Strategic Partner Programs Manager

AHEAD; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

401(k)

Paid holidays and vacation

Job summary

AHEAD is seeking a detail-oriented Program Manager to oversee and streamline our IBM partner programs. The ideal candidate will communicate effectively across engineering, sales, and services to align initiatives and maximize profitability.

The role is ~75% Partner Programs and ~25% Go-To-Market, with travel as needed. You will track proficiencies, manage MDF campaigns, enablement activities, pricing and quoting, rebates and incentives, and maintain internal content.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in program management, partner management, or a related field.
• Excellent organizational skills with a strong attention to detail.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in tracking metrics and reporting.
• Exceptional communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to engage effectively with various stakeholders.
• Experience in sales support or business development is preferred.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple priorities.
• Occasional travel to support partnership, as appropriate.

Responsibilities

• Proficiency and Certification Tracking: identify proficiencies; complete, track and report proficiencies and certifications accordingly.
• Marketing and MDF: coordinate with IBM demand gen campaigns and events to build strategic and intentional growth plans.
• Enablement: coordinate with engineers and sales on IBM enablement activities to grow AHEAD’s collective skills on IBM’s portfolio.
• Services: coordinate with the AHEAD services team to build a practice around key IBM solution areas to support client’s needs.
• Sales Strategy Collaboration: work with sales teams to develop strategies to grow existing business while maximizing margins and providing creative deal structuring.
• Lead and New Business Development: identify, assign and pursue opportunities to expand into new product categories, customer segments, and lines of business to drive revenue growth.
• Quoting & Pricing Expertise: develop and maintain expert-level knowledge of the quoting tool, including pricing structures, SKU management, product configurations, and quoting processes to ensure accurate and efficient proposals.
• Rebate and Investment Reporting: record, track, monitor and report on monthly, quarterly, and annual rebates, and other partner-related programs and investments.
• Program and Incentive Management: learn, utilize, track and report on various programs, ensuring all relevant metrics are captured.
• Internal Content Creation and Communication: create, publish, and effectively communicate internal content to maintain current processes, facilitating enablement for Operations, Engineering, and other relevant teams through newsletters and team meetings.
• Pipeline Tracking: regularly meet with in-house teams, partner channel teams, and distributors to progress and track the pipeline and ensure accurate forecasting to establish what needs to be done to get an opportunity booked.
• Alignment Oversight: investigate and resolve misaligned deals to ensure proper hygiene and optimize margins, incentives, and profitability to progress deals.
• Registration Tracking: monitor weekly pipeline and registration additions, ensuring that all terms and conditions (T&C’s) are met for compliance.
• Sales Support: maintain rapid responsiveness to sales teams (CDs, COSs, CSAs) for deal support as needed. Provide alignment support for new and existing sales teams including account mapping and introductions via emails/calls.
• Strategic Partnership Oversight: ensure Strategic Partnership KPI’s, milestones and commitments are met, and report on progress based on a required schedule.
• Customer Growth: review our existing customer base to identify opportunities to grow each account through expanded use of current product lines and the introduction of new products and solutions.
• Compliance & Audits: serve as the subject matter expert on customer and manufacturer compliance requirements by understanding audits, identifying gaps, and implementing best practices to ensure we can pass an audit.
• Strategic Thinking: assess situations and opportunities with a forward-looking perspective to identify risks, recommend solutions, and drive the appropriate next steps.
• Strong Communication Skills: demonstrate urgency and effective communication, being well-connected internally to facilitate collaboration.

Skills

Program management

Partner management

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Sales support

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or Marketing

Tools

Quoting tool

Job description

AHEAD is seeking a detail-oriented Program Manager to oversee and streamline our IBM partner programs. The ideal candidate will communicate effectively across engineering, sales, and services to align initiatives and maximize profitability.

The role is ~75% Partner Programs and ~25% Go-To-Market, with travel as needed. You will track proficiencies, manage MDF campaigns, enablement activities, pricing and quoting, rebates and incentives, and maintain internal content.