Senior Director, MSP Channel Sales

Sophos; United States; Remote; USD 185,000 - 308,000; Full time

Job summary

Sophos is seeking a Senior Director, MSP Channel Sales to lead strategy, growth, and operating performance of the Americas MSP channel program. This role shapes market opportunities, drives recurring revenue, and aligns partner strategies with global priorities.

Reporting to senior channel leadership, you will manage programs, budgets, and executive negotiations while scaling MSP partnerships, onboarding, and co-sell initiatives across direct, distribution, and alliance channels.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive channel sales, partner management, or business development experience in cybersecurity, SaaS, cloud, or enterprise tech, including MSP leadership.
• Proven success setting strategy and scaling a complex MSP business through direct, distribution, marketplace, and alliance channels.
• Deep understanding of MSP operating models, partner economics, service lifecycle, onboarding, and recurring-revenue forecasting.
• Ability to influence senior leadership, shape policy and investment decisions, and negotiate complex agreements.
• Experience leading high-performing sales teams, budgets, and cross-region execution.
• Strong knowledge of the Americas cybersecurity market and managed security portfolio (MDR, endpoint, firewall, XDR/EDR, cloud).
• Executive-level communication, business planning, financial acumen, negotiation, and analytics; capable of data-driven decisions.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• Ability to travel within the Americas for partner meetings and industry events.

Responsibilities

• Set MSP strategy and direction for the Americas, aligning with global priorities.
• Own program performance: MSP recruitment, onboarding, activation, tier progression, enablement, retention, expansion.
• Translate program benefits and rules into sales motions for security-as-a-service and recurring revenue growth.
• Drive revenue, pipeline, forecast accuracy, and partner productivity across the MSP portfolio.
• Establish segment and partner strategies using partner economics and growth potential.
• Build strategic MSP and distribution relationships; lead joint business planning and negotiations.
• Create scalable distribution-led motions to improve recruitment and time to first revenue.
• Shape the program and portfolio with Global Partner Programs, Product, and Enablement.
• Identify new MSP business models to differentiate Sophos and accelerate adoption of security services.
• Lead and coach a high-performing MSP sales organization with clear objectives and accountability.
• Ensure end-to-end execution across recruitment, enablement, demand gen, co-selling, support, and lifecycle management.
• Use KPI-driven reporting to improve partner health, onboarding, activation, and revenue growth.
• Use market and performance data to resolve barriers and improve program effectiveness.

Skills

MSP channel sales

Strategy development

Leadership in sales

Executive communication

Negotiation

Forecasting & analytics

Travel within Americas

Financial acumen

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

Role Summary

The Senior Director, MSP Channel Sales leads the strategy, growth, and operating performance of the Sophos Managed Service Provider (MSP) channel program across the Americas. This role influences future channel strategy and business results by translating market, partner, and customer insights into scalable go-to-market models that expand recurring revenue, increase active MSP productivity, and strengthen Sophos' position in the managed security services market.

Reporting to senior channel leadership, this role leads key business operations through direct and matrixed teams and serves as the executive voice of the MSP business. The Senior Director sets the Americas MSP channel vision, aligns regional execution with global priorities, manages strategic partner and distributor relationships, and influences program design, pricing, product readiness, enablement, and investment decisions. Success requires a strategic, hands-on leader who can build market opportunities, negotiate complex decisions, and deliver consistent end-to-end execution.

