Head of Partnership

DataDrone Inc.; Cheyenne, Northern (WY, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

DataDrone Inc. seeks a senior partnership/channel operator to own the Qualys relationship end‑to‑end, managing partnerships with CAMs and TD SYNNEX while shaping quarterly strategy.

You will build a warm pipeline through trusted partner referrals, not outbound license pitches, and keep the Partnership Landscape current to support secure, trusted outcomes. You will balance commercial dynamics with operational substance, represent the practice externally, and document floor‑pressure incidents to

Qualifications

• Real depth as a senior partnership/channel operator in security or IT services.
• Comfort with both commercial relationship dynamics and operational substance.
• Strong network that yields warm pipeline through trust, not pitch.

Responsibilities

• Own the Qualys partnership relationship — CAM, Senior Partner Security Architect, account analyst, program standing.
• Own the TD SYNNEX MSP relationship — onboarding journey, credit posture, vendor authorization, Amplify, and TD Capital optionality.
• Hold the survival floor — partner badge maintained without chasing tier; tier elevation is a byproduct.
• Set strategic direction quarterly — door emphasis, segment focus, what to deprioritize — in writing, with S&AE and EM aligned.
• Generate Tier 1–2 warm pipeline through personal network and partner-side referrals — never through outbound license pitch.
• Keep the Partnership Landscape current within 14 days of any partner-program change.
• Represent the Qualys practice externally — at events, in trade press, in network conversations — truth-anchored.
• Document every floor-pressure incident: what was asked, declined, why, and how the relationship was maintained.

Job description

DataDrone runs a Qualys implementation practice that ships outcomes in 45 days. Not a license shop. Not a generalist consultancy. Every engagement starts with one Hero use case and ends with the client team running a Qualys deployment they actually trust — at mid‑market and lower‑enterprise, where Qualys's value gets stranded most often.

The Head of Partnership is the floor‑keeper. The seat that owns the Qualys + TD SYNNEX relationship holds the practice's strategic direction, and never lets the partner‑program ladder reorient what we ship. The partnership is a trust accelerant, not a sales channel. The badge buys trust; that's all we need from it.

What You'll Do

You own the Qualys partnership end‑to‑end — Channel Account Manager, Senior Partner Security Architect, account analyst, and program standing. You own the TD SYNNEX relationship — onboarding through Amplify, vendor authorization, and credit posture. You set strategic direction quarterly — which of the three doors to push, which segments to lean into, and what to deprioritize. You generate a Tier 1–2 warm pipeline through your personal network and partner‑side referrals — never through outbound license pitch. You keep the Partnership Landscape current as the partnership matures.

You don't run engagements. You don't push licenses. You don't make scoping or pricing calls on individual deals. The Engagement Manager runs the rhythm; the POD (SME, Integration Engineer, QA) builds; the Sales & Account Executive owns commercial. Your seat is strategic, relational, and floor‑disciplined.

Every quarter, the partner‑channel team will try to move you up their ladder via license commits. Every quarter, an internal voice will whisper, "We could just close two more deals at a higher tier." Every quarter, a Sales Partner will say, "The competition is doing it." You hold the floor. The whole strategic differentiation of the practice depends on it. The ladder is a treadmill that turns implementation shops into license resellers. We are not a license reseller. We are an outcome operator.

You will not be doing channel‑sales work, license‑pitch quota chasing, or partner‑event keynote performance. You will be running partner relationships truth‑anchored, generating a warm network pipeline, holding the survival floor under quarterly pressure, and keeping the Partnership Landscape current.

