Partner Sales Manager - IHV Alliances
Canonical
Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants
This remote ok full time position at Canonical is open worldwide, so South Africans can apply. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.
Job Description
<p>Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1200+ colleagues in 75+ countries and very few office based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.</p>
<p>The company is founder led, profitable and growing. </p>
<p>We are hiring a Partner Sales Manager to be a key contributing team member within the growing IHV alliances organization. Large OEM or Independent Hardware Vendor (IHV) brands - Dell, HPE, IBM, Lenovo, Ericsson, Cisco, Fujitsu and many more - are major partners for Canonical. These companies build software-defined solutions to capitalize on global open source mandates and associated macro trends. Canonical’s flagship product, Ubuntu, and its broader open source portfolio are key ingredients for these partners to realize their aspirations. Canonical represents the best platform for rapid open source innovation.</p>
<p>Reporting to the Head of IHV Alliances, the Partner Sales Manager will work closely with IHV and Canonical teams in various geographies to enable IHV teams, generate and transact opportunities, drive a Canonical agenda within an IHV, and achieve targeted results. They are responsible to build trusted relationships with our partners, increase Canonical market share and attach rate, evangelize the partnership and drive business interactions from across persona - from engineer to CxO. They will often run customer workshops focused on particular initiatives at that customer, attend sales events, give public presentations and participate in executive engagements.</p>
<p><strong>Location: This is a remote role.</strong></p>
<h2>The role entails</h2>
<ul>
<li>Build strategic relationships and enable partner teams on the partnership</li>
<li>Build pipeline and transact opportunities through an IHV </li>
<li>Grow partner awareness of open source capabilities on Canonical Ubuntu</li>
<li>Demonstrate a deep understanding of the Linux and cloud software ecosystem</li>
<li>Deliver on targets, objectives and provide a voice of the partner</li>
<li>Travel regularly - sometimes internationally - to drive partnerships in person</li>
<li>Align and support internal canonical field teams - identify, support, grow, transact</li>
<li>Expand existing footprint with IHV customers with an aim to upsell to broader portfolio</li>
<li>Support and contribute to broader strategy, initiatives and key campaigns</li>
</ul>
<h2>What we are looking for in you</h2>
<ul>
<li>Experience in alliance or indirect sales management roles</li>
<li>Autonomous, disciplined, hands-on, get-it-done mentality</li>
<li>Ability to capture customer requirements, evaluate gaps, identify and create opportunities</li>
<li>Passionate about Ubuntu products and mission</li>
<li>Comfortable in fast-paced and high pressure environments with measurable goals</li>
<li>Experience with Linux, virtualization, containers, and other cloud technologies</li>
<li>Excellent communication and presentation skills</li>
<li>Team player with superior accountability and customer support skills</li>
<li>Credibility and working knowledge of IHVs - their products, go-to-market motion, and field</li>
<li>Experience managing cross-functional teams and track record of operational excellence</li>
<li>Willingness to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events</li>
<li>Hands on experience with Salesforce and Google Suite a plus</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>What we offer colleagues</strong></h2>
<p>We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognize outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus or commission. We provide all team members with additional benefits which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.</p>
<ul>
<li>Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person</li>
<li>Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year</li>
<li>Annual compensation review</li>
<li>Recognition rewards</li>
<li>Annual holiday leave</li>
<li>Maternity and paternity leave</li>
<li>Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform</li>
<li>Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues</li>
<li>Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>About Canonical</strong></h2>
<p>Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the glo
Tips for South African Applicants
Timezone Advantage
South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.
Salary in Context
Even without a listed salary, international remote roles typically pay 2-3x more than equivalent local positions in South Africa due to the exchange rate advantage.
Application Tips
Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.
Load Shedding Preparedness
If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.
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About Canonical
Canonical is a company in the Operations industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 230 open positions on Hirezar. View all Canonical jobs →