Director, Product Marketing (Vendor Ecosystem)

Avant Communications LLC•Chicago, IL

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for shaping the strategy, positioning, and go-to-market execution for our evolving vendor ecosystem. Avant is a distributor of 300+ vendors providing IT services spanning connectivity, UCaaS, CCaaS, Colo, IaaS, and security services, generating well over $2B of vendor revenue annually. It sits in between 300 vendors and thousands of large and small channel partners (AKA Trusted Advisors) it helps enable, ranging from VARs such as CDW and e-plus, to one- and two-person consultant companies. Avant is the largest distributor for brand names such as ZOOM, Comcast, Equinix, Genesys, among many others. Our ecosystem is dynamic and continually adapting to shifts in the marketplace, emerging technologies, and the changing needs of Trusted Advisors (TAs) and end customers. We are looking for a Director of Product Marketing who can define how we communicate the value of this ecosystem clearly, credibly, and strategically — while navigating the complexity that comes with scale and varied partner relationships. You will own the outbound marketing strategy for how our vendors are represented, prioritized, and activated across our TA and end-customer communities. This includes not only messaging and campaign execution, but also the development of strategic collateral and enablement materials that empower TAs to confidently educate and sell to their end customers. This role requires someone who thrives in complexity, exercises strong judgment, and can balance diplomacy with strategic clarity. You will be the dedicated leader for vendor ecosystem product marketing — effectively a team of one in this specific domain – with support and expertise from SMEs across the company. Success requires a true doer: someone who can independently build strategy, create materials, and drive execution. At the same time, this role is highly matrixed, requiring strong orchestration across partnerships, sales, training, marketing, product, and executive leadership. The ability to influence without direct authority and align diverse stakeholders around a clear strategy will be essential. Employees located in the Greater Chicagoland Area or Dallas/Frisco area are currently expected to work from the office 1 day per week; however, this is subject to change.

Requirements

8+ years of B2B product marketing experience within a channel-driven or multi-vendor ecosystem environment.
Experience marketing complex partner portfolios with varying contractual relationships.
Proven track record of developing structured, strategic product marketing programs in dynamic environments.
Experience building enablement materials for partner communities or channel sales teams.
Comfortable operating as an independent contributor while influencing and mobilizing cross-functional teams in a matrixed environment.
Ability to bring structure and prioritization to complexity.
Strong business acumen and comfort navigating negotiated partner agreements.
Excellent judgment and political savvy in managing diverse stakeholder expectations.
Skilled at creating executive-level messaging and field-ready collateral.
Player-coach mindset — capable of setting strategy and executing deliverables.
Relationship-oriented and collaborative across departments.
Comfortable operating in an evolving, fast-moving environment.
Strong communicator with executive presence.
Deep curiosity about the market, partner landscape, and customer needs.
Client-first mindset with the ability to balance ecosystem growth and business performance.

Responsibilities

Own Vendor Ecosystem Product Marketing Strategy
Serve as the single-threaded product marketing owner for the vendor ecosystem, driving clarity, accountability, and forward momentum across a highly cross-functional environment.
Develop and lead the overarching product marketing strategy for our vendor ecosystem.
Create clear positioning frameworks that reflect our evolving market strategy and partner portfolio.
Translate ecosystem complexity into structured, digestible narratives for TAs and customers.
Assess how and why existing customers engage with vendor solutions and apply these insights to help refine AVANT’s value proposition, messaging, and go-to-market approach in context of our vendor portfolio.
Establish thoughtful prioritization models for vendor visibility and activation based on business objectives, partnerships, and negotiated agreements.
Ensure vendor representation is balanced, intentional, and aligned with long-term ecosystem health.
Navigate Ecosystem Complexity & Partner Diplomacy
Manage marketing strategy across a large and diverse vendor base with varied strategic relationships.
Partner closely with internal stakeholders across sales, partnerships, training, product, and marketing to understand negotiated agreements, growth priorities, and vendor commitments.
Orchestrate cross-functional stakeholders across sales, partnerships, training, product, and marketing in a matrixed organization, ensuring alignment without direct reporting authority.
Design go-to-market approaches that maintain strong vendor relationships while avoiding unintended favoritism.
Build trust and credibility with vendors through thoughtful communication and consistent execution.
Develop Strategic Collateral & TA Enablement
Lead the creation of strategic collateral designed specifically for Trusted Advisors to educate their end customers.
Develop presentations, TA training, webinars, enablement frameworks and marketing materials such as vendor one-pagers, comparative materials, solution briefs, messaging guides, and executive-level presentation assets.
Ensure materials are clear, differentiated, and aligned to market needs and customer pain points.
Support sales enablement initiatives that increase TA confidence in positioning vendor solutions.
Build, organize, and maintain a centralized catalog of enablement and marketing content with intuitive, easy-to-access pathways for sales and cross-functional teams.
Campaign & Activation Leadership
Translate high-level strategic direction into executable campaigns and activation plans.
Collaborate with partnerships, training and sales teams to drive coordinated vendor-focused initiatives.
Measure performance and refine strategy based on outcomes and feedback from the field.