Daily Rhythm (How You Operate)

• Morning partner‑inbox triage, mid‑day relationship work (Qualys CAM calls, TDS touchpoints, network conversations), end‑of‑day Partnership Landscape update if anything changed.
• Standing partner cadences attended personally — Qualys CAM monthly minimum, TDS touchpoint quarterly minimum, Qualys First Fridays alongside the team. No delegation on the floor‑keeping rituals.
• Cultural maxim: "The partnership is a trust accelerant, not a sales channel. Survival floor over visibility. Outcomes, never licenses."
• Timezone Flexibility — clients pick NA / EMEA / APAC; we mirror.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the Qualys partnership relationship — CAM, Senior Partner Security Architect, account analyst, program standing.
• Own the TD SYNNEX MSP relationship — onboarding journey, credit posture, vendor authorization, Amplify, and TD Capital optionality.
• Hold the survival floor — partner badge maintained without chasing tier; tier elevation is byproduct, not goal.
• Set strategic direction quarterly — door emphasis, segment focus, what to deprioritize — in writing, with S&AE and EM aligned.
• Generate Tier 1–2 warm pipeline through personal network and partner‑side referrals — never through outbound license pitch.
• Keep the Partnership Landscape current within 14 days of any partner‑program change.
• Represent the Qualys practice externally — at events, in trade press, in network conversations — truth‑anchored.
• Document every floor‑pressure incident: what was asked, declined, why, and how the relationship was maintained.

What We're Looking For

• Real depth as a senior partnership/channel operator in security or IT services — you've held a partner relationship through tier‑pressure conversations.
• Comfort with both commercial relationship dynamics and operational substance — you can talk to a Qualys CAM and a TDS credit analyst in the same week without losing footing.
• Strong network — you generate a warm pipeline through trust, not pitch.
• Floor discipline — you've held a floor against partner‑program pressure and not flinched.
• Comfortable with the anti‑license‑vendor stance — outcomes are the product; license commission is a byproduct.
• Truth‑anchored external representation — what you say at events matches what your team ships.

Bonus Points For

• Prior experience in Qualys or vulnerability‑management channel partnerships — you've seen the program mechanics from the inside.
• Past contribution to a partner practice's Partnership Landscape or strategic‑direction library.
• Network depth in mid‑market / lower‑enterprise security buyers — CISOs, VPs of Security, IT operations leads.

The Mindset We Hire For

• Survival floor over visibility. Tier or status grows as a byproduct of delivery, never chased.
• The partnership is a trust accelerant. The badge buys trust; that's all we need from it.
• Outcomes, never licenses. License commission is a byproduct; never the motive.
• Floor pressure is documented, not absorbed. Every push to chase tier or license velocity logged in writing.
• Truth‑anchored representation. External statements reconcile with internal reality.
• Network as a pipeline, never pitch. Warm trust intros, not outbound license campaigns.

Success in This Role

• 30 days: Partnership Landscape walked end‑to‑end; Qualys CAM cadence established; TDS onboarding milestones tracked; first strategic direction note written.
• 60 days: First quarterly survival‑floor audit run; first floor‑pressure incident (if any) documented cleanly; network pipeline channel producing first warm intros.
• 90 days: Partnership Landscape fully current; strategic direction reset for next quarter; external representation library populated with truth‑anchored talking points.

Tools You'll Use

Partnership Landscape document, practice KB, Qualys partner portal, TD SYNNEX PartnerFirst, CRM (Zoho, read access), external representation surfaces (LinkedIn, partner events, trade press), the practice's AI Copilot loaded with the partner program change history + floor‑pressure incident library + strategic direction precedents.

Why Join Us

You're not chasing tier on a license‑reseller treadmill — you're holding the floor on a practice that ships outcomes the client owns. The role rewards strategic discipline over partner‑program theatrics, truth‑anchored representation over inflation, and network pipeline over outbound pitch volume.

You pick where you land on the clock — NA / EMEA / APAC — and we mirror. Timezone Flexibility is built into the practice; you don't fit yourself into someone else's day.

Self-Check Before You Apply

• I hold the survival floor under partner‑program pressure without rationalizing tier‑elevation conversations.
• I document floor‑pressure incidents in writing — what was asked, declined, and why.
• I generate a warm pipeline through network trust, never through outbound license pitch.
• I'd rather decline a tier‑elevation accelerator than reorient the practice around license velocity.
• I keep external representation truth‑anchored — what I say matches what we ship.
• I'd rather be Tier 3 forever, shipping outcomes, than Tier 1 because we pushed licenses.