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Channel Manager

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Role Summary

The Channel Manager is accountable for building, governing, and scaling a high-performing partner ecosystem aligned to regional and global channel strategy.

This role owns the end-to-end partner lifecycle — from recruitment and GTM alignment through to capability development and pipeline creation — ensuring partners become self-sufficient, growth-oriented contributors to the business.

Unlike execution-focused roles, the Channel Manager is responsible for creating the conditions for scale, not closing individual deals.

Core Role Positioning

“Own the partner, build the ecosystem, and create sustainable pipeline.”

  • Full ownership and accountability for assigned partners
  • Focus on mid- to long-term partner growth and capability
  • Creates scalable pipeline and partner-driven revenue engines

Key Responsibilities

1. Partner Ownership & Accountability

  • Act as the single point of ownership for assigned partners
  • Build deep, trusted relationships with partner leadership and operating teams
  • Define, agree, and govern joint business plans with clear growth objectives
  • Hold partners accountable to performance across pipeline, capability, and revenue

2. Partner GTM, Recruitment & Onboarding

  • Define and execute partner GTM strategies aligned to regional priorities
  • Identify whitespace and recruit net-new partners aligned to industry and coverage gaps
  • Lead onboarding of new partners, ensuring rapid integration into the ecosystem
  • Align partner positioning with target industries, accounts, and value propositions

3. Capability Growth & Partner Development

  • Drive partner capability across Sales, Presales, Marketing, and Delivery
  • Ensure partners achieve required certifications and skills aligned to strategy
  • Assess partner maturity and define structured development plans
  • Enable partners to become increasingly self-sufficient in sourcing and delivering work

4. Marketing Alignment & Joint GTM Planning

  • Align partners to joint go-to-market plans and campaign execution
  • Work closely with marketing teams to build structured demand generation programs
  • Ensure partners are actively engaged in campaigns that drive pipeline
  • Translate strategy into actionable programs with measurable outcomes

5. Pipeline Creation & Demand Generation

  • Own the creation of partner-sourced pipeline within assigned ecosystem
  • Ensure partners are proactively identifying and generating new opportunities
  • Track pipeline health, coverage, and quality across the partner portfolio
  • Drive consistency in pipeline generation activities across partners
  • At 10% maturity, handover opportunities to Channel Sales Manager to progress, grow and close

6. Practice Development & Tier Progression

  • Support partners in building industry practices and solutions aligned to target markets
  • Drive progression through partner program tiers based on capability and performance
  • Ensure partners are investing appropriately in priority areas
  • Align partner capability with future growth opportunities

7. Governance & Ecosystem Management

  • Establish governance across partners, including regular reviews, KPIs, and performance tracking
  • Ensure adherence to partner program requirements, commercials, and engagement models
  • Manage cross-region and cross-industry alignment for strategic partners where required
  • Provide structured insight into ecosystem performance to regional leadership

Key Outcomes / Success Measures

  • Growth in partner-sourced pipeline
  • Increase in partner capability and self-sufficiency
  • Expansion of ecosystem coverage (by industry, geography, and capability)
  • Progression of partners through program tiers and maturity levels
  • Strength and sustainability of the overall partner ecosystem

Role Boundaries (Critical Clarity)

The Channel Manager:

  • Builds and enables partners
  • Creates pipeline and ecosystem capability

The Channel Manager is not responsible for:

  • Owning deal execution or closing opportunities
  • Managing in-quarter revenue delivery on individual deals
  • Acting as the primary commercial owner within sales cycles

👉 These responsibilities sit with Channel Sales Manager

Skills & Experience

  • Strong experience in channel, partner management, or ecosystem development
  • Proven ability to build and scale partner relationships
  • Experience developing partner GTM strategies and business plans
  • Strong understanding of sales, marketing, and delivery capability models
  • Ability to operate strategically while driving structured execution

We believe that coming together as a community, in person, is important for innovation, connection and fostering a sense of belonging. Our roles have the right balance of remote and in-office working to enable flexibility for managing your life along with ensuring a real connection with your colleagues and the broader IFS community.