AI Partnerships Marketing Lead — Tiered Programs

Morningstar; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 95,275 - 139,741; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% 401k match up to 6%

Stock Ownership Potential

Comprehensive health benefits

6-week paid sabbatical program

Paid volunteering days

Job summary

Morningstar is seeking a Senior Manager, AI Partnership Marketing in Chicago, IL. This hybrid, full‑time role leads the strategy and activation of a tiered partner marketing program, building co‑marketing playbooks, enabling internal teams, and driving partner‑sourced revenue.

You will collaborate across product, sales, brand, and legal to scale the program from ground up. You will own joint demand generation, events, content design systems, and sales enablement while communicating ROI to

Qualifications

• 6+ years in B2B marketing with at least 2 years in partnership, channel, or alliance marketing at a SaaS or data/technology company.
• Experience building tiered partner programs with co-marketing execution, enablement, and performance reporting.
• Strong understanding of the LLM and AI platform ecosystem; familiarity with partner marketplace dynamics and co-sell motions.
• Fluency in demand-gen channels — paid search, display, social, email, webinars, and events.
• Experience with marketing attribution modeling and CRM hygiene (Salesforce).

Responsibilities

• Design tiered partner marketing program (Platinum / Gold / Silver) including intake criteria, upgrade paths, and treatment‑by‑tier marketing plans covering demand gen, media, product marketing, events, and brand.
• Serve as the primary marketing contact for enrolled partners; lead kickoff meetings to align on brand rights, creative review SLAs, joint value propositions, and rules of engagement.
• Develop co‑branded assets and a reusable design system with the creative team for fast‑track content production across partners.
• Build and maintain in‑platform brand guidelines defining Morningstar’s appearance inside partner ecosystems and off‑platform experiences.
• Develop and execute GTM enablement plans for the sales team — including talk tracks, FAQs, one‑pagers, and joint sales plays — and track adoption via Gong and asset engagement metrics.
• Own partner‑sourced pipeline tracking and influence attribution; prepare QBR materials to demonstrate ROI to internal leadership and partner stakeholders.
• Create targeted client education content (persona‑ and workflow‑specific) that translates AI capabilities for advisors.
• Align with sales leadership and the Global Head of AI Platform Strategy on partner prioritization and enrollment decisions.
• Establish shared workspaces, communication cadences, and escalation paths with each partner.
• Monitor demand‑gen activation budget and track spend against pipeline and revenue outcomes.
• Identify operational risks and proactively build processes to mitigate them.

Skills

Partnership marketing

GTM strategy

Sales enablement

Cross-functional collaboration

Demand generation

CRM hygiene (Salesforce)

Tools

Salesforce

Gong

Job description

Senior Manager, AI Partnership Marketing

About The Role

Morningstar's Direct Platform is building a dedicated AI Partnership Marketing function to accelerate growth across the LLM and AI ecosystem. As the first marketer dedicated to this space, you'll build and scale a partner marketing program that drives co-marketing, sales enablement, client education, and measurable pipeline growth.

You'll serve as the primary marketing lead for strategic AI partners, working across Product, Sales, Brand, Legal, and AI Platform Strategy to execute joint go-to-market initiatives and grow partner-sourced revenue.

What You'll Own

• Partner marketing strategy and program development
• Co-marketing campaigns and go-to-market execution
• Sales enablement and partner communications
• Partner branding and governance
• Performance measurement and reporting
• Client education and adoption
  
  

Responsibilities

• Design, launch, and evolve a scalable AI partner marketing program that supports strategic business priorities.
• Serve as the primary marketing contact for strategic AI partners, driving alignment and execution across cross-functional teams.
• Develop and execute integrated co-marketing campaigns, including digital marketing, webinars, events, PR, and co-branded content.
• Partner with Brand and Product Marketing to establish and maintain consistent brand standards across partner experiences.
• Develop sales enablement resources, including messaging, content, and go-to-market materials that support joint sales efforts.
• Measure and communicate partner marketing performance through pipeline reporting, business reviews, and program insights.
• Create client-facing content that supports awareness, education, and adoption of Morningstar's AI capabilities.
• Partner with Sales leadership and AI Platform Strategy to prioritize partnerships, align go-to-market plans, and identify growth opportunities.
• Establish scalable processes and best practices that enable efficient partner collaboration and program execution.
• Manage program budgets, monitor performance, and identify opportunities to improve effectiveness and operational efficiency.
  
  

What You Bring

• 6+ years in B2B marketing with at least 2 years in partnership, channel, or alliance marketing at a SaaS or data/technology company.
• Demonstrated experience building or managing a tiered partner program — including co-marketing execution, enablement, and performance reporting.
• Strong understanding of the LLM and AI platform ecosystem; familiarity with partner marketplace dynamics and co-sell motions.
• Fluency in demand-gen channels — paid search, display, social, email, webinars, and events — with the ability to build campaigns across all of them.
• Experience with marketing attribution modeling and CRM hygiene (Salesforce), including pipeline tagging for partner-sourced and partner-influenced deals.
• Excellent cross-functional instincts: comfortable working across sales, legal, brand, product marketing, and executive stakeholders simultaneously.
• Strong project management and written communication skills; able to run multiple partner workstreams without losing fidelity on any of them.
• Experience developing client-facing education content for non-technical audiences — translating complex technology into workflow-level clarity.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity at the early stages of a program build, with the discipline to create repeatable processes from scratch.
  
  

Nice to have

• Prior experience at a fintech, financial data, or investment management company — or selling into RIAs, broker-dealers, or asset managers.
• Familiarity with co-sell programs at dominant AI platforms (e.g., Microsoft, Salesforce, Google, or similar ecosystem partners).
• Experience working with Gong for sales enablement analytics and asset adoption tracking.
• Background in brand licensing or in-platform brand governance across third-party integrations.
  
  

How Success Is Measured

Success will be measured by the growth and effectiveness of the partner marketing program, including partner engagement, pipeline and revenue contribution, cross-functional collaboration, and the successful execution of joint go-to-market initiatives.

Chicago, IL (Hybrid, 4/day in office)

Full-timeReports to: Team Lead, Strategic AccountMarketing

Dottedline: Global Head of AI Platform Strategy & Partnerships

Compensation And Benefits

At Morningstar we believe people are at their best when they are at their healthiest. That’s why we champion your wellness through a wide range of programs that support all stages of your personal and professional life. Here are some examples of the offerings we provide:

• Financial Health
• 100% 401k match up to 6% of salary
• Stock Ownership Potential
• Company provided life insurance - 1x salary + commission
• Physical Health
• Comprehensive health benefits (medical/dental/vision) including potential premium discounts and company-provided HSA contributions (up to $500-$2,000 annually) for specific plans and coverages
• Additional medical Wellness Incentives - up to $300-$600 annual
• Company-provided long- and short-term disability insurance
• Emotional Health
• Trust-Based Time Off
• 6-week Paid Sabbatical Program
• 6-Week Paid Family Caregiving Leave
• Competitive 8-24 Week Paid Parental Leave
• Adoption Assistance
• Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities
• Annual Flex Stipend - $1000 annually to cover personal education & well-being expenses
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Social Health
• Charitable Matching Gifts program
• Dollars for Doers volunteer program
• Paid volunteering days
• 15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups
  

Total Cash Compensation Range

$95,275.00-139,741.66

Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive

Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in-person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in-office each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you'll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.

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