About the Role

Gruve is seeking a highly motivated and relationship-driven Partner & Alliances Manager based in Mumbai or Bengaluru to lead and expand our strategic partnerships across the APAC region. This individual will play a key role in managing partner relationships, executing regional GTM activities, and supporting global partner program execution in close collaboration with leadership and key stakeholders. 

You will serve as a regional ambassador for Gruve's partnership strategy, working closely with local OEMs, distributors, and technology alliances while aligning with internal sales, marketing, learning & development, and technical teams across time zones. This role is pivotal to Gruve's international growth and partner-driven revenue acceleration. 

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Relationship Development 

• Build and manage business-level relationships with regional partners, distributors, and OEM stakeholders. 

• Establish and maintain executive and business-level relationships and map OEMs with Gruve leadership. 

• Represent Gruve at APAC-based partner events, conferences, and enablement sessions. 

• Act as the primary point of contact for regional partner activities, escalations, and collaboration. 

• Map Gruve business goals with OEM sellers, services team, and leadership, and drive the strategy. 

Partner Program Mastery & Execution 

• Execute local GTM plans in coordination with global partner leadership and stakeholders. 

• Develop and execute a joint GTM plan to drive activity planning, co-sell motions, pipeline acceleration, partner-led deals, and programs. 

• Track and report regional partnership certifications, event participation, and performance KPIs in collaboration with learning & development. 

• Act as the internal expert on all partner programs, incentives/rebates, deal registration, and other partnership benefits in the region. 

• Leverage MDF, rebates, SPIFFs, discounts, and sales plays to maximize profitability. 

• Guide leadership on how to extract maximum value from each partnership. 

• Work cross-functionally to support sales and other teams on partner-related initiatives. 

• Conduct due diligence on compliance and partnership status, and maintain partnership and legal records. 

• Own and elevate Gruve's program membership levels to achieve the highest tier(s). 

Internal Leadership & Cross-Functional Alignment 

• Provide regular updates to leadership on opportunities, risks, growth, and revenue impact. 

• Work closely with Presales and Sales Leadership, aligning with business goals and strategy. 

• Lead QBRs to assess progress and identify growth opportunities. 

• Drive the charter and roadmap using insights from market trends, customer needs, leadership direction, and partner ecosystems aligned with Gruve's strategic interests. 

• Establish strong alignment between Gruve's sales teams and partner sales organizations to drive joint success. 

Basic Qualifications

• 7–10 years of experience in partnerships and alliances (preferably in tech/software)
• Must be able to travel to partner conferences and/or onsite visits throughout the region.
• Proven experience working with one or more APAC OEMs or distributors (e.g., Cisco, Red Hat, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, CrowdStrike, Zscaler, AWS, GCP, Ingram Micro. TD SYNNEX, Etevers etc.)
• Strong ability to build executive relationships and influence cross-functional teams.
• Ability to navigate complex partner ecosystems and align joint value propositions.
• Must be able to collaborate across time zones with internal teams in the U.S., EMEA, and beyond.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background within a System Integrator (SI) or channel partner organization, with firsthand understanding of how SIs structure and manage OEM, distributor, and technology alliances. 
• Excellent relationship management and communication skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to think strategically and act autonomously in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple stakeholders and timelines.
• Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth environments.‍