Partner Account Executive
About The Position
The Partner Account Executive (PAE) owns the strategic partner relationship and serves as a trusted advisor, aligning partner business strategies with Cisco’s technology portfolio to drive mutual growth, technology adoption, and Cisco preference. The role is part of Cisco’s Global Partner Organization and works across Cisco sales teams, architecture specialists, and external partners. It involves regular collaboration with partner executives and Cisco regional sales, account, engineering, Customer Experience, and product teams. The PAE develops multi-year joint business plans, cultivates executive relationships, guides partner practice development across Cisco’s portfolio, creates go-to-market and demand-generation strategies, and coordinates co-selling. The role also manages partner performance and profitability through Cisco programs and incentives, forecasting, and Quarterly Business Reviews; advocates for partners internally; and shares best practices while mentoring fellow PAEs. The required location is Chicago, Illinois. The application window is expected to close on November 4, 2026.
Requirements
- At least 5 years in sales or customer-facing roles focused on IT solutions for large enterprise, service provider, or hyperscale accounts.
- Demonstrated ability to build customer relationships, articulate product and service value, create demand, and close deals successfully.
- At least 5 years of experience providing thought leadership and communicating a clear vision verbally and in writing.
- At least 5 years demonstrating executive presence and business acumen.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
Nice To Haves
- Track record managing large, complex partner relationships, such as National or Regional Solution Providers, Global Systems Integrators, or Managed Service Providers.
- Deep understanding of partner economics, profitability models, rebate and incentive programs, and joint practice-building methodologies.
- Experience building and executing multi-architecture go-to-market strategies spanning Enterprise Networking, Cybersecurity, Cloud, and SaaS or recurring-revenue models.
- Ability to build business cases, influence C-level executives, negotiate strategic joint investments, and lead structured executive Quarterly Business Reviews.
- Strong cross-functional leadership, negotiation, and pipeline-generation capabilities.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute multi-year joint partner business plans with strategic priorities, investment commitments, revenue targets, and technology roadmaps.
- Build and nurture trusted relationships with partner C-level and executive leadership, communicating business narratives that support joint investment and strategic alignment.
- Guide partners in modernizing and expanding specialized practices across Cisco Networking, Security, Cloud, Collaboration, and Observability, including software, recurring revenue, and lifecycle services.
- Create differentiated go-to-market strategies and joint demand-generation campaigns to build pipeline, increase deal velocity, and capture market share.
- Engage sales teams early across deal stages and connect partner capabilities with Cisco account strategies, Solution Engineers, and practice sellers.
- Use Cisco programs, promotions, and incentives to maximize partner value; manage operating cadence through Quarterly Business Reviews, forecasting, and data-driven performance insights.
- Represent partner perspectives internally, advocate for resources, and collaborate with Business Entities on product functionality and partner governance frameworks.
- Share best practices, develop scalable engagement frameworks, and mentor fellow Partner Account Executives.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- 401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution
- Paid parental leave
- Short- and long-term disability coverage
- Basic life insurance
- Paid holidays
- Floating holiday for non-exempt employees
- Birthday paid day off
- Paid year-end holiday shutdown
- Personal wellness days
- Vacation time or flexible vacation time off, depending on employee classification
- Paid sick time
- Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family issues
- Optional paid volunteer days
- Sales incentive compensation for employees on sales plans
- Potential Cisco restricted stock unit grants, subject to eligibility and continued-employment vesting requirements
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
