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VP of Strategy and Alliances

Overview

The VP of Strategy and Alliances is a strategic, commercially focused role responsible for the end-to-end management of the company’s AWS Partner Network (APN) standing, executing on UTurn’s strategic GTM initiatives, and management of associated third-party vendors and technology relationships. Sitting at the intersection of sales enablement, technical accreditation, and partner ecosystem development, this individual ensures the organization maximizes its value from every partnership — starting with AWS, and translating that alliance investment into pipeline, revenue, and competitive differentiation.

This is a highly accountable, metrics-driven position. The successful candidate will own partner scorecards, funding utilization, marketplace performance, APN tier progression, and drive the relationships with AWS field and selling teams that unlock co-sell opportunities for the business.

Key Responsibilities:

AWS Selling Team Engagement & Co-Sell Execution

  • Develop and maintain active relationships with AWS Account Executives, Partner Development Managers (PDMs), Partner Development Representatives (PDRs), and Specialist Sales teams across target geographies and verticals.
  • Facilitate warm introductions and joint pursuit planning between the company’s sales team and the appropriate AWS field resources for qualified opportunities.
  • Manage the company’s ACE (AWS Customer Engagements) pipeline, ensuring all co-selling opportunities are registered, updated, and progressed within AWS systems in a timely manner.
  • Represent the company at AWS-hosted Seller Enablement sessions, Field Marketing events, and Territory Planning meetings to maintain top-of-mind awareness with AWS field teams.
  • Track and report on co-sell influenced and co-sell originated pipeline as distinct revenue metrics, providing quarterly trend analysis to the CRO.
  • Manage the UTurn marketing budget and execution of associated activities.

AWS Partner Network (APN) Management & Tier Progression

  • Own and maintain the company’s APN profile, ensuring accuracy of certifications, validated workloads, and customer references at all times.
  • Proactively track all APN requirements — certification counts, revenue thresholds, customer satisfaction scores, and public references — to protect and advance the company’s current tier status.
  • Build and maintain a rolling 12-month APN roadmap that maps planned headcount certifications, expected revenue growth, and new service launches to tier upgrade milestones.
  • Act as the internal subject-matter expert on APN program changes, communicating policy updates to stakeholders in Sales, Delivery, and Operations promptly and clearly.
  • Manage all APN portal activity, including the submission of launched opportunities, closed deals, and customer satisfaction surveys required for program compliance.
  • Manage AWS innovation accounts and access requirements.

Third-Party Partnership Lifecycle Management

  • Own the full lifecycle of all third-party distributor and ISV partnerships — from onboarding and agreement execution through to performance review, renewal, and exit.
  • Maintain a centralized partnership register covering contract terms, discount structures, program obligations, co-sell commitments, communications, and renewal dates.
  • Establish and run a regular partnership review cadence (monthly operational reviews, quarterly business reviews) with each strategic partner to assess performance against agreed metrics.
  • Identify and recommend new partnership opportunities that strengthen the company’s AWS-adjacent service portfolio or open access to new customer segments.
  • Serve as the primary escalation point for partner relationship issues, resolving conflicts commercially and constructively.

Metrics, Accountability & Process Governance

  • Define, own, and report on a comprehensive partnership metrics framework covering: APN tier health, co-sell pipeline contribution, funding utilization rates, Marketplace transaction volume, competency retention, and partner-sourced revenue.
  • Produce a monthly Partnership Scorecard for executive review, providing clear RAG status on all live programs and flagging risk areas with remediation plans.
  • Establish documented, repeatable processes for all key alliance activities — deal registration, MDF claims, training enrollment, Marketplace listing updates — ensuring adherence across all internal teams.
  • Maintain an audit-ready evidence library for all APN and partner program compliance requirements.
  • Drive continuous improvement in partnership operations, leveraging tooling (CRM, partner portals, project management platforms) to eliminate manual processes and improve data accuracy.

AWS Funding & Incentive Program Management

  • Identify, apply for, and manage all relevant AWS funding programs, including AWS Partner Funding (APF), Migration Acceleration Program (MAP), Competency Development Funding, Proof of Concept (POC) funding, and the AWS Partner Marketing Central (PMC) co-marketing budget.
  • Maintain a live funding pipeline tracker, ensuring no eligible funding opportunities are missed and all in-flight applications are progressed within program deadlines.
  • Work with Operations to accurately forecast and account for funding receipts, ensuring funds are deployed against eligible activities and claims are submitted with complete supporting documentation.
  • Achieve a minimum target utilization rate against available funding budget each fiscal year, providing monthly reporting against this KPI.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with AWS funding and program managers to receive advance notice of new schemes and improve approval rates.
  • Track and report on co-sell influenced and co-sell originated pipeline as distinct revenue metrics, providing quarterly trend analysis to the CRO.
  • Manage the UTurn marketing budget and execution of associated activities.