What You Will Do

• Set MSP strategy and direction: Define the multi-year Americas MSP channel strategy and operating plan, aligned with Sophos business priorities, global partner strategy, product direction, and market trends.
• Own program performance: Lead the regional execution and continuous improvement of the Sophos MSP channel program, including partner recruitment, onboarding, activation, tier progression, enablement, retention, and expansion.
• Translate program benefits, requirements, specializations, and rules of engagement into clear sales motions that help MSPs deliver security-as-a-service and grow recurring revenue.
• Drive revenue and partner productivity: Own MSP bookings, recurring revenue, pipeline, forecast accuracy, partner-sourced and co-sell performance, product adoption, retention, churn management, and expansion across the MSP portfolio, protecting and growing the existing monthly recurring revenue base while accelerating new revenue.
• Establish segment and partner strategies across strategic, growth, and long-tail MSPs, using partner economics, service maturity, route to market, and growth potential to focus resources and investments.
• Build strategic MSP and distribution relationships: Serve as executive sponsor for priority MSPs, distributors, aggregators, marketplaces, and alliances; lead joint business planning, executive business reviews, and complex commercial negotiations.
• Create scalable distribution-led motions that improve MSP recruitment, time to first revenue, activation, product deployment, and long-term partner value.
• Shape the program and portfolio: Represent the voice of MSP partners to Global Partner Programs, Product, Pricing, Finance, Legal, Marketing, Sales Operations, and Enablement; influence program design, consumption-based licensing, incentives, partner experience, and product readiness.
• Identify new market opportunities and innovative MSP business models that differentiate Sophos and accelerate adoption of managed security offerings, including MDR, endpoint, firewall, XDR/EDR, cloud, and related services. Align MSP strategy with regional sales and channel leadership, and establish clear rules of engagement across MSP and term business.
• Lead through others: Build, coach, and develop a high-performing MSP sales organization with clear expectations, career development, accountability, and a strong team culture. Set objectives, resource plans, and operating rhythms across direct reports and matrixed teams, and build the capabilities required to scale the MSP business.
• Ensure end-to-end execution across partner recruitment, enablement, demand generation, co-selling, technical support, and partner lifecycle management while managing the budget and investments for the area.
• Use data to improve outcomes: Establish KPIs and executive reporting for partner health, onboarding, activation, tier progression, time to first revenue, recurring revenue growth, attach, retention, product adoption, and program return on investment.
• Use insights from performance data, market intelligence, and competitive programs to resolve systemic barriers, adjust investments, and improve program effectiveness.

What You Will Bring

• 15+ years of progressive channel sales, partner management, or business development experience in cybersecurity, SaaS, cloud, or enterprise technology, including significant leadership of MSP programs or recurring-revenue channel businesses.
• Proven success setting strategy and scaling a complex MSP business through direct, distribution, marketplace, and alliance channels.
• Deep understanding of MSP operating models, partner economics, consumption-based billing, service lifecycle, partner portals, program tiers, onboarding, and recurring-revenue forecasting.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leadership, shape policy and investment decisions, and negotiate complex agreements with partners, distributors, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
• Experience leading high-performing sales teams and matrixed organizations, allocating resources, managing budgets, and driving consistent execution across regions and functions.
• Strong knowledge of the Americas cybersecurity market and managed security portfolio, including MDR, endpoint, firewall, XDR/EDR, cloud, and security services.
• Executive-level communication, business planning, financial acumen, negotiation, and analytical skills, with the ability to convert data and market insights into clear decisions.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• Ability to travel within the Americas for partner meetings, business reviews, and industry events.

In the United States, the base salary for this role ranges from $184,800 to $308,400. In addition to the base salary, there's a component for target sales commissions alongside a comprehensive benefits package. A candidate's specific pay within this range will depend on a variety of factors, including job-related skills, training, location, experience, relevant education, certifications, and other business and organizational needs.

What does remote mean at Sophos?

Sophos supports flexible ways of working, with many roles offered remotely and others working in a hybrid model. For remote roles, you may work remotely within the location specified in the job posting. Candidates must reside in and be authorized to work in that location. Our teams collaborate across locations and time zones, using technology to stay connected and deliver results.

Our Commitment To You

Sophos welcomes applicants with diverse experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. We believe great ideas come from different ways of thinking, and we are committed to building a workplace where people can contribute, grow, and succeed.

We evaluate all candidates based on job-related skills, qualifications, and experience, and are committed to providing equal employment opportunities consistent with applicable laws and regulations.

If you require a reasonable accommodation during any stage of the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail]. Any information shared will be used only for the purpose of evaluating and providing the requested accommodation.