Distributor Business Development Manager, APJ - Elastic

Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale — unleashing the potential of businesses and people. The Elastic Search AI Platform, used by more than 50% of the Fortune 500, brings together the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to enable everyone to accelerate the results that matter.

What is The Role

As Distributor Business Development Manager, you will own Elastic's distribution relationships and unmanaged Elastic partner strategy with distribution partners across the APJ region.

The successful candidate will connect Elastic's sales teams, partner teams, and distributors in the region. Their main goal is to drive pipeline generation with the help of distributors. They will also enable resellers and execute co-sell strategies. Additionally, they will work on growing new business and increasing expansion ARR through the partner ecosystem.

This role requires a candidate with strong partner sales acumen, regional experience, and a proven track record of growing business with distributors. You will work with cross-functional teams, and focus on driving execution of Elastic sales plays, deep technical alignment, and enablement of distributors, scaling the business through a distributor-led partner ecosystem.

As a business leader, you will conduct executive business reviews with both the distributor and Elastic leadership teams. You should be capable and comfortable delivering demonstrations of Elastic products. You will arrange technical workshops and certification boot camps with distributors and Elastic reseller teams. Additionally, you will create and improve sales plays, and drive business execution across distributors and the distributor-led partner ecosystem.

What You Will Be Doing

Distribution Strategy & Business Planning

• Manage Business Plans: Manage business plans with distribution partners. Set quarterly targets for the pipeline and for recruiting resellers. Prioritize segments for Elastic's Enterprise, Public Sector, and Commercial business.
• Executive Relationships: Build and maintain executive-level relationships with distribution executive teams, and drive business growth initiatives with Elastic Field Sales teams, Managed Partners teams, and distributors.
• GTM Playbook: Develop and execute a distribution GTM playbook aligned to Elastic's Fiscal year priorities and key performance indicators such as: partner-sourced pipeline, New & Expansion business targets, and reseller coverage model.
• Performance Tracking: Work with Global Partner Sales Operations to track distributor performance using KPIs, including partner-sourced ARR, deal registration volume, pipeline coverage ratio, and reseller activation rates.

Distributor and Partner Ecosystem Enablement and Development

• Enablement Programs: Independently design and deliver technical enablement programs for reseller sales engineers, architects, and pre-sales teams — onsite at distributor offices, reseller HQs, and industry events, as well as in virtual/webinar formats.
• Content Library: Build and maintain a reusable enablement content library: demo environments, hands-on lab guides, discovery decks, competitive battle-cards, and certification study aids tailored to the Elastic platform (Search, Observability, Security).
• Enablement Days: Run monthly/quarterly distributor enablement days with coordinated technical tracks (observability, SIEM/security analytics, vector/AI search) and business tracks (program updates, incentives, pipeline reviews).
• Certifications: Drive reseller technical certifications and training completions through proactive cohort scheduling, remediation support, and accountability reporting back to Elastic Partner Enablement.
• Product Demos: Deliver or co-deliver Elastic product demonstrations for reseller-led opportunities, serving as the technical point of contact for pre-sales support through distribution when a dedicated SE is unavailable.

Reseller Ecosystem Development

• Recruitment: Identify, recruit, and enable net-new resellers through distribution partners; manage tiering and partner program alignment.
• Activation: Drive reseller activation through demand generation programs, MDF utilization, and joint marketing motions with distributors.
• Pipeline Management: Maintain a healthy, active reseller pipeline across APJ markets.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Sales Alignment: Partner with Elastic Regional Sales field managers (RVPs, AEs) to integrate distribution into account and territory planning.
• Operations & Strategy: Own execution across Elastic account segments. Work with Global Partner Sales Operations & Strategy on distributor discount structures, incentive programs, and data integrity within Salesforce/Impartner.
• Marketing: Collaborate with Elastic's Marketing team to develop and deploy partner-funded demand generation campaigns through public sector distribution partners.
• Conflict Resolution: Escalate and resolve distributor-facing channel conflicts, pricing disputes, and deal registration exceptions in coordination with Global Partner Sales leadership and Deal Desk.

What You Bring

• Experience: 7+ years of channel sales or partner management experience, with at least 3 years focused on distribution.
• Track Record: Demonstrated track record of driving partner-sourced revenue through distributor-managed reseller ecosystems.
• Technical Enablement: Proven ability to independently deliver sales pitches and business value propositions to partners, showcase product or solution demos, co-deliver hands-on workshops, and lab-based training to sales and technical audiences (SEs, architects, pre-sales).
• Program Management: Experience building or managing a self-sustaining partner enablement program: content design, delivery cadence, certification tracking, and outcomes measurement.
• Domain Fluency: Hands-on fluency with at least one of the following domains: observability/monitoring, SIEM/security analytics, log management, or enterprise search — sufficient to lead credible technical conversations and live product walkthroughs.
• Segment Familiarity: Deep familiarity with account segments and how channel partners serve and execute business with Enterprise, Public Sector, and commercial customers.
• Regional Experience: Experienced with diverse regions and working directly with partners based in different countries across APJ. Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder distributor relationships across sales, marketing, and executive functions.
• Channel Mechanics: Strong command of channel mechanics: deal registration, margin stacking, MDF management, reseller tiering, and co-sell program execution.
• Tools: Proficiency in Salesforce CRM for pipeline management, reporting, and partner attribution workflows.
• Communication: Excellent executive communication skills — written, verbal, and presentation — and equal comfort presenting to a CISO as to a room of reseller SEs.
• Travel: Willingness and ability to travel onsite to distribution and reseller locations (estimated 20%–30%) for enablement events, QBRs, and partner marketing activities.

Bonus Points

• Direct experience with Elastic (ELK/ECE/ECK), Splunk, Datadog, CrowdStrike, or another enterprise observability or security analytics platform — including hands-on configuration or demonstration capability.
• Familiarity with partner program platforms (Impartner, Alliances, Salesforce PRM) and co-sell tools (Tackle/Clazar, WorkSpan).
• Working knowledge of cloud marketplace procurement (AWS MP, Azure MP, GCP MP) as a transactional vector through distribution.
• Prior experience owning or supporting partner attribution framework rollouts or channel operations transformations.
• Background in working or partnering and contributing to designing formal sales or technical training content for partner ecosystems.

Benefits & Perks

• Competitive pay based on the work you do and not your previous salary.
• Health coverage for you and your family in many locations.
• Ability to craft your calendar with flexible locations and schedules.
• Generous number of vacation days each year.
• Charitable donation matching up to $2,000 (or local currency equivalent) per year.
• Up to 40 hours each year to use toward volunteer projects.
• Minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave.