AWS Brand Manager

First Distribution; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading IT distribution company is seeking an AWS Brand Manager to lead strategic and operational initiatives within the AWS business. The ideal candidate will have 5-7 years in senior management roles, possess strong leadership and vendor management skills, and be able to effectively drive profitability and team performance. This role requires a solid understanding of cloud solutions and IT distribution partner ecosystems. The position is based in Johannesburg, Gauteng.

Qualifications

• At least 5-7 years in senior management roles within IT distribution.
• Strong understanding of IT distribution partner ecosystems and cloud solutions.
• Proven ability to build and scale successful partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Accountable for AWS business strategic leadership and vendor relationship management.
• Drive partner onboarding and certification attainment.
• Ensure operational compliance with programs and contractual obligations.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Strategic Thinking

Financial Acumen

Education

Tertiary qualification in information technology or Business

Job description

Job title : AWS Brand Manager

Job Location : Gauteng, Johannesburg

Deadline : December 11, 2025

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Main Purpose of Position

• The AWS (Amazon Web Services) Brand Manager is fully accountable for the strategic, commercial, technical, operational, and competitive leadership of the AWS business within the company. This includes ownership of all vendor engagements and relationship management, partner ecosystem development, program execution, vendor KPI’s and strategic requirements, and the overall growth and profitability of the AWS business across all partner types, market segments, and workloads.
• The role requires strong leadership and people management skills, vendor program expertise, advanced cloud financial acumen, technical depth, ecosystem leadership, competitive market understanding, and the ability to drive profitability and rapid scale while maintaining compliance with vendor terms and partnership standards.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Key Performance Areas

• Vendor Engagement & Vendor Alliance Management
• Own relationships with vendor sales, partner, marketing, technical, and operations leadership.
• Compile and Execute annual Business Plan, Marketing Plans, and Strategic Initiatives.
• Ownership and execution of strategic programs and specializations, including maintaining and expanding partner status and tier.
• Lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), scorecard compliance, and vendor performance reviews.
• Drive alignment across vendor global, regional, and local teams.
• Build and maintain a qualified and certified technical team
• Ownership of technical strategy, goals and KPI’s and team cadence.

Partner Ecosystem Development

• Drive partner onboarding, tier advancement (Select → Advanced → Premier), certification attainment, and program specializations.
• Enable partners for co-sell readiness, workload migration, and solution acceleration.
• Facilitate partner onboarding.
• Manage cadence and report sales pipeline, opportunity lifecycle, forecasting and co-sell governance.
• Expand partner ecosystem across various partner types and own over all partner practice expansion, development and specialization strategy, goals and KPI’s.

P&L (Profit and Loss) Accountability

• Ownership of revenue, margin, rebate, incentive, MDF, and budget performance.
• Deliver accurate forecasting, reporting, rebate claims, and financial planning.
• Drive revenue and overall profitability growth
• Ensure monthly billing integrity, invoicing governance, and consumption analytics.

Marketing, Demand Generation

• Build and execute fully aligned co-marketing and demand generation plans.
• Maximize MDF utilization, execute campaigns, track ROI, and maintain vendor reporting compliance.
• Drive brand positioning through events, workshops, webinars, summits, thought leadership, and partner marketing support.

Operational Excellence & Governance

• Ensure full operational compliance with programs, contractual obligations, and audit readiness.
• Oversee end-to-end deal lifecycle from opportunity registration to billing, invoicing, renewals, and reporting.
• Implement and maintain strong internal governance for deal approvals, contract compliance, data integrity, and reporting accuracy.

Competitive Positioning & Market Intelligence

• Monitor Hyperscaler cloud market dynamics.
• Drive Brand differentiation messaging across partner enablement, sales training, and competitive objection handling.
• Maintain and deliver competitive battlecards, pricing comparisons, and partner sales enablement materials.
• Collaborate with vendor sales teams to align field messaging and partner go-to-market readiness.
• Conduct continuous market scanning of competitor programs, pricing structures, partner incentives, and ecosystem shifts.

Executive Customer Engagement

• Actively participate in executive customer engagements with vendor and partner leadership.
• Provide strategic sponsorship to top partners and key end-customers.
• Support vertical industry customer engagement across financial services, public sector, healthcare, telco, and manufacturing.

Industry & Vertical Go-To-Market Strategy

• Align vendor vertical industry plays into partner go-to-market frameworks.
• Support packaged solution development for regulated industries and vertical solution accelerators.
• Drive regional expansion strategies to capture growth across emerging and mature customer segments.

People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and coach high-performing cross-functional vendor sales, technical, operations, marketing, finance and partner development teams.
• Build structured competency development frameworks aligned to vendor certification paths.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and partner-first execution.
• Manage talent development, succession planning, and career path growth for Brand business unit staff.

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Qualifications

• A tertiary qualification in information technology, Business, or a related field in IT is required

Minimum Experience

• At least 5–7 years of experience in senior management or leadership roles within the cloud or IT distribution industry.
• Strong understanding of IT distribution partner ecosystems, cloud computing, cloud economics, cloud financial management and cloud solutions.
• Proven ability to lead and grow high-performing teams, develop strategic plans, and drive business results in a fast-paced technology environment.
• Strong experience in vendor management, partner relations, and channel strategy, with a track record of building and scaling successful partnerships.
• Demonstrated expertise in sales operations, business development, and achieving financial and operational targets.
• Deep understanding of the IT / cloud industry landscape, including distribution models, go-to-market strategies, and customer engagement

Minimum Skills

• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Strategic thinking and ability to develop and implement business plans.
• Financial acumen and experience in budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines

Ability to meet Job Requirements

• Fluent in English.
• Own reliable transport.
• Valid passport and willingness to travel nationally and internationally for business purposes

Office Requirements

• Office-based working environment.
• Semi-formal dress code.
• Working hours are from 08 : 00 – 17 : 00.
• Excellent international business language skills (English), both written and verbal.
• Reliable transport to and from the office.
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