Senior Program Manager

i) Partner recruitment: Develop a template to identify and recruit new partners by standardizing the recruitment template in-line with the PQ (Partner Qualification) framework. Periodically review the effectiveness of this recruitment model and implement improvements as needed to optimize the selection process. Create a strategy to facilitate partner growth into untapped (whitespace) geographies by exploring multiple lead generation avenues. Assess the efficacy of existing payout structures in sustaining partnerships in these new geographies.
ii) Partner Engagement: Review current partner engagement practices at both the large-scale level (Partner Connect Program and Contests) as well as the one-on-one level (market working). Establish gold standard practices by driving consistency in execution, designing standard operating procedures (SOPs) based on best practices, tracking and reviewing on-the-ground execution, seeking partner feedback to drive improvement, measuring the correlation between each engagement practice and its intended output, etc. In addition, the growing complexities of launching and managing sellers necessitates collaborating with partners to strengthen their teams skills. This would be achieved through Deep Integration initiatives.
iii) Partner Retention: Maintaining a strong partner network is vital for growing our sales channel. The Partner Development Manager will lead initiatives to keep partners engaged and dedicated to our IN PLS platform. Key responsibilities include:
a. Partner profitability: Automate systems to track partner earnings and identify opportunities to boost profits and reduce unnecessary expenses. Publish return-on-investment (ROI) reports and optimize profitability within the Club Vishesh partner program.
b. Payouts: Payouts form the backbone of the PLS channel. The SDM will be responsible for multiple aspects related to payouts such as
i. Ensure timely and accurate partner payout computations and disbursements.
ii. Provide monthly payout reports highlighting potential process inefficiencies and growth opportunities for the team.
iii. Benchmark incentive criteria against ICs to assess impact on partner retention.
iv. Ensure continued compliance with payout policies and regulations.
c. Rewards and Recognition: Drive initiatives to reward top-performing and loyal partners through exclusive programs like Club Vishesh. Enhance the value proposition of the Club Vishesh rewards program through ongoing recognition of top partners.
d. NPS Survey: Measure partner loyalty using an NPS survey. Leverage this as an EWS (Early Warning Signal) for any foreseeable partner attrition.
iv) Goal Setting: - The current goal-setting process in PLS is time-consuming for TLs. With two distinct partner operating models, as well as complexity from partners of varying scale and tenure, setting quarterly goals and SIPs is challenging. TLs spend close to two weeks every quarter on goal-setting, taking away time they could otherwise invest in market development and partner connections. Moreover, when business contingencies arise, the process gets delayed, leading to poor employee experience.
Going forward, the PDM and team will take ownership of the goal-setting process to ensure timeliness and uniformity. They will lead the quarterly cadence of setting goals and sales improvement plans across all teams. This centralized leadership will not only enable consistent tracking, but also free up TLs to better focus on value-driving activities like working with partners and customers at the territory level.
- 5+ years of working cross functionally with tech and non-tech teams experience
- 5+ years of program or project management experience
- 5+ years of delivering cross functional projects experience
- Experience defining program requirements and using data and metrics to determine improvements