AWS Competency & Specialization Program Management

  • Own the roadmap for AWS Competency attainment and renewal across all practice areas relevant to the company’s service portfolio.
  • Coordinate the internal evidence-gathering process for Competency validation — including customer references, technical reviews, and case study submission — working closely with Delivery and Pre-Sales teams.
  • Monitor all Competency renewal windows and proactively manage the renewal process to prevent lapses, maintaining an internal calendar with 90-day advance alerts.
  • Evaluate new Competency and Service Delivery Partner (SDP) designations as they launch and make commercial recommendations on whether the business should pursue them, with supporting analysis.
  • Leverage Competency status to differentiate in marketing materials, on the AWS Partner Finder listing, and in customer-facing proposals.

AWS Marketplace Optimization

  • Own the company’s AWS Marketplace presence, including all listing content, pricing configurations, private offer structures, and EULA management.
  • Work with Sales to operationalize Private Offers as a transactional vehicle, enabling customers to use committed AWS spend (EDP/PPA) to purchase the company’s services.
  • Track Marketplace transaction data and produce monthly reporting on listing performance, private offer conversion rates, and Marketplace-sourced revenue.
  • Identify opportunities to expand the number of listings, enter new Marketplace categories, or launch Consulting Offer listings to increase discoverability.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of AWS Marketplace policy changes, fee structures, and new program features (e.g., Marketplace Vendor Insights, Vendor Data Delivery).

Required Experience and Skills

Essential

  • 5+ years in an AWS alliance roles, partner management, or AWS cloud channel role.
  • Demonstrable, hands-on experience managing APN requirements, tier compliance, and the APN portal (Partner Central).
  • Proven track record of successfully applying for and utilizing AWS funding programs (MAP, GenAI Funding, POC funding, or equivalents).
  • Experience building and maintaining co-sell relationships with AWS field teams (AEs, PDMs, Specialist SAs).
  • Familiarity with AWS Marketplace mechanics, including private offer creation and Consulting Offer listings.
  • Strong commercial acumen — able to build a business case for partnership investment and articulate ROI to senior stakeholders.
  • Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence without direct authority across Sales, Delivery, and Finance functions.
  • Data-driven mindset with experience building and maintaining dashboards, scorecards, and operational reporting.
  • Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent programs, deadlines, and stakeholder relationships simultaneously.

Desirable

  • AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner or Partner Accreditation (Business or Technical) -willingness to achieve within 90 days of joining is essential.
  • Experience managing non-AWS third-party partnerships (e.g., HashiCorp, Datadog, CrowdStrike, Snowflake, or similar ISVs).
  • Familiarity with CRM platforms (Salesforce or HubSpot) and their integration with partner tracking workflows.
  • Experience with ACE (AWS Customer Engagements) pipeline management and co-sell best practices.
  • Knowledge of AWS Competency processes from a first-hand submission perspective.
  • Exposure to AWS partner marketing vehicles including Partner Marketing Central (PMC) and co-branded campaign execution.

What Success Looks Like

In the first 90 days, the successful candidate will have audited all existing partnership requirements and APN program status and marketing budget, documented any compliance gaps with a remediation plan, established a regular cadence with the AWS PDM team, and delivered the first iteration of the monthly Partnership Scorecard.

Within six months, all active funding programs will be tracked and utilized effectively, the AWS Marketplace listing will have been reviewed and optimized, and a co-sell pipeline will be actively flowing through the ACE system with measurable contributions to the sales funnel.

At twelve months, the business will have developed new complementary partnerships, three new Competencies will be in progress or attained, and partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue will be a standard line item in monthly business reporting.

Benefits

Great benefits and perks including flexible hours, excellent medical, Dental/Vision, LTD/STD/AD&D/Life coverage, on-going training, 401k, River North location or home office, transit reimbursement, and on-going technical training!

UTurn Data Solutions is a Chicago-based Advanced Tier AWS Consulting Partner focused on data strategy and AWS cloud adoption. We help commercial and public sector organizations leverage the AWS cloud to transform their data into real business value.

This role is a cornerstone of our growth strategy. The right candidate will have the rare combination of operational rigor, commercial instinct, and relationship-building capability needed to turn our AWS partnership into a genuine engine of competitive advantage.

Qualified candidates can send their resume to careers@uturndata.com