Regional Channel Sales Manager

Instron; United States; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Instron is seeking a Regional Channel Sales Manager to drive profitable growth through a network of distributors and agents across the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Lead growth plans, manage forecasts, and guide partners to execute Instron’s strategy with discipline and high standards.

The role requires hands-on field leadership, strong analytics, and the ability to develop distributor capabilities, ensuring alignment with pricing, customer experience and corporate values.

Qualifications

• Experience with distributors/agents in technical or industrial equipment sectors.
• Proven ability to manage and develop distributor networks across diverse regions.
• Strong forecasting, planning and performance-management capabilities.
• Excellent negotiation and channel-partner management skills.

Responsibilities

• Own forecast accuracy, pipeline health and performance versus plan.
• Lead distributor and agent relationships, and drive growth through indirect channels.
• Coach and develop distributor leadership; conduct regular business reviews and set KPIs.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Service, Operations and Finance to achieve customer outcomes.
• Ensure alignment with Instron’s pricing policies and customer experience standards.

Skills

Distributor network management

Forecasting

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Channel sales

Planning & analytics

Travel willingness

Job description

Job purpose

The Regional Channel Sales Manager (Distributors & Agents) is accountable for delivering profitable growth and strengthening Instron's market leadership through a network of distributors and agents across the Middle East, Israel, Africa and Eastern Europe.

This role is responsible for converting market and customer insights into targeted growth strategies that expand Instron’s position in priority verticals and ensure disciplined, high-quality execution across the full commercial funnel. Success is driven through visible, hands-on field leadership, data-driven performance management, and the continuous development of people, capabilities and behaviours aligned with ITW values.

This role offers true P&L influence, high visibility within EMEA leadership, and the opportunity to shape Instron’s long-term market position within this region.

Key Tasks & Responsibilities

Strategy & Growth Execution

• Own and deliver regional booking, margin and growth targets (monthly, quarterly, annual and 3-year LRP).
• Translate EMEA strategy into territory-level growth plans focused on priority 80/20 verticals, products and accounts.
• Drive Lever 1, 2 and 3 initiatives to generate incremental order intake and sustainable market share growth.
• Continuously assess market trends, competitive dynamics and customer needs to identify new growth opportunities.

Commercial Leadership & Performance Management

• Own forecast accuracy, pipeline health and performance versus plan.
• Monitor sales funnel progression and support channel partners in converting opportunities into orders.
• Analyse won/lost opportunities and implement corrective actions to improve performance.
• Recruit, onboard, evaluate and develop high-performing distributors and agents across the region.
• Establish annual business plans and growth targets with channel partners.
• Conduct regular distributor performance reviews and implement corrective actions where required.
• Identify capability gaps and deliver coaching, training and development programmes to improve channel effectiveness.
• Ensure distributor alignment with Instron's commercial strategy, pricing policies and customer experience standards.

Channel Leadership & Culture

• Build, develop and inspire a high-performing network of distributors and agents across the region, creating a culture of accountability, growth and customer focus.
• Coach and develop distributor leadership, strengthening commercial capability, technical knowledge and sales effectiveness to drive sustainable growth.
• Conduct regular business reviews with channel partners, setting clear performance expectations, monitoring KPIs and implementing improvement plans where required.
• Foster strong relationships with distributor principals, owners and senior leadership teams, acting as a trusted advisor while promoting ITW values, ownership and operational excellence across the channel network.

Operational Excellence & Governance

• Ensure full compliance with ITW Corporate Trade Compliance and export control standards
• Monitor and manage leading and lagging KPIs to drive performance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, Service, Operations and Finance to deliver customer and business outcomes.
• Any other related duties that may be required from time to time.

Key Experience And Competencies

• Experience working with distributors and agents selling technical, industrial, materials testing, capital equipment, laboratory equipment or engineered solutions.
• Proven experience managing and developing distributor and agent networks across the Middle East, Africa, Israel and/or Eastern Europe, with a demonstrated track record of delivering profitable growth through indirect sales channels.
• Highly developed influencing and stakeholder management skills at all organisational levels.
• Commercially and analytically strong, with excellent forecasting and planning discipline.
• Experience appointing, developing and managing distributor networks.
• Strong commercial negotiation and channel partner management skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly throughout the region.

Key KPIs/other Performance Measurements

• Forecast accuracy and pipeline health
• Market penetration and coverage within priority territories and verticals.
• Distributor performance versus target.
• Channel partner retention and development.
• Number and quality of new distributor appointments.
• Growth of indirect sales booking.

Working conditions

• Hybrid office / field-based role.
• Travel approximately 30-40% across the Middle East, Israel, Africa and Eastern Europe. (including multi-day trips).
• Working hours may vary to meet business and customer needs.