Distribution Strategy, Senior Manager, MEA
- Full-time
- Employee Type: Regular
- Region: EMEA - Europe, Middle East and Africa
- Work Persona: Flexible
Company Description
It all started in sunny San Diego, California in 2004 when a visionary engineer, Fred Luddy, saw the potential to transform how we work. Fast forward to today — ServiceNow stands as a global market leader, bringing innovative AI-enhanced technology to over 8,100 customers, including 85% of the Fortune 500®. Our intelligent cloud-based platform seamlessly connects people, systems, and processes to empower organizations to find smarter, faster, and better ways to work. But this is just the beginning of our journey. Join us as we pursue our purpose to make the world work better for everyone.
Job Description
Role Purpose:
To design, launch and lead the distribution go-to-market model in the EMEA South region for ServiceNow. This leader will build, enable and optimise the distributor ecosystem (including key global/regional players such as Ingram Micro, SCC Group, Infosys) and their downstream reseller/partner networks to deliver growth, market coverage, and partner-led revenue acceleration.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategy & Model Design
Define the end-to-end distribution model for EMEA South: segmentation (countries, verticals, customer size), channel motion (1-tier, 2-tier, hybrid), roles & responsibilities (distributor vs reseller vs MSP/ISV).
Develop the business plan including revenue targets, growth projections, margin targets, distributor coverage, partner recruitment and enablement plans.
Align the model with global ServiceNow channel/distribution strategy, and adapt locally for EMEA South region.
Assess the current distributor landscape and identify gaps, opportunities, whitespace.
Distributor Relationship Management & Performance
Own the executive relationships with key distributor partners in the region, negotiate distribution agreements, contracts, terms (pricing, rebates, incentives).
Drive distributor performance via joint business plans (JBP), define KPIs (sell-in, sell-through, pipeline, partner recruitment, partner enablement, margin, inventory turn for hardware or software ledger if applicable).
Monitor and evaluate distributor performance regularly (quarterly business reviews) and implement corrective actions as needed.
Collaborate with distributors to recruit, onboard, enable and grow reseller/MSP/ISV networks aligned to ServiceNow’s portfolio and partner ecosystem.
Go-to-Market Execution & Enablement
Partner with internal sales, marketing, Product/Portfolio teams to define and execute demand generation campaigns, launch promotions, distributor-led programs and enablement for partners/resellers.
Ensure distributors and downstream partners are enabled technically and commercially: training, certification, messaging, tools, value propositions specific to ServiceNow’s software solutions.
Collaborate with ServiceNow regional field sales to ensure hand-off, joint selling motion, alignment of pipeline and distribution channels.
Ensure ordering, supply chain, licensing, services (where applicable) flow coherently through distribution and partner ecosystem.
Operational Excellence, Monitoring & Reporting
Build and maintain forecasting and pipeline visibility for distributor channel business: manage CRM/PRM inputs, dashboards, monthly/quarterly reporting to regional leadership.
Track and manage distributor inventory (where relevant), pricing/discount frameworks, channel compliance, rebates/incentives, partner tiering and program adherence.
Identify and implement process improvements, automation (e.g., ordering, partner onboarding), best practice sharing across region and globally.
Provide market feedback, competitor intelligence, channel ecosystem trends to Product Management, Marketing, and Executive leadership.
Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
Depending on scope, may lead or partner with a local team (e.g., Distribution Account Managers, Partner Enablement) and coordinate globally with ServiceNow’s channel/distribution centres of excellence.
Work cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Services, Finance, Legal, Operations to ensure smooth distributor ecosystem operation and alignment to corporate governance.
Act as champion of ServiceNow’s partner/distributor strategy in region, fostering high-performance culture and continuous improvement.
Key Deliverables / KPIs:
Distributor channel revenue growth (year-on-year) for EMEA South region.
Pipeline and bookings via distributor partners (sell-in + sell-through).
Number of qualified resellers/MSPs/ISVs recruited, enabled and productive via distributor ecosystem.
Distributor margin, partner margin, profitability contribution.
Distributor partner program compliance (certifications achieved, partner tiers upgraded, incentive rebate attainment).
Forecast accuracy, inventory/stock metrics (if applicable), channel ROI on co-market/demand generation investments.
Time to market for new product launches via distributor.
Internal stakeholder satisfaction (e.g., Sales/Marketing alignment rating), partner/distributor satisfaction metrics.
Achieving partner and distributor capacity targets.
Qualifications
Required Experience & Skills:
- Experience in leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision-making, or problem-solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI's potential impact on the function or industry.
Minimum 8-10 years in channel/distribution management, ideally in enterprise software, SaaS, cloud or technology industry.
Demonstrable experience building and scaling a distributor ecosystem across multi-country region (preferably EMEA, Middle East or GCC).
Strong commercial acumen: building business plans, setting targets, managing P&L/margin, forecasting.
Experience negotiating and managing distribution agreements, partner programs, incentive schemes.
Deep understanding of channel/distributor business models, reseller networks (VARs, MSPs, ISVs) and go-to-market via distribution.
Proven ability to work cross-functionally and influence at senior levels (internal and external).
Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills; culturally agile, comfortable working across different countries and business practices.
Strong data-driven and process-oriented mindset: using CRM/PRM, dashboards, KPIs.
Willingness and ability to travel regularly across EMEA South region (GCC, North Africa, Turkey, Southern Europe) (perhaps up to 40-60%).
Languages: Fluent English and Arabic (GCC). Major Southern-European language (e.g., French, Spanish, Italian) is a strong plus.
Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or equivalent; an MBA is desirable.
Preferred / Desirable:
Previous experience working with one or more global distributors (Ingram Micro, SCC, Infosys etc) in the technology/software environment.
Experience with subscription/licensing business models (software as a service), cloud marketplaces and recurring revenue.
Experience launching new markets/regions, establishing first-time distribution infrastructure.
Vocational certification in partner/channel management, or sales/marketing.
Additional Information
Work Personas
We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.
Equal Opportunity Employer
ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.
Accommodations
We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [email protected] for assistance.
Export Control Regulations
For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.
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