Partner Sales Director - Ihv Alliances

Canonical; Cape Town; Remote; ZAR 1 533 000 - 2 215 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading open source software provider is seeking an experienced IHV Alliance Sales Director to manage strategic partnerships in the EMEA or APAC regions. The candidate will be responsible for building relationships with IHV partners, understanding the Linux and cloud ecosystem, and negotiating contracts. This role requires a disciplined approach and excellent communication skills, with the opportunity for travel and personal development. Join a progressive and inclusive company that values diversity.

Benefits

Distributed work environment

Personal learning and development budget

Annual compensation review

Maternity and paternity leave

Wellness Platform

Qualifications

• Experience in alliance or indirect sales management roles.
• Ability to capture customer requirements and identify opportunities.
• Comfortable in fast-paced and high-pressure environments.

Responsibilities

• Build strategic relationships with IHV partners at all levels.
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of the Linux and cloud software ecosystem.
• Negotiate contracts and commercial business terms.
• Lead partnerships in APAC and EMEA regions.

Skills

Alliance or indirect sales management

Linux

Cloud technologies

Excellent communication

Negotiation skills

Job description

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our customers include the world’s leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders across many sectors. Canonical is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with colleagues in 75+ countries and very few office‑based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person in interesting locations around the world to align on strategy and execution. The company is founder‑led, profitable, and growing.

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced IHV Alliance Sales Director to join our strategic partnerships team who will be responsible for leading IHV Alliances in the EMEA or APAC regions.

Responsibilities

• Build strategic relationships with IHV partners at all levels.
• Grow partner awareness of open source capabilities on Canonical Ubuntu.
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of the Linux and cloud software ecosystem.
• Negotiate contracts and commercial business terms.
• Lead partnerships in APAC with companies such as Lenovo, Huawei, Quanta, Fujitsu, Inspur, H3C, NEC, Asus, etc.
• Lead partnerships in EMEA with companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Bull, Siemens.
• Lead partnerships in the Americas with companies such as Dell, HPE, IBM, Supermicro.
• Work closely with marketing, sales engineering and product management to deliver on targets and provide a voice of the partner.
• Lead executive interlocks between IHV and Canonical leadership.
• Travel regularly to drive partnerships in person.

Qualifications

• Experience in alliance or indirect sales management roles.
• Autonomous, disciplined, hands‑on, get‑it‑done mentality.
• Ability to capture customer requirements, evaluate gaps, identify and create opportunities.
• Passionate about Ubuntu products and mission.
• Comfortable in fast‑paced and high‑pressure environments with measurable goals.
• Experience with Linux, virtualization, containers, and other cloud technologies.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Experience negotiating and contracting with large and complex organizations.

Benefits

• Distributed work environment with twice‑yearly team sprints in person.
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year.
• Annual compensation review, recognition rewards, annual holiday leave.
• Maternity and paternity leave, Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform.
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues, Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long‑haul company events.

Canonical is an equal‑opportunity employer and we are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.