Sr Director, Channel & Alliance Lead - Digital Realty Trust

Digital Realty is seeking a dynamic and experienced Sr. Director, Channel & Alliance Lead - Americas to join our growing Global Channels leadership team and lead a team of Partner-facing salespeople. We specialize in providing foundational digital infrastructure and data center solutions, catering to the ever-evolving needs of businesses worldwide as they seek to achieve their network optimization, hybrid cloud and AI ambitions.  The Senior Director of Channels and Alliances for the Americas will report to the SVP of Global Channels.

What you’ll do 

As the Senior Director for the Americas, your primary mission is to chart and steer joint success for Digital Realty and Partners headquartered in the Americas. You will play a crucial role in establishing and maintaining strategic relationships with senior partner executives, securing sponsorship and preference for Platform Digital. You will effectively coach a team of Partner Sellers to execute against agreed plans to facilitate maximum collaboration with the Digital Realty Field Sales force in service to mutual end customers, driving shared production from prioritized partners that help both companies achieve their business objectives. 

You must be a compelling ambassador for Digital Realty, capable of articulating joint value propositions to senior executives and modeling that for your team. At the same time, you must be passionate about GTM performance and measurement, diligently driving the leading indicators of assigned Partner and Alliance engagement with a particular focus on driving Deal Registration, Enterprise New Logos and Top of Funnel activities that beget the joint pipeline development that paves the way to exceeding indirect sales targets both by Alliance or Partner and for the Region in total.  This Senior Director must be equally adept navigating partner organizations and internal matrixed teams, acting as a powerful and trusted bridge to benefit both.

• Help identify the most promising Enterprise-grade partners for Digital Realty, and where not yet engaged, lead strategy to engage at senior levels and recruit.
• Take responsibility to achieve the overall indirect channel sales targets via a range of Partner profiles.
• Generate internal channel sales forecast reliably, demonstrating command of the business and its KPIs.
• Establish external funnel cadences the team runs with top partners and ensure a path back that shares insights for forecasting indirect Enterprise sales.
• Maintain and recruit an effective channel salesforce.
• Ensure the proper performance of channel sales personnel through training, incentives, and motivation.
• Conduct complete annual performance reviews to ensure high performance, actively train and coach partner sellers with joint model calls, and work with each direct report to achieve necessary execution.
• Act as escalation point on issues for Americas Channel Account Management as needed.
• Institute standard Partner Sales Plans for Top Partners, ensuring those are completed, routinely updated by Partner Sellers, and shared with appropriate colleagues internally and appropriate partner leaders externally.
• Emphasize the requirement that Partner sellers know their partners’ organizations and business and coach to close gaps so that each Partner seller becomes a subject matter expert on assigned partners.
• Engage Digital Realty cross-functional team members in support of Digital Realty’s evolving indirect motion, providing continuous feedback and input on the impact of our partner strategy.
• Oversee Partner Senior Executive and Sales Leadership Engagement strategies for prioritized Partners and Alliances, collaborating with the Partner Sales Reps assigned to make sure we create and sustain plans.
• Maintain personal relationships through systematic external-facing contact with top partners.
• Manage the team to maximum engagement between Digital Sellers and peer Partner / Alliance Sellers on Accounts-in-common.
• Partner with our Technical Sales Leadership and Solutions Enablement in the design and execution of Technical Seller Enablement plans to build Digital Realty a Technical Seller Community in the Americas
• Evangelize Digital Realty to prioritized Alliance and Partner seller community members through events, in person gatherings, digital comms, webinars.
• Coordinate closely with Partner Marketing to recommend the optimal Partner Marketing investments to grow Partner/Alliance Seller mindshare, establish preference for Platform Digital and reach Partner’s end customer base with solutions that integrate Partner & Digital Realty competencies.
• Team closely with peer Field Sales Leaders to educate and reinforce Digital Realty Seller Rules of Engagement during sales pursuits. 
• Lead and participate in internal and external Partner Business Reviews (PBRs)
• Recommend and participate in setting external partner commission and bonus structure and levels.
• Expertly present all relevant aspects of Partner Programs and key Partner Operational processes and act as voice for continuous improvement of these
• Align tightly with peers leading Channel Sales & Alliances in EMEA and APAC to uplevel Global Channel progress and production and support each other’s partners for Global Channel growth

What you’ll need 

• Motivating manager of people, capable of inspiring followership
• Practiced at change management and leading through transitions of business models, unchartered territory
• Excited to operate in “build” mode and play a part in Digital Realty’s early-stage Channel journey
• Ability to de-complexify problems and efficiently chart solutions
• Active listening and passion for bringing the voice of the partner back internally to help accelerate Digital Realty’s addressing partner needs
• Superior communication skills
• Adept at conflict resolution
• Natural focus on partner satisfaction
• Superior presentation skills
• Entrepreneurial and commercial thinking
• Negotiation skills
• Ability to work independently with little supervision
• Strong team player able to enfranchise others
• Ability to foster long-term mutually rewarding relationships with peers at Alliances and Partners
• Advanced understanding of Channel Sales, Partner Programs and technology Partner Ecosystems with particular experience with Global Systems Integrators and large VARs and service providers
• Knowledge of Data Center, Networks, Cloud, Hybrid IT, AI technologies 
• Intermediate level Microsoft Office, familiarity with SFDC, Clari and other leading business management systems 

A bit about us

Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company’s global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Digital Realty gives its customers access to the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 25+ countries on six continents.

To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

A bit about our Digital team 

Sales

Our Sales team is at the sharp end of our business, securing new customers from network and cloud service providers through to all kinds of major global and regional enterprises and local businesses. We help identify the objectives of our customers and enable them to succeed by combining our strategic knowledge of the industry, technical knowledge of our global data center platform, PlatformDIGITAL®, with our ability to develop strong partnerships. 

What we can offer you

Our rapidly evolving business sector offers the opportunity to be part of a courageous and passionate team who work together to understand and meet the changing needs of our global customers. 

Join us and you’ll be part of a supportive and inclusive environment where you can bring your whole self to work. As part of our team, you’ll get to work with people from different business areas, challenge the way we do things and put your ideas into action. We’ll also give you plenty of development opportunities so you can build a rewarding and successful career with us. 

Our Compensation Philosophy

Digital Realty offers its employees a highly competitive compensation package, excellent benefits, and an environment that recognizes and rewards your contributions. Central to our compensation philosophy is rewarding our employees for achieving the values and objectives aligned to the companys overall goals and values.

Benefits: For this role, Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, 401k match, disability benefits, wellness and education benefits, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off, holidays, and more. 

This is an exciting time to join our business so apply now and make your mark on our future.

Notes:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Digital Realty is an equal opportunity employer, EOE/AA/M/F/Vets/Disabled.  All applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability or protected veteran status, or other status protected by law or Company policy.

Digital Realty is a publicly traded company (NYSE: DLR) with investment grade ratings from all three major ratings agencies.

Please do not forward unsolicited resumes to any employee of Digital Realty and its subsidiaries. Digital Realty is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited referrals.