DescriptionMust be based in the USA About the rolePentera has moved to a 100% channel model in the Americas, and we are hiring a Director of Channel - US to build it.
This is not a role to maintain an existing partner program. It is a role to replace one. The channel at Pentera is moving under Marketing and will be run as a pipeline engine.
We are looking for someone who knows the channel playbook thoroughly and has decided that it's time for someone to disrupt it. You will have the mandate and the executive backing to do things differently, and you will be expected to keep finding ways to win that other channel teams aren't using.
You will report to the VP of Marketing and manage a Channel ISR.
Roles and responsibilities- Launch Pentera's 100% channel model in the US: partner announcement, rules of engagement, and the internal process that routes every deal through a partner.
- Build the partner base: select 10-15 priority partners, recruit the ones we're missing, exit the ones that don't produce, and run joint plans with real pipeline targets.
- Enable partner engineers: certification on where Pentera fits versus the competition, with SPIFFs for certified engineers and registered deals.
- Generate meetings: rep-to-rep and rep-to-account meetings, deal registrations, and partner-sourced pipeline, using proactive account mapping (Crossbeam) and reviewed weekly with Sales, Marketing, and BDR leadership.
- Manage a Channel ISR who works the partner rep base daily.
- Keep testing new routes to market - MSSPs, marketplaces, technology alliances and scale what produces business.
How success is measuredCompensation is structured based on qualified partner-sourced meetings, POVs, and closed-won revenue sourced or assisted by partners. Supporting metrics are deal registrations per month, certified partner engineers, and partner-sourced share of the US pipeline.
Requirements- 5+ years of channel or partner management at a cybersecurity vendor, including direct experience with US security-focused VARs, regional resellers, and national partners.
- Proven track record of generating pipeline and revenue through partners, expressed in numbers, not partner counts.
- Experience building a channel program, motion, or route to market from scratch, or turning one around.
- Strong grasp of how partner programs actually work: deal registration, margin, MDF, tiering, distribution, and a clear point of view on what to keep and what to drop.
- Willingness to say no to partners and to hold the line with sales on the channel model.
- Experimental mindset: launches, measures, and kills initiatives quickly.
- Player-coach - comfortable doing the work alongside your direct report.
- Excellent communication and executive-engagement skills.
- Must be based in the United States; travel required.
