SAP is a global leader in business services, and they are seeking a Senior Director for Partner Management & Channel Sales to lead their strategic alliance with American Express Global Business Travel. This role involves overseeing partner relationships, driving revenue growth, and ensuring alignment between sales teams to achieve commercial success.
Responsibilities
- Strategic Partner Management & Governance
- Relationship Strategy: Act as the senior operational counterpart to GBT leadership, cultivating deep, trusted relationships with GBT’s VP and Director-level sales and account management leaders
- Alliance Governance: Orchestrate the alliance governance framework designed by the Managing Director. This includes leading preparation for Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), tracking joint sales initiatives, and ensuring accountability on both sides
- Conflict Resolution: Serve as the primary escalation point for channel conflicts and Rules of Engagement (ROE) disputes that cannot be resolved at the regional CSE level, ensuring fair and swift resolution to maintain partnership momentum
- Executive Alignment: Facilitate alignment between SAP Concur and GBT executive stakeholders to ensure the partnership remains a top priority for both organizations
- Channel Sales Leadership & Revenue Execution
- Revenue Accountability: Partner with the Managing Director to manage the global revenue forecast. You are responsible for ensuring the team meets or exceeds the aggregate Channel Sales quota and pipeline generation targets
- Functional Leadership: Provide strategic guidance, mentorship, and coaching to the Regional Channel Sales Executives (dotted line reports). You will define the 'Standard of Excellence' for territory planning, account mapping, and deal execution
- Pipeline Rigor: Implement and oversee a rigorous pipeline management process. Conduct global pipeline reviews to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, translating data into actionable sales strategies for the field teams
- Deal Strategy: Act as an executive sponsor on major, complex joint opportunities, helping to structure deals, align executive resources, and unblock internal hurdles to close business
- Sales Enablement Strategy
- Curriculum Definition: Set the global enablement strategy for both SAP Concur and GBT field teams. While CSEs deliver the training, you define the curriculum, ensuring the 'Better Together' value proposition is consistent and compelling across all regions
- Resource Development: Oversee the creation of high-impact sales tools, playbooks, and battle cards that empower sellers to identify, qualify, and close joint opportunities
- Adoption Monitoring: Monitor the effectiveness of enablement programs through sales performance metrics, iterating content based on field feedback and win/loss analysis
Skills
- 12+ years of experience in B2B technology sales, with at least 5-7 years specifically in Channel Sales, Strategic Alliances, or Partner Management
- 5+ years of experience in roles requiring high-level influence and matrix management. Must demonstrate a proven track record of driving performance through cross-functional teams or dotted-line reports without direct authority
- Deep understanding of the Corporate Travel ecosystem (TMC model) and the SaaS/T&E software landscape is strictly required
- Bachelor's degree in business, Marketing, or related field; MBA is a significant plus
- Mastery of CRM/PRM systems (Salesforce, etc.) for forecasting and partner management
- Experience with SAP Concur or GBT solutions is highly preferred
Benefits
- SAP North America Benefits
Company Overview
SAP provides enterprise application software to various industries, including consumer, discrete manufacturing, public services. It was founded in 1972, and is headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Wurttemberg, DEU, with a workforce of 10001+ employees. Its website is https://www.sap.com.
