Partnership Manager-Chennai

Keka HR; Chennai District; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,600,000; Full time

Job summary

Keka HR, a fast-growing HR-tech company in India, seeks a seasoned Partner Account Manager to own a named book of partner relationships end-to-end. You will manage program rules, pipeline, co-sell, and cross-functional alignment to maximize revenue impact while delivering an exceptional partner experience.

The role requires 6–10 years in channel/alliances for B2B SaaS, strong commercial sense, and excellent stakeholder engagement with VP/C-level partners.

Qualifications

• 6–10 years in channel / alliances / partner-account management at a B2B SaaS or enterprise-tech company.
• Strong commercial instincts — margin, incentives, deal economics and conflict resolution.
• CRM/PRM hygiene discipline and structured QBR / forecasting cadence.
• Senior stakeholder presence — comfortable with VP / C-level conversations at partners.

Responsibilities

• Own program rules — tier criteria, certifications, MDF usage, branding, incentives, rebates and commissions.
• Maintain clean partner data in CRM/PRM (certifications, contacts, opportunities).
• Oversee deal registration, contract renewals, SLA and MDF claim validation.
• Drive pipeline creation, co-sell support, negotiation and conflict resolution with each partner.
• Build partner sales plans, joint customer-success plans, reference-customer development and upsell/cross-sell motions.
• Run joint GTM — campaigns, key plays, enablement milestones, co-marketing strategy and execution.
• Coordinate across Sales, Marketing, Ops, Finance, Legal, CS, Presales and Channel Leadership.

Skills

Channel management

Partner sales

CRM/PRM hygiene

Forecasting cadence

Executive communication

Tools

CRM/PRM

Job description

Keka is one of India's fastest-growing modern HR-tech companies, serving 10,000+ businesses across HR, payroll, performance, hiring and finance. The Keka Partner Organization is a strategic growth lever — operating a partner ecosystem across distributors, resellers, technology / ISV partners, and referral partners (CAs, HR consultants, payroll bureaus, advisors).

Role Summary

The PAM owns a named book of Keka partners end-to-end — program rules, pipeline, co-sell, operations, GTM, cross-functional alignment and the partner relationship. You are responsible for maximizing your partners’ revenue impact while delivering an exceptional experience with Keka.

Key Responsibilities

Program & Partner Mechanics

• Own program rules — tier criteria, certifications, MDF usage, branding, incentives, rebates and commissions.
• Maintain clean partner data in CRM/PRM ( certifications, contacts, opportunities);
• Oversee deal registration, contract renewals, SLA and MDF claim validation.

Pipeline, Co-Sell & GTM

• Drive pipeline creation, co-sell support, negotiation, margin discussion and conflict resolution with each partner.
• Build partner sales plans, joint customer-success plans, reference-customer development and upsell/cross-sell motions.
• Run joint GTM — campaigns, key plays, enablement milestones, co-marketing strategy and execution.

Operations, Reviews & Cross-Functional

• QBR / MBR / weekly reviews, forecasting accuracy, pipeline hygiene and partner scorecard management.
• Coordinate Sales, Marketing, Ops, Finance, Legal, CS, Presales and Channel Leadership on partner needs.
• Resolve commercial, operational and support escalations; manage budgets and deal-desk for partner investments.

Strategic Relationship & Lifecycle

• Executive alignment with VP/C-level at top partners; annual business reviews and multi-year growth roadmaps.
• Partner health-score monitoring, journey mapping, NPS, advisory-board participation.
• Voice-of-partner programs, partner community building, and clean exit/offboarding when required.

How Success Is Measured

• Partner-sourced + partner-influenced revenue against quota.
• Active partners %, pipeline coverage, win rate, forecast accuracy.
• Tier-progression of partners, certification compliance, partner NPS.

Must-Have

• 6–10 years in channel / alliances / partner-account management at a B2B SaaS or enterprise-tech company; carried a partner-sourced number.
• Strong commercial instincts — margin, incentives, deal economics and conflict resolution.
• CRM/PRM hygiene discipline and structured QBR / forecasting cadence.
• Senior stakeholder presence — comfortable with VP / C-level conversations at partners.

Nice-to-Have

• HR-tech, fintech, or payroll-adjacent industry exposure.
• Experience scaling a partner book from a handful to 50+ active partners.