Head of Channel Partners

Acumen Financial Advantage

About The Position

The Head of Channel Partners is a senior sales leader responsible for building, scaling, and leading AFA’s channel partner organization. This role owns the overall strategy and performance of AFA’s channel ecosystem — including credit union leagues, trade associations, consulting partners, and other third-party distribution relationships — and leads the Channel Partner team. This is a player-coach role: accountable for the highest-priority strategic partner relationships while leading the broader team responsible for day-to-day partner management and pipeline development.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in channel sales, partnership development, or business development, with demonstrated success building and scaling channel programs.
5+ years of people leadership, including managing directors, senior managers, or multi-person channel sales teams.
Proven track record of driving meaningful revenue through indirect channel relationships in financial services, insurance, or a closely related industry.
Strong executive presence and the credibility to build relationships at the board and C-suite level within credit unions, healthcare organizations, and nonprofits.
Deep experience designing channel partner programs, incentive structures, and co-marketing frameworks.
Proficiency in Salesforce CRM and data-driven pipeline management.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; comfortable representing AFA at senior-level industry forums and partner engagements.

Nice To Haves

Established relationships within the credit union league system, CUNA, NAFCU, or related trade associations.
Familiarity with SERP, split-dollar, COLI/BOLI, executive benefits, or nonqualified deferred compensation solutions.
Experience scaling a channel function from early-stage to institutional maturity.

Responsibilities

Own and continuously evolve AFA’s channel partner strategy, including partner segmentation, program design, onboarding architecture, and performance standards.
Identify and prioritize high-value channel partner opportunities, including credit union leagues, CUNA, NAFCU, trade associations, consulting firms, and other referral and distribution partners.
Develop and manage channel partner agreements, incentive structures, and co-investment frameworks that drive accountability and mutual revenue growth.
Build a scalable, institutionalized channel program with clear partner tiers, activation playbooks, and performance review cycles.
Serve as AFA’s most senior executive point of contact for the highest-priority channel partners.
Develop joint business plans with key strategic partners, including shared revenue targets, activation milestones, and co-marketing commitments.
Represent AFA at industry conferences, league events, trade shows, and partner-sponsored forums to build brand visibility and expand the partner network.
Build executive-level relationships at credit union boards, league leadership, and C-suite contacts of strategic partner organizations.
Lead, develop, and hold accountable the Director, Channel Partner Management and the broader channel partner team.
Establish clear performance expectations, pipeline standards, and activity metrics across the team.
Coach the Director and team members on partner relationship strategy, AFA’s value proposition, and executive benefit solutions relevant to AFA’s client base.
Build a high-performance channel sales culture that is collaborative, metric-driven, and aligned with AFA’s broader sales organization.
Own the channel partner revenue pipeline, setting quarterly and annual targets in partnership with Ryan Millman and the SVP, Sales.
Ensure consistent partner-sourced lead generation, qualification, and pipeline advancement across all channel relationships.
Collaborate with the Sales team to ensure clean handoffs and strong conversion of channel-sourced opportunities into active cases.
Provide regular pipeline and channel performance reporting to Ryan Millman and the principal leadership team.
Partner with Marketing to develop co-branded resources, partner toolkits, thought leadership content, and campaign support that drives partner activation.
Design and deliver partner education programs covering AFA’s products, SERP and executive benefit solutions, and the credit union and mission-driven organization marketplace.
Ensure channel partners are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and support needed to confidently represent AFA’s value proposition.
Champion Salesforce CRM adoption and data integrity across all channel partner activity, ensuring accurate tracking of partner relationships, referrals, and revenue.
Implement data-driven frameworks for partner performance monitoring, program optimization, and incentive management.
Identify and leverage technology platforms that improve partner communication, engagement reporting, and co-selling effectiveness.