Director, Global Strategic Alliances

Sphera

2d•$163,000 - $261,000

About The Position

Sphera is seeking a Director, Global Strategic Alliances to build and scale its strategic partner ecosystem globally, with a focus on Global System Integrators (GSIs), System Integrators (SIs), consulting firms, and other strategic partners. This is a strategic, revenue-focused individual contributor role where the successful candidate will shape the strategy, establish the operating model, build relationships, and create repeatable partner-led revenue motions from the ground up. The goal is to foster partners who actively source and create opportunities for Sphera, developing mutually beneficial relationships. The role involves owning key strategic relationships, joint business planning, partner activation, co-sell execution, and managing partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and revenue. Collaboration across Sales, Marketing, Product, Services, and Customer Success is crucial to establish processes and governance for partner-led growth. There is potential to build and lead a team over time.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in strategic alliances, partner ecosystems, GSI/SI partnerships, enterprise software sales, business development, or partner leadership within enterprise software or SaaS.
Proven experience building and developing partner ecosystems, rather than simply managing an established channel.
Demonstrated success generating partner-sourced or partner-influenced pipeline and revenue.
Experience working directly with system integrators, global system integrators, consulting organizations, or specialist consultancies.
Experience developing joint business plans, co-sell motions, partner enablement, and go-to-market strategies.
Strong executive presence with excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to build relationships at multiple levels, from operational sales teams through to executive stakeholders.
Comfortable operating strategically while remaining hands-on and accountable for execution.
Strong understanding of enterprise sales motions, account mapping, opportunity management, and complex multi-stakeholder sales cycles.
Experience creating partner programs, governance models, sales plays, and operating processes.
Comfortable working in an environment where the partner function is still being built and processes are not yet fully established.
Willingness to travel up to 40% as required.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience within EHS&S, Sustainability, Supply Chain Risk Management, Operational Risk Management, Industrial Software, Digital Manufacturing, or a related enterprise software environment.
Experience working with major consulting and engineering organizations such as Deloitte, Accenture, EY, PwC, ERM, Arcadis, Jacobs, or similar organizations.
Experience building partnerships with both large global organizations and specialist or boutique consultancies.
Experience within a SaaS company of similar or smaller scale to Sphera, particularly where you have personally helped build the partner ecosystem.
Experience with reseller relationships is a plus, but the primary focus of this role is strategic alliances, consulting relationships, and partner-led opportunity creation.
Experience designing and implementing partner governance frameworks, executive sponsorship programs, and QBR processes.
Familiarity with partner enablement, co-sell strategies, joint account planning, and joint go-to-market programs.

Responsibilities

Build and Lead the Strategic Alliance Ecosystem: Own and grow a portfolio of high-value GSI, SI, consulting, and strategic alliance relationships. Identify, recruit, onboard, and activate partners that expand Sphera's market reach and complement our solutions. Build trusted relationships with executive sponsors, alliance leaders, consulting organizations, and sales teams within partner organizations. Develop joint business plans aligned to Sphera's growth objectives and partner priorities. Identify opportunities for ecosystem expansion based on market potential, customer needs, solution alignment, and revenue opportunity. Establish clear rules of engagement and operating models that allow Sphera and its partners to work together effectively. Build mutually beneficial relationships where partners are motivated to identify and bring opportunities to Sphera.
Drive Partner-Led Growth: Own partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and revenue targets. Build repeatable co-sell motions with Sphera's sales organization and partner sales teams. Develop joint account mapping to identify whitespace, prioritize opportunities, and align resources. Drive partner participation throughout the sales cycle, from opportunity identification through solution positioning, executive engagement, and deal execution. Develop joint value propositions and go-to-market strategies that combine Sphera's technology with partner capabilities. Establish lead-routing, opportunity-registration, and rules-of-engagement processes that improve accountability and reduce channel conflict. Work with partners to identify opportunities where their customer relationships, consulting expertise, or industry capabilities can create new demand for Sphera. Improve win rates by aligning Sphera and partner capabilities around differentiated customer value propositions and joint solutions.
Build Partner Enablement & Activation: Create scalable partner onboarding, enablement, and activation programs that accelerate time to revenue. Develop joint sales plays, playbooks, solution positioning, and partner enablement programs. Ensure partners have the knowledge, training, tools, and resources required to effectively position Sphera solutions. Partner with Marketing on co-marketing, demand generation, events, and thought leadership initiatives. Develop joint go-to-market plays that combine Sphera's technology and expertise with partner capabilities. Establish clear expectations and success measures for each strategic partner.
Establish Alliance Governance & Operating Model: Build the governance framework required to scale Sphera's partner ecosystem. Establish executive sponsorship, regular pipeline reviews, performance reviews, and QBRs. Serve as the operational connector across Sales, Marketing, Product, Services, Customer Success, and partner teams. Establish clear escalation processes, accountability, and rules of engagement. Drive adoption of Sphera processes and tools that improve collaboration, visibility, and execution. Develop executive dashboards and scorecards covering alliance performance, pipeline, revenue, enablement, and engagement. Help embed partner-led growth into Sphera's broader sales motion.
Performance & Accountability: Establish and track KPIs for partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, ARR, win rates, partner activation, enablement, and co-sell participation. Maintain accurate pipeline, forecasts, and executive reporting on alliance performance. Measure partner contribution and establish clear accountability for pipeline and revenue outcomes. Continuously assess alliance performance, market dynamics, and ecosystem opportunities to determine where Sphera should invest. Use data and partner feedback to continually improve the partner model and return on investment.