Partner Sales Director - IHV Alliances at Canonical

Partner Sales Director - IHV Alliances

Location: Home based - Remote (EMEA or APAC)

Role overview

Canonical is seeking a senior IHV Alliance Sales Director to lead strategic partnerships with Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) across EMEA or APAC. Reporting to the Head of IHV Alliances, you will build and scale relationships with major OEMs and IHVs (Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, Fujitsu and others), lead a team of Business Development Managers, and drive joint go-to-market motions, commercial outcomes and executive-level alignment.

Key responsibilities

• Build and maintain trusted strategic relationships with IHV partners at engineering, field and executive levels.
• Develop joint go-to-market strategies, negotiate commercial terms, manage alliance performance and resolve issues.
• Lead, mentor and grow a team of Business Development Managers focused on IHV opportunities and account coverage.
• Create, qualify and grow partner-sourced pipeline; drive partner-assisted and partner-led opportunities to close.
• Run customer workshops, executive briefings and public presentations to evangelise Canonical’s value across IHVs.
• Coordinate closely with marketing, sales engineering, product management and field teams to align on priorities and campaigns.
• Represent Canonical in partner executive interlocks and industry events; travel regularly as required.

What we are looking for

• Proven experience in alliance, channel or indirect sales leadership with IHVs, OEMs or strategic technology partners.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record of building and closing partner-driven revenue and strategic programs.
• Deep understanding of the Linux and cloud software ecosystem, including virtualization, containers and enterprise infrastructure.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills across technical and executive audiences.
• Autonomous, results-oriented, and comfortable operating in fast-paced environments with measurable goals.
• Ability to travel internationally to meet partners and participate in events (regular travel expected).

Valued skills and experience

• Experience negotiating and managing complex partnership contracts and commercial terms.
• Background working with major IHVs/OEMs and familiarity with partner field organisations and GTM motions.
• Experience with partner tools and CRMs (Salesforce) and campaign cooperation with marketing and sales engineering.

What we offer

Canonical offers competitive compensation based on geography, experience and performance, plus benefits adjusted to local markets. You will join a remote-first company that meets in person for sprints twice yearly.

• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year.
• Twice-yearly in-person team sprints and company retreats.
• Annual compensation review, recognition rewards, annual holiday leave and paid parental leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing support; travel benefits for long-haul events.

About Canonical

Canonical publishes Ubuntu, a leading open-source platform used across cloud, AI, IoT and enterprise initiatives. We partner with cloud and silicon vendors and collaborate with global partners to bring open source to large-scale deployments.

How to apply

Apply via Canonical's careers site for this role: https://canonical.com/careers/4126502

Requisition ID: 791