Head of Alliances and Channel Sales (794C026)

Referment is working with a banking technology business that provides financial institutions with transaction data infrastructure, AI-powered insights and personalisation software. Its platform helps banks make digital banking more relevant to individual customers. The business is hiring its first Head of Alliances and Channel Sales to establish a dedicated partner function and turn indirect revenue into a deliberate growth channel.

Selling data and personalisation infrastructure into Tier 1 banks involves long sales cycles and trusted relationships. You'll build an ecosystem of system integrators, consultancies and core and digital banking platform vendors that can introduce the business into bank engagements. The aim is to move from occasional referrals to a repeatable, measurable source of qualified pipeline and closed revenue.

This is a senior, quota-carrying role reporting to the executive team, with a clear partner-sourced revenue target. You'll start hands-on, sourcing and closing the first strategic partnerships yourself, then build the programme, framework and, over time, the team around what works. You'll work alongside the direct Commercial team, supporting the business's SaaS and platform strategy and its growth across EMEA. This is a commercial role carrying a number, not a purely strategic business development position.

The Role

• Define the partner strategy and identify which relationships offer the most effective route into Tier 1 banks. Assess global and regional system integrators, management consultancies and core or digital banking platform vendors, prioritising fewer, deeper relationships over a long list of logos.
• Develop relationships across an ecosystem that includes integrators such as TCS, Atos and Capgemini, consultancies such as McKinsey, BCG, Accenture and Deloitte, and banking platform vendors such as Temenos, SBS and Mambu.
• Personally originate, negotiate and close strategic partnership and channel agreements. Structure referral, reseller, co-selling and embedded commercial models, taking ownership of the terms and deal economics as well as the relationship.
• Carry partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue targets. Track attributable pipeline, closed revenue and the contribution to annual recurring revenue so alliances become a predictable commercial channel aligned with SaaS growth priorities.
• Work with direct sales colleagues so partners actively bring the platform into their banking engagements. Build joint value propositions, enablement and account plans that translate relationships into practical co-selling activity.
• Establish the partner framework, including tiering, onboarding, enablement, deal registration and governance. Keep it lean enough for a scale-up while making the sales motion repeatable beyond your own relationships.
• Represent the business with senior partner executives and bank stakeholders. Bring market and competitive insight back into Product and Commercial, and collaborate with Delivery to make the partnerships work in practice.
  
  

What We're Looking For

• At least 10 years' experience in partnerships, alliances or channel sales, including senior work in B2B fintech, enterprise SaaS or financial services. You should understand how banks buy technology and how integrators, consultancies and platform vendors influence those decisions.
• A demonstrable record of partnerships that generated attributable pipeline and closed revenue, with clear evidence of the results. Signed memoranda of understanding or relationship-building activity alone will not demonstrate the commercial experience this role requires.
• Established relationships across system integrators, consultancies and banking technology vendors, with an EMEA network particularly valuable for the territory this role supports.
• Experience carrying a revenue target, leading commercial negotiations and structuring partnership agreements. You'll need to work in step with direct sales rather than build a separate or competing sales motion.
• Experience establishing a partner function or programme from an early stage, introducing useful structure without over-engineering it.
• Enough banking technology knowledge to discuss data, personalisation, cloud and SaaS credibly with partner and bank executives. A genuine understanding of integration, data and platform architecture is important when working with technical stakeholders and explaining how a product fits into their stack.
• Strong English communication skills and willingness to travel up to 30% to meet partners and customers and attend industry events.
• The ability to build trust quickly with senior stakeholders and turn it into commercial outcomes. You'll measure activity by pipeline and revenue and be prepared to walk away from relationships that do not convert.
• A proactive approach to building a new function with limited existing scaffolding, combined with effective collaboration across Commercial, Product and Delivery. Your work should make the direct sales team more effective, not create territorial friction.
  
  

Relevant Desirable Experience

• Existing relationships with core banking platform vendors such as Temenos and Finastra would help you open relevant conversations early.
• A technical background would complement the commercial remit, particularly where it supports credible discussions about integration, cloud and platform architecture.
• Direct knowledge of transaction enrichment, personalisation or customer engagement products.
• Additional European languages would be an advantage across the EMEA partner ecosystem.
  
  

Working Environment

The employer describes hybrid working, a focus on work-life balance and team activities, alongside international projects and career development opportunities. Its listed package includes healthcare, wellbeing and leave benefits, support for everyday working costs, performance-based bonus and equity participation.

This could suit a senior alliances or channel sales leader who has built revenue-producing partnerships around enterprise banking technology and wants a remit combining hands-on commercial deal-making with the creation of a repeatable partner programme.

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