Director Channel Sales

Adapture; Illinois; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Flexible paid time off

Growth-focused, collaborative culture

Team gatherings and events

Job summary

Adapture is seeking a Channel Partnerships Lead to build and scale a partner ecosystem from the ground up, driving repeatable pipeline and long-term revenue growth in cybersecurity. You will recruit and develop strategic partners, work with executive-level stakeholders, and craft joint go-to-market motions across sales and technical teams.

The role blends strategy with hands-on execution and requires strong relationship-building, travel up to 50%, and the ability to influence across sales,

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in channel sales, partnerships, business development, or ecosystem management within cybersecurity or enterprise technology.
• Experience building, scaling, or managing partner programs and channel relationships.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence both business and technical audiences.
• Demonstrated success working cross-functionally with sales, marketing, and operations teams.
• Ability to create structure and drive results in a fast-moving, high-growth environment.
• Strong operational mindset and experience leveraging CRM systems to manage pipeline and partner performance.
• Existing relationships within the VAR, reseller, MSSP, advisory, or cybersecurity partner ecosystem are highly preferred.
• Experience leveraging AI tools to improve productivity and business outcomes is a plus.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

Responsibilities

• Identify, recruit, onboard, and develop strategic channel partners.
• Build trusted relationships with partner leadership, sales teams, and technical stakeholders.
• Establish partner enablement programs, training materials, certifications, and sales tools.
• Deliver presentations, workshops, and training sessions to partner sellers and technical teams.
• Collaborate closely with Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Operations to develop co-sell motions and drive partner-sourced opportunities.
• Manage deal registration, partner pipeline, lead-sharing processes, and joint account planning.
• Track channel performance metrics and maintain strong CRM discipline.
• Attend industry events, partner meetings, customer engagements, and conferences to strengthen relationships and expand market presence.
• Help define the long-term channel strategy, operating model, and partner growth framework as the program scales.

Skills

Channel sales

Partnerships

Business development

Ecosystem management

CRM

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Our client is a fast-growing cybersecurity company focused on helping organizations protect their brand, reputation, and digital identity from evolving threats such as impersonation, fraud, and AI-enabled scams. Backed by experienced technology leaders and investors, the company is building an innovative platform to help organizations proactively identify and mitigate risk at scale.

This is an opportunity to join at an early stage and play a foundational role in shaping the company's go-to-market strategy through channel partnerships.

The Role

The Channel Partnerships Lead will be responsible for building and scaling the partner ecosystem from the ground up. This individual will develop the strategy, processes, and relationships needed to create a repeatable channel-generated pipeline and long-term revenue growth.

This is a highly visible, relationship-driven position that blends strategic planning with hands-on execution. Success requires a strong ability to build trust with partners, engage directly with sales organizations, and create joint go-to-market motions that drive results.

The ideal candidate enjoys being in front of people, building networks, presenting to seller communities, and traveling to strengthen partner relationships. This role offers significant exposure to executives, sales leaders, technical teams, and industry partners across the cybersecurity ecosystem.

What You'll Do

• Identify, recruit, onboard, and develop strategic channel partners.
• Build trusted relationships with partner leadership, sales teams, and technical stakeholders.
• Establish partner enablement programs, training materials, certifications, and sales tools.
• Deliver presentations, workshops, and training sessions to partner sellers and technical teams.
• Collaborate closely with Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Operations to develop co-sell motions and drive partner-sourced opportunities.
• Manage deal registration, partner pipeline, lead-sharing processes, and joint account planning.
• Track channel performance metrics and maintain strong CRM discipline.
• Attend industry events, partner meetings, customer engagements, and conferences to strengthen relationships and expand market presence.
• Help define the long-term channel strategy, operating model, and partner growth framework as the program scales.

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years of experience in channel sales, partnerships, business development, or ecosystem management within cybersecurity or enterprise technology.
• Experience building, scaling, or managing partner programs and channel relationships.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence both business and technical audiences.
• Demonstrated success working cross-functionally with sales, marketing, and operations teams.
• Ability to create structure and drive results in a fast-moving, high-growth environment.
• Strong operational mindset and experience leveraging CRM systems to manage pipeline and partner performance.
• Existing relationships within the VAR, reseller, MSSP, advisory, or cybersecurity partner ecosystem are highly preferred.
• Experience leveraging AI tools to improve productivity and business outcomes is a plus.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

Why This Role Stands Out

• Opportunity to build a channel program from the ground up.
• High visibility with executive leadership.
• Significant partner-facing exposure and networking opportunities.
• Frequent travel to partner offices, industry events, conferences, and joint customer engagements.
• Ability to work directly with sales teams and influence revenue growth.
• Clear path toward expanded ownership of partnerships strategy and channel operations as the business grows.

Benefits & Culture

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Flexible paid time off.
• Collaborative, high-performance culture focused on growth and innovation.
• Regular team gatherings, offsites, and company events.
• Opportunity to work alongside experienced technology and cybersecurity professionals.

This organization is committed to building an inclusive workplace and welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds and experiences.