Vendor Alliances Manager

POSITION DETAILS:

Position Title:

Vendor Alliances Manager

Reports to (POSITION):

Head of Vendor Alliances

Team:

Vendor Alliances

Department:

Vendor Solutions

Grade (If Applicable):

N/A

BYTES:

Established in 1982, Bytes has grown rapidly and now employs over 800+ people across 6 locations in the UK and Ireland. Our turnover in Financial Year 2024 was in excess of £2bn. We work with SME’s, corporates and public sector organisations to modernise and digitally transform their IT infrastructures.

We invest in our employees through on-going support, training and advice to help them achieve their career aspirations, rewarding success both financially and personally. There is opportunity to grow and move internally which can be seen through our long-standing employees who have developed existing and new skills to move into senior positions in the organisation leaving space for new team members to begin their journey.

Your Future Starts Here

Why Bytes?

• Over 800 staff (plans to double in size over the next 5 years)
• Operating from modern, hybrid working environments with offices in Leatherhead, Reading, London, Manchester, Port Solent and Dublin.
• Winners of an array of industry awards
• Sunday Times Top 100 Best Places to Work
• Excellent training and career prospects offered
• Fantastic office with gym, canteen, open plan, smart casual dress code, regular incentives and company events
• Supporters of 85+ charities with strong commitment to diversity and sustainability

PURPOSE OF JOB:

(OVERALL DESCRIPTION OF THE POST WITHIN THE TEAM AND ORGANISATION)

In this sales-focused position, you'll be responsible for managing and developing strategic vendor relationships with Bytes, acting as a commercial and partnership expert.

Your goal will be to increase revenues and profits within our Vendor Solutions, working alongside sales teams and customers to create, win, and optimise sales opportunities.

You'll take ownership of various customer-facing opportunities, including upsell, expansion, and renewal engagements, across all customer segments: mid-market, corporate, enterprise, public sector, and channel.

Regular interaction with key stakeholders within the Vendors and the internal sales team is essential, so strong communication skills across these areas are crucial.

You'll also collaborate closely with the (Job Title TBC) to build and own the Go-To-Market strategy and resources for the aligned vendors. This includes creating sales collateral, supporting marketing plans, and working with peers on multi-vendor messages.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Business Planning and Strategy:

• Collaborate with the Head of proposition/alliances to own the creation and monitor the execution of the vendor business plan, ensuring the outcomes align with core business objectives.
• Track and manage direct vendor rebates.
• Organise, prepare, and co-present on vendor QBRs.
• Co-ordinate sales enablement, focus days, sales-based events and vendor networking
• Manage certification and specialisation requirements with vendors, working alongside Vendor Operations to ensure we remain compliant.
• Working closely with the marketing lead, ensure marketing activities are incorporated into the plan and communicated effectively with the vendor to encourage promotion. You will be expected to create relevant and appropriate content and messaging for each sales segment, supporting the marketing team with execution and follow-up of all initiatives
• Creation of any vendor investment plans, including MDF, incentives, and rebates.
• Organise and support consistent exec vendor alignment with Bytes, in alignment with the business plan.
• Lead Go To Market strategies and integration sales plays in conjunction with supporting vendors and peers

Sales and Deal Management:

• Be responsible for the delivering the expected Vendor GP against the annual target. You will be measured directly against this.
• Own the progress and reporting of Renewal Retention, Refresh Potential & Cross Sell/ Upsell (to include bi-annual tech update meetings set with clients).
• Support AM’s, Specialists, and the vendor in new business customer opportunities.
• Sell Bytes back into the vendor, building relationships and finding customer opportunities through the vendor.
• Review and report against deal registrations for strategic vendors, tracking a win/loss ratio and utilising this information to inform future activity.
• Undertake and review loss analysis data
• Review whitespace data and present this, along with insights to the relevant sales teams and Specialists to drive impactful customer engagement.
• Compile, distribute and monitor the delivery of propensity data analysis
• Proactive renewal management - Accountable for success criteria, Responsible for direct customer & Account Manager engagement, collaboration to Specialist team if at risk renewal, reporting to Leads.
• Proactive upsell management - Accountable for success criteria, Responsible for direct customer & AM engagement, collaboration with peers and Specialists team if multi-vendor options required, reporting to Leads
• Support the accuracy of forecasting, in collaboration with Specialists and Account Managers.
• Support Customer engagements with Specialists and Account Teams when required
• Understand and enable sales to utilise cloud marketplaces as a transaction route for technology purchases.

Internal Systems and Documentation:

• Maintain our internal SharePoint (Compass) vendor pages, including min margins on the portal
• Own the accuracy of the vendor taxonomy
• Work with internal supply chain team and distribution partners to ensure our processes are efficient, including marketplace offers.
• Utilise internal SharePoint (Compass) to promote news and updates about managed vendors.
• Encourage the accurate use of CRM, working in conjunction with the Specialists and Account Managers, ensuring deal values and timelines are accurate for forecasting and reporting.

Personal Requirements:

• Have a deep commercial understanding of relevant vendors partner programmes
• Growth mindset and positive attitude to continuous learning, including sales and product topics.
• Comfortable presenting vendor specific updates to sales and Specialists
• Able to explain the USPs and value delivered by their vendors
• Understanding where their vendors compliment other vendors

WIDER TEAM NETWORK

(WHICH TEAMS WILL THE POSITION WORK WITH DIRECTLY AND WHO WILL THEY RELATE TO EXTERNALLY)

Internal

• Sales, Specialists, Marketing, Head of Solutions

External

• Working directly with our sales teams to address customers, mainstream Distributors & Partners, and Key Vendors.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, & SKILLS:

Educational Qualifications:

• Minimum GCSEs (A-C) English & Mathematics
• Educated to A-level standard

ESSENTIAL

Professional Qualifications

• Vendor Sales Accreditations
• Experience of Selling software solutions
• Experience in commercially compiling complex (vendor) quotes

ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE

Years of Experience

• 2-3 years’ experience in a similar role
• Customer facing experience
• Vendor development management experience

ESSENTIAL

Other Requirements

• Commercial / Bid awareness
• Excellent presentation delivery
• Accuracy & Attention to detail
• Excellent organisational and customer service skills
• Excellent Time Management & Project prioritisation
• Multi-tasking Team player
• Outgoing and enthusiastic
• Copes well under pressure

ESSENTIAL

CORE Competencies & SKILLS – BASED ON POSITION AND GRADE (IF APPLICABLE)

• Regarded as trusted advisor in proposition area.
• Commercial creativity skills across product, services, and support.
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships across Bytes, customer, and vendor community.
• Ability to articulate proposition area to all levels, including up to Exec level.
• Pro-active approach to maintaining customer base and driving new sales.
• Tenacious, outgoing, and quick to learn
• Adaptable and forward thinking

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