Lead Specialist, Channel Sales

Pearson•United States,

3d•$150,000 - $190,000

About The Position

This role is the control centre of the partner ecosystem. You’ll shape how performance is measured, how partners are incentivised, and how growth is scaled—ensuring the business can grow through partners with confidence, clarity, and control. We’re looking for a highly strategic and analytically driven leader to own the financial, operational, and performance engine behind our partner ecosystem. This is a mission-critical role responsible for ensuring partner behaviour is aligned to business goals, performance is measurable, and growth is both predictable and scalable. Reporting to the Head of Partner Operations & Strategy, you’ll lead a team focused on incentives, governance, compliance, and analytics—driving the structure and discipline that underpins partner success.

Requirements

Strong experience in revenue operations, partner operations, channel strategy, or financial planning
Proven success designing partner incentives and governance frameworks
Deep understanding of partner/channel business models and economics
Strong financial modelling and analytical capability
Experience leading high-performing analytical or operational teams
Experience working with CRM systems and business intelligence tools
Strong financial and analytical thinking
Structured, systems-oriented approach
Strategic decision-making capability
Deep understanding of partner and channel economics
Ability to influence senior stakeholders
Data-driven leadership mindset

Nice To Haves

Background in SaaS or high-growth technology environments
Experience in finance, strategy, consulting, or revenue operations
Experience building partner incentive programmes at scale
Familiarity with ecosystem-led growth and co-sell models

Responsibilities

Own the global partner incentive framework, including rebates, SPIFFs, performance bonuses, and MDF
Design models that align partner behaviour with revenue growth, margin improvement, and strategic priorities
Continuously refine incentives based on performance, ROI, and market dynamics
Partner with Finance to ensure scalability and financial integrity
Define and enforce global governance frameworks, including deal registration, pricing protections, and engagement rules
Manage channel conflict across direct and partner-led sales motions
Ensure compliance with agreements, certifications, and programme requirements
Build scalable processes that balance control with ease of execution
Define and manage global partner performance frameworks and KPIs
Track and evaluate partner activity, productivity, and revenue contribution
Develop insights into partner health and long-term value
Drive continuous improvements through data-driven decision making
Own partner forecasting methodologies and pipeline visibility
Deliver accurate forecasts in partnership with Revenue Operations
Identify risks and growth opportunities across partner pipeline
Provide clear, executive-level insights on performance and trends
Oversee dashboards, reporting, and analytics infrastructure
Ensure leadership has real-time visibility into performance and ROI
Drive predictive insights on partner outcomes and revenue
Standardise reporting across regions and partner segments
Establish data standards and governance across partner systems
Ensure clean, consistent, and reliable data flows
Maintain integrity of attribution models and reporting
Support accurate financial and performance visibility
Partner closely with Sales, Finance, Marketing, Legal, and Operations
Align incentives with sales compensation and go-to-market priorities
Support investment decisions through financial and ROI analysis
Deliver insights to leadership and contribute to Board-level reporting
Lead and develop a high-performing team across incentives, governance, compliance, and analytics
Establish clear ownership, accountability, and operating rhythms
Build a culture of analytical rigour, precision, and continuous improvement