Sr. Manager, Partner Development

At Alaska Communications, we’re committed to putting our team first, always being customer focused, having a can-do attitude, owning our results and always acting with integrity. This is what we hire for and what our team members exhibit each day. Want to make an impact with us?

POSITION SUMMARY

The Sr. Manager of Partner Development will drive enterprise-wide strategy and organizational operationalization of assigned service capabilities and partner solutions. This person will be responsible for cultivating relationships with existing solutions partners and developing new ones to serve the needs of Alaska Communications clients. This person will be responsible for pre-sale technical design, quote approval, service delivery, service assurance and overall customer satisfaction. Acts as service area lead, preparing the partner plan activities and forecasting, profitability analysis, operations analysis, for assigned service areas. Manages assigned staff, providing technical expertise and direction while ensuring client satisfaction, timely and accurate documentation, and adherence to company policy. Acts as an escalation point when possible for both technical and client needs. This position will ensure that service processes and capabilities meet the needs of Alaska Communications clients.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Reasonable Accommodations Statement

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable Accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Essential Functions Statement(s)

• Knows and contributes to Alaska Communications business strategy and competitive positioning with a focus on increasing market share and share of wallet.

• Researches new technologies, capabilities and services to provide a higher level of service to clients. Creates and maintains the partner product catalogue and forward-looking roadmap.

• Develops and maintains relationships with partnered service and product providers and keeps up to date on product capabilities changes within partners and the industry overall. Oversees training, certification, purchase levels, partner dollars, events, and other program requirements as needed to maintain a competitive position in the market.

• Develops sales channel strategies to support the Company's marketing strategy and other objectives, and oversees deployment and ongoing management.

• Works cross functionally within Alaska Communications to understand partnership impact on our products and services, and get internal buy-in for new initiatives

• Creates and maintains a training program for increased sales competence, customer service abilities and technical knowledge.

• Provides technical support, guidance, and on-the-job training to staff within the latitude of established company policies.

• Develops documentation standards and templates for clients, target Service Level Agreements and contractual obligations

• Identifies solutions to improve service delivery and service assurance, including the development of new policies, delivery of additional training, and identification of proactive solutions to address potential quality issues.

• Works with Human Resources by participating in candidate interviews for staff openings, conducts performance appraisals, assist in career development, and disciplinary actions as needed.

• Other duties as assigned

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

Competency Statement(s)

• Business and Process Leadership - Understanding of business processes: a keen understanding of partner management processes and associated metrics and measurement; a keen understanding of the sales process and associated metrics and measurement.; a keen understanding of key IT Managed Service Provider processes (sales/service, ordering/service delivery, billing, customer support) and the ability to map processes and understand inter-linkages to each other and to the systems that support the processes.

• Customer Focus - Ability to manage customer relationships, communication and centricity. Take overall accountability for customer relationships, provide "account management" functionality, and act in the capacity of a solution provider. Ability to communicate with customers effectively, on a proactive basis, and manage the communication process. An attitude that the customer is the key to success, and keeping the customers' interests paramount.

• Drive - Possesses a strong entrepreneurial drive coupled with an ability to formulate rational and value-creating technical and business proposals from developed leads and to recommend such proposals as strategic fits for the company’s businesses.

• Management Skills - Ability to organize and direct oneself and effectively supervise others. Ability to influence others to perform their jobs effectively and to be responsible for making decisions.

• Coaching and Development - Ability to provide guidance and feedback to help others strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas

• Technical Aptitude - Ability to comprehend complex technical topics and specialized information. Broad knowledge of the many IT sub-disciplines.

• Communication Skills - Successful candidate must have excellent oral and written communication skills. Position will require frequent preparation and delivery of detailed plans and proposals. Strong communication/interpersonal skills with emphasis on decision-making, conflict management, and team building and teamwork. Must have ability to develop work plans, work effectively as a member of a team, report on status of projects, and represent the team in meetings and/or with the client, and be able to coordinate issues identification and resolution between clients and the development team.

• Decision Making - Ability to make critical decisions while following company procedures.

• Analytical Skills - Ability to use thinking and reasoning to solve a problem. Ability to determine how a system should work and how changes will impact it.

• Problem Solving - Ability to find a solution for or to deal proactively with work-related problems.

• Change Management - Ability to encourage others to seek opportunities for different and innovative approaches to addressing problems and opportunities.

• Lean Leadership:  Actively grows and promotes lean process improvement usage within department and within Company.  Strives to eliminate all waste – that which does not bring value to the customer – through the use of Lean PI.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer systems, Computer Science, or related field. Equivalent education, experience, and training may be substituted year over year for the degree requirement.

Experience: Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible IT experience.  Equivalent education may be substituted for experience requirement.  At least five (5) years managing teams within an IT department. Strong technical knowledge and current certifications in the assigned IT disciplines, or actively working towards certification Relevant IT tertiary qualification and/or equivalent training and experience.

Computer Skills: Demonstrated proficiency working with Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and Outlook.

We hope you’ll join us as we change lives through technology.