Senior Manager, AI Partnership Marketing

Morningstar; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 95,275 - 139,741; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% 401k match up to 6%

Stock Ownership Potential

Comprehensive health benefits

6-week paid sabbatical program

Paid volunteering days

Job summary

Morningstar is seeking a Senior Manager, AI Partnership Marketing in Chicago, IL. This hybrid, full‑time role leads the strategy and activation of a tiered partner marketing program, building co‑marketing playbooks, enabling internal teams, and driving partner‑sourced revenue.

You will collaborate across product, sales, brand, and legal to scale the program from ground up. You will own joint demand generation, events, content design systems, and sales enablement while communicating ROI to

Qualifications

• 6+ years in B2B marketing with at least 2 years in partnership, channel, or alliance marketing at a SaaS or data/technology company.
• Experience building tiered partner programs with co-marketing execution, enablement, and performance reporting.
• Strong understanding of the LLM and AI platform ecosystem; familiarity with partner marketplace dynamics and co-sell motions.
• Fluency in demand-gen channels — paid search, display, social, email, webinars, and events.
• Experience with marketing attribution modeling and CRM hygiene (Salesforce).

Responsibilities

• Design tiered partner marketing program (Platinum / Gold / Silver) including intake criteria, upgrade paths, and treatment‑by‑tier marketing plans covering demand gen, media, product marketing, events, and brand.
• Serve as the primary marketing contact for enrolled partners; lead kickoff meetings to align on brand rights, creative review SLAs, joint value propositions, and rules of engagement.
• Develop co‑branded assets and a reusable design system with the creative team for fast‑track content production across partners.
• Build and maintain in‑platform brand guidelines defining Morningstar’s appearance inside partner ecosystems and off‑platform experiences.
• Develop and execute GTM enablement plans for the sales team — including talk tracks, FAQs, one‑pagers, and joint sales plays — and track adoption via Gong and asset engagement metrics.
• Own partner‑sourced pipeline tracking and influence attribution; prepare QBR materials to demonstrate ROI to internal leadership and partner stakeholders.
• Create targeted client education content (persona‑ and workflow‑specific) that translates AI capabilities for advisors.
• Align with sales leadership and the Global Head of AI Platform Strategy on partner prioritization and enrollment decisions.
• Establish shared workspaces, communication cadences, and escalation paths with each partner.
• Monitor demand‑gen activation budget and track spend against pipeline and revenue outcomes.
• Identify operational risks and proactively build processes to mitigate them.

Skills

Partnership marketing

GTM strategy

Sales enablement

Cross-functional collaboration

Demand generation

CRM hygiene (Salesforce)

Tools

Salesforce

Gong

Job description

Direct Platform

Senior Manager, AI Partnership Marketing
Chicago, IL (Hybrid)
Full‑time
Reports to: Team Lead, Strategic Account Marketing
Dotted line: Global Head of AI Platform Strategy & Partnerships

About The Role

Morningstar's Direct Platform is building a dedicated AI Partnership Marketing function to protect, grow, and transform the business in the LLM and AI ecosystem. This is a foundational role — you will be the first marketer singularly focused on the partner ecosystem, responsible for designing the program from the ground up and scaling it through disciplined execution, AI‑powered workflows, and deep cross‑functional alignment.

You will own the strategy and activation of a tiered partner marketing program — building co‑marketing playbooks, enabling internal sales teams, and driving toward \$1M in closed‑won partner‑sourced revenue in year one. You'll operate at the intersection of product, sales, brand, and legal, serving as the primary marketing point of contact for all enrolled partners.

Year 1 targets

• \$1M Closed‑won partner‑sourced revenue
• ≤5 Enrolled partners at program launch

What you'll own

• Tier program design
• Build and manage Platinum / Gold / Silver framework with upgrade criteria, QBR cadence, and tier‑to‑treatment logic.
• Co‑marketing execution
• Own joint demand gen, webinars, paid campaigns, social, PR, and events for each tier. Build a design system for content at scale.
• Sales enablement
• Equip sellers with messaging, talk tracks, demo scripts, and joint sales plays. Track asset adoption and rep confidence scores.
• In‑platform brand
• Partner with brand to define how Morningstar appears inside off‑platform partner experiences, with enforceable guidelines.
• Attribution & reporting
• Build partner pipeline tracking — sourced and influenced — and present results to leadership and partners as proof of value.
• Client education
• Develop AI literacy content targeted by persona and workflow — helping advisors and clients understand AI's role in their day‑to‑day.

