champions required to independently position and sell Freshworks.

3. Pipeline Generation Revenue Growth

• Own partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline generation for the assigned territory.
• Build joint campaigns, account-mapping exercises, workshops, roundtables and other pipeline-generation initiatives with priority partners.
• Identify opportunities where partner access or capability can create incremental Freshworks revenue.
• Work with Sales teams to convert partner-generated pipeline into qualified opportunities and closed business.
• Track partner contribution across the funnel - from recruitment and activation through pipeline, conversion and revenue.
• Identify gaps early and build corrective action plans with partners and internal stakeholders.

4. Joint GTM Field Alignment

• Build strong relationships with Freshworks Account Executives and Sales leadership to align partner activity with territory priorities.
• Facilitate joint account planning between Freshworks and partners.
• Bring partners into relevant enterprise opportunities where they add customer access, technical expertise, implementation capability or commercial leverage.
• Ensure the right level of partner involvement based on the opportunity rather than involving partners purely for attribution.
• Support strategic partner-led and partner-assisted opportunities through the sales cycle.

5. Partner Governance Performance Management

• Establish regular operating cadences with priority partners, including pipeline reviews, business reviews and action tracking.
• Maintain visibility into partner performance, pipeline quality, conversion, activity and readiness.
• Hold partners accountable to agreed commitments and follow through on action items.
• Identify underperforming or inactive partners and develop clear activation, remediation or rationalization plans.
• Maintain accurate partner and opportunity information across Freshworks systems and reporting mechanisms.

6. Opportunity Deal Support

• Support partner registration, opportunity alignment, attribution and commercial processes in accordance with Freshworks policies.
• Ensure partner involvement and contribution are clearly documented.
• Coordinate with Sales, Finance, Legal, Operations and other teams where partner-related issues affect deal execution.
• Escalate partner-related blockers appropriately and drive them to resolution.
• Protect a consistent customer experience while ensuring the partner receives the appropriate support.

7. Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with:

• Sales / Account Executives: account planning, opportunity creation and conversion
• Solution Consulting: technical readiness, demos and solution positioning
• Customer Success: expansion, adoption and partner-supported customer outcomes
• Marketing: campaigns, events, demand generation and partner marketing
• Partner Enablement: certifications and capability development
• Operations / Finance: commercial processes, attribution and operational execution
• Leadership: partner strategy, performance reviews and regional priorities

Role Boundaries

The Channel Manager is accountable for partner growth, activation, engagement and partner-led pipeline to ensure larger market share.

Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured through a combination of partner productivity, pipeline creation, revenue contribution and ecosystem health, including:

• Partner addition and activation
• Partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline
• Partner-attributed revenue / ARR
• Partner pipeline conversion
• Revenue/Quality of activated partners
• Partner readiness and certification
• Joint account-planning coverage
• Partner-led GTM activity and resulting pipeline
• Strategic partner engagement and business-plan execution
• Partner productivity and contribution to regional growth
• Accuracy of partner attribution and opportunity governance

The focus is on productive partners and measurable business outcomes, not simply the number of partners recruited. Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in channel sales, alliances, partner management, indirect sales or B2B technology sales.
• Experience working with partners such as SIs, MSPs, VARs, distributors, cloud partners or technology specialists.
• Experience managing enterprise technology sales cycles and partner-led opportunities.
• Experience working across multiple countries or markets is strongly preferred.
• Experience in SaaS, ITSM, ITOM, ITAM, cybersecurity, cloud or adjacent enterprise technology categories is an advantage.

Skills

• Strong commercial and business-development mindset.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with both partners and internal sales teams.
• Strong understanding of indirect sales and partner economics.
• Ability to identify where a partner can create genuine incremental value.
• Strong pipeline-management and forecasting discipline.
• Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, matrixed environment.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to use data to manage partner performance.