Manager - Partner Sales

Overview:

As a Manager – Partner Sales at Inception, you will build and execute partner-led revenue motions to drive adoption and commercial success of Inception’s AI products and solutions. You will own a portfolio of strategic partners (Microsoft, global/regional SIs, consultancies such as Bain/McKinsey, and aggregators/ISVs) and turn partner influence into qualified pipeline, pilots, and closed revenue (including Marketplace where applicable).

You will be responsible for partner GTM plans, joint account pursuits, co-sell execution discipline, and predictable conversion, coordinating across internal product, solutioning, and delivery teams to deliver outcomes and expand accounts.

Responsibilities:

Partner Revenue Ownership

• Own partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline targets across assigned partners and priority accounts; drive deal progression from qualified opportunity → pilot → commercial close.
• Build a repeatable partner motion for key verticals (Abu Dhabi Gov, Education, regulated industries) with clear ICP, use cases, and proof points.

Microsoft Co-Sell Execution

• Run Microsoft co-sell plays: account mapping with AEs, joint customer meeting plans, seller-ready deal briefs, and ongoing pursuit cadence.
• Drive operational discipline: co-sell registration/partner engagement hygiene, clear next steps, and mutual action plans for each active pursuit.

Consultancy & SI Orchestration (Bain/McKinsey + SIs)

• Create and expand referral and influence paths with consulting teams (diagnostic/roadmap → shortlist → vendor selection).
• Attach SIs for delivery and scale: define roles (sell-with vs sell-through), scope ownership, and execution model for pilots and rollouts.

Marketplace / Commercial Path to Close (where relevant)

• Shape commercial packaging with a clear “pilot → transactable purchase” pathway, aligning stakeholders (procurement, legal, security, finance).
• Coordinate internal teams to produce partner-ready commercial artefacts (SOW outlines, statements of work responsibilities, security packs, pricing/packaging options).

Joint Value Proposition & Enablement

• Build and deliver enablement for partners: pitch decks, discovery scripts, objection handling, competitive positioning, and reference stories.
• Equip partners with “make the seller look good” assets: one-page briefs, email templates, meeting agendas, and MAP templates.

Governance, Reporting & Forecasting

• Maintain accurate pipeline, stage and forecast in CRM; run weekly partner cadence and report conversion metrics and risks.
• Gather partner/customer feedback and feed into product/solutioning prioritisation.

Qualifications:

Skills and attributes for success

• Proven ability to mobilise partner ecosystems (Microsoft, SIs, consultancies, aggregators/ISVs) into joint pursuits and closed deals.
• Strong commercial instincts: can structure partner engagements, align incentives, and negotiate win-win outcomes.
• Executive communication: can manage multi-stakeholder environments across customer, Microsoft, and partner teams.
• Comfortable in regulated environments: understands security, governance, procurement and committee-style decisioning.
• Able to translate AI capabilities into business value with crisp use-case framing (not deep engineering, but strong solution storytelling).
• Highly operational: runs cadence, maintains pipeline hygiene, builds MAPs, and drives actions across teams.
• Experience navigating proposals/RFPs, partner-led bids, and complex procurement.

To qualify for the role you must have

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Technology or related field (MBA a plus, not required).
• 7–10 years in partner sales / alliances / enterprise sales / SI or consulting BD, ideally in cloud/AI/analytics.
• Demonstrated track record of partner-sourced pipeline creation and enterprise deal closure, not just relationship management.
• Experience working with Microsoft field teams and/or Microsoft partner programs (co-sell motions strongly preferred).
• Strong CRM discipline (Salesforce/Dynamics/HubSpot) and forecasting rigor.
• Evidence of success with at least one of: SIs, consultancies, CSPs, aggregators, ISVs in a sell-with/sell-through motion.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.