Director, Channel Programs & Enablement

Kong; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Kong Inc. in San Francisco seeks a Director to design, build, and manage partner programs that support its rapidly growing channel business. You will collaborate with Marketing, Legal, Product, and Sales Enablement to create scalable enablement tools and a compelling partner experience.

You will own the partner portal, certifications, and contract processes, drive governance, and lead a cross-functional team to expand programs globally while aligning with Kong's values and travel requirements.

Qualifications

• Prior experience building and running partner programs, channel enablement, channel marketing, and/or channel development in the technology or services space.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment.
• Problem solver and self-motivated.
• Exceptional oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to conceptualize and sell ideas internally.
• Excellent time-management and multi-tasking abilities.
• Innovation and the ability to build consensus.
• Works extremely well as a member of a team, but also excels as an individual contributor.
• Shares Kong's values and works in accordance with them.
• Prior leadership experience appropriate to a director-level role at Kong.
• Ability to travel if needed and comply with the company's travel policy.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for the design, build, and management of partner programs that support Kong's channel business.
• Develop partner program collateral, documentation, and onboarding tools to enhance the overall partner experience and communicate program details to partners
• Develop the partner portal, leveraging Salesforce (SFDC) and a partner relationship management (PRM) system, working with Marketing and Channel Operations
• Manage and administer the partner portal to create an engaging platform for partners to interact with Kong (lead registration, opportunity tracking, commissions, etc.)
• Work with Channel Operations/IT to implement channel strategy, data/reporting, system workflows, and overall operational governance for the program
• Design the Channel Enablement certification and badge model; work closely with Channel Marketing, Channel Services, Customer Success, and Sales Enablement on partner enablement tools/training, and implement them as part of the overall program
• Manage and administer partner agreements and partner contracting, in coordination with Legal
• Communicate channel programs, strategies, events, and updates internally to drive alignment throughout the business
• Work cross-functionally with Marketing, Product, Legal, and Finance to continue to implement and grow partner programs, and ensure alignment across the business
• Work with partners to solicit feedback on existing programs/processes and implement changes (e.g., Partner Advisory Councils, via channel teams)
• Build a team to effectively manage channel programs, enablement, the partner portal, communications, and MDF/incentive management

Skills

Partner programs

Channel enablement

Channel marketing

Channel development

Communication skills

Leadership experience

Time management

Job description

Are you ready to unlock intelligence?

Nobody checks every box - we're looking for candidates that are particularly strong in a few areas, and have some interest and capabilities in others.

Director, Channel Programs & Enablement Responsibilities

• Responsible for the design, build, and management of partner programs that support Kong's channel business.

• Develop partner program collateral, documentation, and onboarding tools to enhance the overall partner experience and communicate program details to partners

• Develop the partner portal, leveraging Salesforce (SFDC) and a partner relationship management (PRM) system, working with Marketing and Channel Operations

• Manage and administer the partner portal to create an engaging platform for partners to interact with Kong (lead registration, opportunity tracking, commissions, etc.)

• Work with Channel Operations/IT to implement channel strategy, data/reporting, system workflows, and overall operational governance for the program

• Design the Channel Enablement certification and badge model; work closely with Channel Marketing, Channel Services, Customer Success, and Sales Enablement on partner enablement tools/training, and implement them as part of the overall program

• Manage and administer partner agreements and partner contracting, in coordination with Legal

• Communicate channel programs, strategies, events, and updates internally to drive alignment throughout the business

• Work cross-functionally with Marketing, Product, Legal, and Finance to continue to implement and grow partner programs, and ensure alignment across the business

• Work with partners to solicit feedback on existing programs/processes and implement changes (e.g., Partner Advisory Councils, via channel teams)

• Build a team to effectively manage channel programs, enablement, the partner portal, communications, and MDF/incentive management

Director, Channel Programs & Enablement Requirements

• Prior experience building and running partner programs, channel enablement, channel marketing, and/or channel development in the technology or services space

• Thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment

• Problem solver and self-motivated

• Exceptional oral and written communication and presentation skills

• Strong interpersonal skills

• Ability to conceptualize and sell ideas internally

• Excellent time-management and multi-tasking abilities

• Innovation and the ability to build consensus

• Works extremely well as a member of a team, but also excels as an individual contributor

• Shares Kong's values and works in accordance with them

• Prior leadership experience appropriate to a director-level role at Kong

• Ability to travel if needed and comply with the company's travel policy

About Kong:

Kong Inc., the AI Connectivity Company, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong's unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic - on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.