Responsibilities

• Design and launch the tiered partner marketing program (Platinum / Gold / Silver), including intake criteria, upgrade paths, and treatment‑by‑tier marketing plans covering demand gen, media, product marketing, events, and brand.
• Serve as the primary marketing point of contact for all enrolled partners; lead kickoff meetings to align on brand rights, creative review SLAs, joint value propositions, and rules of engagement.
• Develop co‑branded campaign assets and a reusable design system with the creative team to enable fast‑track content production across partners.
• Build and maintain in‑platform brand guidelines defining how Morningstar appears inside partner ecosystems and off‑platform experiences.
• Develop and execute GTM enablement plans for the sales team — including talk tracks, FAQs, one‑pagers, and joint sales plays — and track adoption via Gong and asset engagement metrics.
• Own partner‑sourced pipeline tracking and influence attribution; prepare quarterly business review (QBR) materials to demonstrate ROI to both internal leadership and partner stakeholders.
• Create targeted client education content (persona‑ and workflow‑specific) that brings AI capabilities down to advisors' level of familiarity and comfort — starting with tactical Copilot use cases and building toward Agents and Skills adoption.
• Align with sales leadership and the Global Head of AI Platform Strategy on partner prioritization, tier assignments, and program enrollment decisions.
• Establish shared workspaces, communication cadences, and escalation paths with each partner to ensure smooth execution and accountability.
• Monitor and manage the demand‑gen activation budget, tracking spend against pipeline and revenue outcomes.
• Identify operational risks — over‑expansion, contractual ambiguity, brand control gaps — and proactively build processes to mitigate them.

What you bring

• 6+ years in B2B marketing with at least 2 years in partnership, channel, or alliance marketing at a SaaS or data/technology company.
• Demonstrated experience building or managing a tiered partner program — including co‑marketing execution, enablement, and performance reporting.
• Strong understanding of the LLM and AI platform ecosystem; familiarity with partner marketplace dynamics and co‑sell motions.
• Fluency in demand‑gen channels — paid search, display, social, email, webinars, and events — with the ability to build campaigns across all of them.
• Experience with marketing attribution modeling and CRM hygiene (Salesforce), including pipeline tagging for partner‑sourced and partner‑influenced deals.
• Excellent cross‑functional instincts: comfortable working across sales, legal, brand, product marketing, and executive stakeholders simultaneously.
• Strong project management and written communication skills; able to run multiple partner workstreams without losing fidelity on any of them.
• Experience developing client‑facing education content for non‑technical audiences — translating complex technology into workflow‑level clarity.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity at the early stages of a program build, with the discipline to create repeatable processes from scratch.

Nice to have

• Prior experience at a fintech, financial data, or investment management company — or selling into RIAs, broker‑dealers, or asset managers.
• Familiarity with co‑sell programs at dominant AI platforms (e.g., Microsoft, Salesforce, Google, or similar ecosystem partners).
• Experience working with Gong for sales enablement analytics and asset adoption tracking.
• Background in brand licensing or in‑platform brand governance across third‑party integrations.

How success is measured

In year one, you will be evaluated on partner‑sourced pipeline growth, closed‑won revenue contribution toward the \$1M Data and Research demand‑gen goal, GTM readiness of the sales team (asset adoption, rep confidence), and the operational quality of the partner program — including time‑to‑readiness for new partners, QBR delivery, and tier management rigor. This role does not own marketing tactic commitments in partner contracts; you own the internal strategy and execution that drives those outcomes.

Compensation And Benefits

• Financial Health
  • 100% 401k match up to 6% of salary
  • Stock Ownership Potential
  • Company provided life insurance – 1x salary + commission
• Physical Health
  • Comprehensive health benefits (medical/dental/vision) including potential premium discounts and company‑provided HSA contributions (up to \$500-\$2,000 annually) for specific plans and coverages
  • Additional medical Wellness Incentives – up to \$300-\$600 annually
  • Company‑provided long‑ and short‑term disability insurance
• Emotional Health
  • Trust‑Based Time Off
  • 6‑week Paid Sabbatical Program
  • 6‑Week Paid Family Caregiving Leave
  • Competitive 8‑24 Week Paid Parental Leave
  • Adoption Assistance
  • Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities
  • Annual Flex Stipend – \$1000 annually to cover personal education & well‑being expenses
  • Tuition Reimbursement
• Social Health
  • Charitable Matching Gifts program
  • Dollars for Doers volunteer program
  • Paid volunteering days
  • 15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups

Total Cash Compensation Range

\$95,275.00-139,741.66

Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive

Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in‑person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in‑office each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you'll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.