Director, Partner Programs & Operations

ClickHouse, Inc.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work environment

Healthcare coverage

Equity in the company

Flexible time off

USD 500 home office setup

Global gatherings

Job summary

ClickHouse, Inc. seeks a Director of Partner Programs & Operations to design, build, and run a global partner ecosystem. Lead programs, operations, channel development, and enablement with accountability for partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline.

You will own the systems, data layer, onboarding motions, and measurement framework, and will grow a small team as the partner business expands, collaborating with regional field operations and executives.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in partner operations, channel operations, alliances, or revenue operations with direct partner scope.
• Builder's bias: design programs end-to-end and stand up motion from a thin starting point.
• Direct hyperscaler experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure partner programs.
• Experience building SI/services partner capability, not just transacting partners.
• Fluency with partner economics: margins, rebates, MDF, and revenue impact.
• Owner-operator mindset for system ownership from design to operation.
• Systems depth: deep knowledge of Salesforce PRM data model and a PRM platform.
• SQL fluency for partner performance analysis.
• Exposure to consumption/usage-based business models and marketplace transactions.
• Ability to collaborate with Legal and Finance on partner agreements and MDF payout.
• Credible with partners and internal field teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; comfortable with executives.
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own the partner program definition and annual refresh across cloud, ISV, and SI partners; manage MDF budget and funding mechanics.
• Own operational relationships with hyperscalers and top-tier partners: program compliance, funding, and standing reviews.
• Define and measure partner pipeline contribution and certified delivery capacity; defend numbers to leadership and partners.
• Design and own partner systems, data models, deal registration, SLAs, and co-sell hygiene; guide systems team.
• Co-own channel development; own onboarding/activation framework from signed to productive.
• Own partner enablement and readiness: certification paths and curriculum with enablement teams.
• Own partner-of-record and attribution in marketplace transactions; coordinate with commercial team.
• Develop the team and scale the function to support a global partner surface.

Skills

Partner operations

Hyperscaler experience

SI/Services partnerships

Partner economics

Owner-operator mindset

Salesforce/PRM depth

SQL fluency

Executive communication

Commercial/MSP collaboration

Legal/Finance alignment

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Impartner

Allbound

Salesforce PRM

Job description

We are looking for a Director of Partner Programs & Operations to work with Partner, Sales and Operations leadership to design, build, and run the partner ecosystem at ClickHouse. The function covers four capabilities: partner programs, partner operations, channel development, and partner enablement.

This is a design and build role before it is a management one. The program, the systems and data underneath it, the onboarding and readiness motions, and the way the ecosystem is measured are yours to design.

Working closely with the VP, Global Partners and Alliances, and reporting to the VP, Revenue Operations, you share accountability for what the partner ecosystem produces and for what it can deliver: partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, and the certified capacity to implement ClickHouse. You own the programs, standards, and measurement behind both.

You will inherit a small team and grow it as the partner business does. The function runs globally, working through the regional field operations teams.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own the partner program definition and the annual refresh: tiering, benefits, requirements, the partner business planning cadence across cloud, ISV, and SI partners, and the MDF budget with the rebate and funding mechanics behind it. Design the program so it pays for the behavior we want.

• Own the operational counterpart relationships at the hyperscalers and our top-tier partners: program compliance, competencies, the funding and credits those programs make available, and the standing reviews that keep us qualified and keep the joint motion moving.

• Own how the partner business is measured. Set what pipeline contribution and certified delivery capacity mean, and own the reporting that shows where that capacity exists and where it is thin. Defend the numbers to sales leadership, Finance, and the partners.

• Design and own the partner systems, process, and data layer everything else runs on: the PRM, the partner data model in Salesforce, deal registration rules and SLAs, conflict resolution with direct sellers, and co-sell submission hygiene and partner-of-record accuracy. You define the requirements and the logic, and the systems team builds and maintains against them.

• Co-own channel development with the Partners team. You own the onboarding and activation framework that carries a partner from signed to productive, and you run it directly for the long tail. The Partners team leads development for strategic partners and works from the same framework.

• Own partner enablement and readiness: certification paths, competency requirements, and the partner-facing curriculum and content library, built with the enablement and learning teams that own the platform and delivery. You own the readiness bar that determines whether an SI can implement ClickHouse well without us in the room.

• Own the partner-of-record and attribution side of marketplace transactions, with the commercial team owning execution.

• Develop the team and build out the capability the partner business needs next. Design how a small function supports a global partner surface, and expect to carry work yourself before it is staffed.

What You Bring Along

• 10+ years in partner operations, channel operations, alliances, or revenue operations with direct partner scope, including at least five years leading a team.

• A builder's bias. You would rather design a program than administer one, and you have taken one from early to real: you can point to the tiering, economics, and deal registration you designed or rebuilt, and what it produced. You are comfortable making the platform, process, and data model decisions the function needs, and standing up a motion from a thin starting point.

• Direct hyperscaler experience, required. You have worked AWS, GCP, or Azure partner programs from the operational side: co-sell, program tiers and competencies, marketplace mechanics, and funding.

• Experience building SI and services partner capability, not only transacting partners. You know what it takes for a partner to deliver competently on a technical product: certification that means something, real practice investment, and delivery quality you can measure rather than assume.

• Fluency with partner economics. Margin, referral fees, rebates, and MDF, and how each shows up in revenue, in the P&L, and in partner behavior.

• Owner-operator mindset. You treat partner programs and operations as a system you own end-to-end: you build it, you run it, you fix it when it breaks, and you measure it by what it produces, not by activity.

• Systems depth. Strong working knowledge of the Salesforce partner data model and a PRM platform (Impartner, Allbound, Salesforce PRM, or similar), with enough depth to specify what needs to be built rather than describe the problem.

• SQL fluency required. Comfortable building your own analysis on partner performance.

• Exposure to consumption-based or usage-based business models strongly preferred. You understand marketplace transaction mechanics, commit drawdown, and why a marketplace deal is not just a differently-papered direct deal.

• Able to partner with Legal and Finance on partner agreements, margin structure, MDF accrual and payout, and the revenue recognition implications of channel and marketplace transactions.

• Credible with partners externally and with the field internally. You can sit in a hyperscaler partner review and in a regional pipeline call, and be useful in both.

• Excellent written and verbal communication. Comfortable presenting to executives and to senior partner stakeholders.

• Bachelor's degree; advanced degree or equivalent experience preferred.

Perks

• Flexible work environment - ClickHouse is a globally distributed company and remote-friendly. We currently operate in over 25 countries.

• Healthcare - Employer contributions towards your healthcare.

• Equity in the company - Every new team member who joins our company receives stock options.

• Time off - Flexible time off in the US, generous entitlement in other countries.

• A USD$500 Home office setup if you're a remote employee.

• Global Gatherings - We believe in the power of in-person connection and offer opportunities to engage with colleagues at company-wide offsites.

Culture - We All Shape It

As part of a rapidly scaling start-up, you will be instrumental in shaping our culture.

Are you interested in finding out more about our culture? Learn more about our values here. Check out our blog posts or follow us on LinkedIn to find out more about what's happening at ClickHouse.

Equal Opportunity & Privacy

ClickHouse provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type based on factors such as race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Please see here for our Privacy Statement.