COGNNA is seeking a Senior Channel & Alliances Manager to own, build, and scale our partner ecosystem across Saudi Arabia and the GCC. The role is responsible for recruiting, qualifying, activating, and managing partners across Referral, Reseller, Distributor, MSSP, Cloud Marketplace, and Strategic Alliance models.
The successful candidate will own partner onboarding, enablement, deal registration, joint pipeline generation, performance tracking, and regional expansion. The role requires strong commercial ownership, structured planning, clear understanding of partner business models, and the ability to generate measurable partner-sourced pipeline and revenue.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on channel professional who can lead partner relationships independently, work cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Product, Presales, and Customer Success, and operate with strong CRM/PRM discipline.
What You'll Do:
Channel Strategy & Partner Ownership
• Own the partner strategy for Saudi Arabia and GCC, including partner segmentation, Ideal Partner Profile, partner tiers, incentives, activation plans, and quarterly targets.
• Build clear partner business plans covering target partner types, target markets, expected pipeline, joint activities, enablement needs, revenue contribution, timeline, and ownership.
• Lead the partner agenda without waiting for others to drive direction or follow-up.
Partner Recruitment & Qualification
• Identify, qualify, and recruit high-potential partners across MSSPs, cybersecurity resellers, system integrators, value-added distributors, cloud partners, compliance advisory firms, and referral partners.
• Evaluate partners based on market reach, customer base, cybersecurity capability, commercial maturity, commitment level, and ability to generate revenue.
• Build a qualified partner funnel and maintain clear visibility of partner recruitment status.
Partner Business Model Management
• Define and manage the correct partner model for each relationship: Referral, Reseller, MSSP, Distributor, Strategic Alliance, or Cloud Marketplace.
• Ensure every partner understands the commercial model, incentive structure, discount rules, deal registration process, ownership model, responsibilities, and escalation path.
• Avoid confusion between customer programs, referral incentives, reseller discounts, renewal credits, and partner compensation models.
Partner Onboarding & Enablement
• Lead onboarding and enablement for signed partners, including COGNNA positioning, sales pitch, technical overview, PRM/CRM process, deal registration, qualification rules, proposal flow, co-selling motion, and marketing assets.
• Train partner sales and technical teams to position COGNNA solutions confidently and qualify opportunities correctly.
• Measure enablement success based on partner activation and pipeline generation, not training activity alone.
Partner Pipeline Generation
• Drive measurable partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline through joint account mapping, target customer lists, co-selling plans, partner campaigns, webinars, roundtables, and registered opportunities.
• Support partners in qualifying opportunities and moving them into the CRM pipeline with accurate attribution.
• Follow up on partner-sourced leads and ensure opportunities progress with clear next steps.
Regional Expansion
• Build and execute a regional partner expansion plan across priority GCC markets including UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
• Identify the right partners, validate market readiness, understand regulatory and compliance drivers, and build a repeatable expansion model.
• Support regional co-selling and market-entry motions with selected anchor partners.
CRM / PRM Governance
• Own partner data quality in CRM and PRM systems.
• Ensure partner accounts, registered deals, pipeline attribution, activities, follow-ups, and reports are accurate and updated.
• Create weekly visibility on partner status, pipeline, risks, blockers, and required actions.
Cross-Functional Leadership
• Work closely with Sales, Marketing, Product, Presales, and Customer Success to remove blockers and improve partner success.
• Coordinate partner campaigns, events, enablement sessions, and product feedback loops.
• Operate with strong ownership, clear communication, and structured follow-through.
Performance Reporting
• Prepare weekly and monthly partner performance reports covering new partners recruited, partners activated, leads, SQLs, pipeline, partner-influenced revenue, closed-won deals, engagement status, risks, and actions.
• Use data to recommend improvements to the partner program and partner execution model.
- 5+ years of experience in channel sales, alliances, partner management, partner development, or partner business development.
- 2+ years of experience in cybersecurity, cloud, SaaS, managed services, or enterprise technology.
- Proven experience managing partners in Saudi Arabia and/or GCC markets.
- Direct ownership of partner-sourced pipeline, partner revenue targets, or partner activation targets.
- Clear understanding of partner models including Referral, Reseller, Distributor, MSSP, Strategic Alliance, and Cloud Marketplace.
- Ability to build structured partner plans, partner scorecards, activation frameworks, QBRs, and weekly performance reports.
- Strong CRM/PRM discipline using HubSpot, Salesforce, Kiflo, PartnerStack, Impartner, or similar tools.
- Strong Arabic and English communication skills, written and spoken.
- Ability to present and train partner sales and technical teams confidently.
- Ability and willingness to travel across Saudi Arabia and GCC for partner meetings, enablement, and events.
- Comfortable discussing cybersecurity concepts such as SOC, MDR, SIEM, XDR, threat intelligence, threat hunting, incident response, compliance, and cloud security.
- Strong ownership mindset, accountability, and ability to accept feedback and act on it quickly.
Preferred Requirements
- Existing relationships with KSA/GCC cybersecurity resellers, MSSPs, distributors, cloud partners, or system integrators.
- 5+ years of total channel or alliances experience.
- Experience building or scaling a partner program in a startup or scale-up environment.
- Experience with Google Cloud, AWS, Azure, Alibaba Cloud, or cloud marketplace co-selling.
- Experience launching co-marketing campaigns with partners.
- Experience managing tiered partner programs such as Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
- Experience creating partner certification or enablement programs.
- Cybersecurity certifications or a technical background are a plus.
- Strong knowledge of NCA, SAMA, and regional compliance-driven sales motions.
- Experience working with MDR, SOC-as-a-Service, threat intelligence, SIEM, XDR, or cybersecurity managed services.
🌟 Why Join COGNNA?
🚀 High-Impact Role – Shape how organizations adopt cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions that truly protect.
💼 On-Site Collaboration – Work closely with leadership, product, and sales teams from our Riyadh office.
💰 Performance Rewards – Competitive base salary plus commission tied to your impact on revenue growth.
📈 Ownership Mindset – Join our ESOP program and grow with COGNNA’s success.
💡 Continuous Growth – Access to certifications, trainings, and opportunities to elevate your technical and sales expertise.
🤝 Culture of Trust – We move fast, empower talent, and celebrate outcomes together.
