Channel Sales Manager

Cognesense; Hillside (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognesense, headquartered in Hillside, IL, is seeking a Channel Manager (Distributor / EPC) to expand coverage and drive productivity beyond our direct sales force, aiming to have Cognesense specified before award. You report to the Sales Director and own channel development while partners and EPCs map to project ownership.

The role requires 5+ years building distributor networks or EPC sales, plus a strong grasp of pricing strategies and partner management.

Qualifications

• 5+ years managing distributor or rep networks, or EPC and specification sales for industrial products.
• Track record of growing channel revenue and recruiting new partners.
• Experience setting partner goals, running business reviews and managing agreements.
• Strong commercial sense on channel pricing and discount structures.
• Willingness to travel across the region (up to about 50%).

Responsibilities

• Segment partners as strategic, growth, specialist, or exit and replace, and build an annual plan for each key partner.
• Recruit where there is white space, and replace partners who do not perform.
• Run quarterly partner reviews and measure partners on revenue, pipeline and product breadth.

Skills

Distributor networks

Channel sales

Travel up to 50%

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering or a technical field

Job description

Headquartered in Hillside, IL, Cognesense is a worldwide environmental technology company built through the combination of heritage brands, including L&J Technologies, Shand & Jurs, Varec, Sonitus Systems, Petrel, Ex-tech, Pyroban, and Pyropress, that together represent over a century of domain expertise. Under the positioning “Measure. Monitor. Protect.,” Cognesense delivers measurement and instrumentation, safety equipment, automation, and software (including its Clairvoyance and FuelsManager® platforms) to customers in over 100 countries across energy production and storage, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, water and wastewater, aviation fuel, aerospace and defense, food and beverage, and other regulated, high-stakes end markets.

About the Role

The Channel Manager (Distributor / EPC) is responsible for the routes to market that create coverage and influence beyond our own salespeople: distributors and reps, and the EPC and specification ecosystem. You move the region from distributor coverage to distributor productivity, and you get Cognesense specified before the award.

This is a Tier 3 role reporting to the Sales Director. You own channel development; the Sales Director owns the regional commercial outcome, and the Regional Sales / Business Manager owns each customer relationship. In larger regions, distributor and EPC can be two separate roles under this title.

Responsibilities

• Segment partners as strategic, growth, specialist, or exit and replace, and build an annual plan for each key partner.
• Recruit where there is white space, and replace partners who do not perform.
• Run quarterly partner reviews and measure partners on revenue, pipeline and product breadth.

EPC and Specification

• Work the target EPC list and map EPC to owner, project, engineering hub and approved vendor list route.
• Track pre-FEED, FEED, vendor-list and tender activity, and connect each project to the Regional Sales / Business Manager who owns the relationship.
• Coordinate multi-region projects once, with product leadership validating technical fit before submission.

Enablement and Pricing

• Onboard and train partners with Technical Sales Engineers and Product Specialists.
• Maintain channel pricing and programs with the Product Specialists and Product Directors.

One Customer Ownership Model

• Remove channel conflict with direct sales; every customer has one commercial owner.
• Keep partner and EPC opportunities current in CRM with owner, stage and next action.

How We Measure Success

In your first year, great performance looks like this:

• Channel bookings: Bookings through distributors and reps meet or exceed plan.
• Partner productivity: Key partners grow revenue and product breadth year over year.
• Coverage: Every territory and priority vertical has an active, trained partner or a plan to add one.
• Specification access: More EPC projects have Cognesense on the vendor list or specification before award.
• Partner quality: Under-performing partners are addressed within two quarters.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years managing distributor or rep networks, or EPC and specification sales, for industrial products.
• Track record of growing channel revenue and recruiting new partners.
• Experience setting partner goals, running business reviews and managing agreements.
• Strong commercial sense on channel pricing and discount structures.
• Willingness to travel across the region (up to about 50%).

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering or a technical field.
• Experience with EPCs, FEED and approved vendor list processes.
• Experience in instrumentation, safety equipment or environmental monitoring channels.
• Experience harmonizing partner networks after acquisitions.
• Comfort using AI tools to manage partner data and performance.

How You Work

• You take ownership: you follow every quote, order and question through to the finish instead of handing it off.
• You are curious and want to learn; you ask questions, take feedback and get better every quarter.
• You are a team player who helps colleagues, shares credit and makes the people around you faster.
• You are conscientious, accountable and involved, with a sense of urgency that customers can feel.
• You hold partners to the same standard as our own people: clear goals, real support, honest measurement, and prompt action.