Senior Channel & Alliances Manager - Cybersecurity | KSA & GCC

Overview

Channel Strategy & Partner Ownership

• Own the partner strategy for Saudi Arabia and GCC, including partner segmentation, Ideal Partner Profile, partner tiers, incentives, activation plans, and quarterly targets.
• Build clear partner business plans covering target partner types, target markets, expected pipeline, joint activities, enablement needs, revenue contribution, timeline, and ownership.
• Lead the partner agenda without waiting for others to drive direction or follow-up.

Partner Recruitment & Qualification

• Identify, qualify, and recruit high-potential partners across MSSPs, cybersecurity resellers, system integrators, value-added distributors, cloud partners, compliance advisory firms, and referral partners.
• Evaluate partners based on market reach, customer base, cybersecurity capability, commercial maturity, commitment level, and ability to generate revenue.
• Build a qualified partner funnel and maintain clear visibility of partner recruitment status.

Partner Business Model Management

• Define and manage the correct partner model for each relationship: Referral, Reseller, MSSP, Distributor, Strategic Alliance, or Cloud Marketplace.
• Ensure every partner understands the commercial model, incentive structure, discount rules, deal registration process, ownership model, responsibilities, and escalation path.
• Avoid confusion between customer programs, referral incentives, reseller discounts, renewal credits, and partner compensation models.

Partner Onboarding & Enablement

• Lead onboarding and enablement for signed partners, including COGNNA positioning, sales pitch, technical overview, PRM/CRM process, deal registration, qualification rules, proposal flow, co-selling motion, and marketing assets.
• Train partner sales and technical teams to position COGNNA solutions confidently and qualify opportunities correctly.
• Measure enablement success based on partner activation and pipeline generation, not training activity alone.

Partner Pipeline Generation

• Drive measurable partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline through joint account mapping, target customer lists, co-selling plans, partner campaigns, webinars, roundtables, and registered opportunities.
• Support partners in qualifying opportunities and moving them into the CRM pipeline with accurate attribution.
• Follow up on partner-sourced leads and ensure opportunities progress with clear next steps.

Regional Expansion

• Build and execute a regional partner expansion plan across priority GCC markets including UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
• Identify the right partners, validate market readiness, understand regulatory and compliance drivers, and build a repeatable expansion model.
• Support regional co-selling and market-entry motions with selected anchor partners.

CRM / PRM Governance

• Own partner data quality in CRM and PRM systems.
• Ensure partner accounts, registered deals, pipeline attribution, activities, follow-ups, and reports are accurate and updated.
• Create weekly visibility on partner status, pipeline, risks, blockers, and required actions.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work closely with Sales, Marketing, Product, Presales, and Customer Success to remove blockers and improve partner success.
• Coordinate partner campaigns, events, enablement sessions, and product feedback loops.
• Operate with strong ownership, clear communication, and structured follow-through.

Performance Reporting

• Prepare weekly and monthly partner performance reports covering new partners recruited, partners activated, leads, SQLs, pipeline, partner-influenced revenue, closed-won deals, engagement status, risks, and actions.
• Use data to recommend improvements to the partner program and partner execution model.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in channel sales, alliances, partner management, partner development, or partner business development.
• 2+ years of experience in cybersecurity, cloud, SaaS, managed services, or enterprise technology.
• Proven experience managing partners in Saudi Arabia and/or GCC markets.
• Direct ownership of partner-sourced pipeline, partner revenue targets, or partner activation targets.
• Clear understanding of partner models including Referral, Reseller, Distributor, MSSP, Strategic Alliance, and Cloud Marketplace.
• Ability to build structured partner plans, partner scorecards, activation frameworks, QBRs, and weekly performance reports.
• Strong CRM/PRM discipline using HubSpot, Salesforce, Kiflo, PartnerStack, Impartner, or similar tools.
• Strong Arabic and English communication skills, written and spoken.
• Ability to present and train partner sales and technical teams confidently.
• Ability and willingness to travel across Saudi Arabia and GCC for partner meetings, enablement, and events.
• Comfortable discussing cybersecurity concepts such as SOC, MDR, SIEM, XDR, threat intelligence, threat hunting, incident response, compliance, and cloud security.
• Strong ownership mindset, accountability, and ability to accept feedback and act on it quickly.
• Preferred Requirements* Existing relationships with KSA/GCC cybersecurity resellers, MSSPs, distributors, cloud partners, or system integrators.
• 5+ years of total channel or alliances experience.
• Experience building or scaling a partner program in a startup or scale-up environment.
• Experience with Google Cloud, AWS, Azure, Alibaba Cloud, or cloud marketplace co-selling.
• Experience launching co-marketing campaigns with partners.
• Experience managing tiered partner programs such as Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
• Experience creating partner certification or enablement programs.
• Cybersecurity certifications or a technical background are a plus.
• Strong knowledge of NCA, SAMA, and regional compliance-driven sales motions.
• Experience working with MDR, SOC-as-a-Service, threat intelligence, SIEM, XDR, or cybersecurity managed services.
• **Benefits** **Why Join COGNNA?**
• High-Impact Role – Shape how organizations adopt cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions that truly protect.
• On-Site Collaboration – Work closely with leadership, product, and sales teams from our Riyadh office.
• Performance Rewards – Competitive base salary plus commission tied to your impact on revenue growth.
• Ownership Mindset – Join our ESOP program and grow with COGNNA’s success.
• Continuous Growth – Access to certifications, trainings, and opportunities to elevate your technical and sales expertise.
• Culture of Trust – We move fast, empower talent, and celebrate outcomes together.