Full time (permanent contract)

Full remote, hybrid or on site (Grenoble, France)

Role overview

The Channel Sales Manager plays a key role in commercial coordination, partner relationship management, and internal alignment. This role is business-focused and does not replace dedicated Technical Support or Professional Services functions.

Key responsibilities

Partner management and coordination

• Act as a reliable and consistent point of contact for channel partners worldwide

• Manage inbound partner requests and ensure timely responses, directly or through the appropriate Channel Team members

• Handle multiple partner conversations in parallel while maintaining quality, structure, and professionalism

• Ensure clear escalation and support processes to resolve partner issues efficiently

• Maintain structured tracking of partner discussions, opportunities, and next steps Commercial account management

• Provide day-to-day account management for low- and mid-tier partners, focusing on:

  • commercial continuity
  • operational follow-up
  • relationship stability

• Participate in partner onboarding in close collaboration with Training and Professional Services teams

• Support pre-sales activities for channel partners by coordinating commercial and tech-nical requirements internally

• Lead commercial discussions with partners, including pricing, positioning, and deal structuring

• Manage renewals, ensuring proactive and timely commercial engagement

• Monitor ongoing Technical Support progression and ensure proper follow-up and com-munication with partners

• Provide partners with relevant sales tools and marketing materials

Internal alignment and reporting

• Work closely with internal teams (Direct Sales, Marketing, Technical, Finance)
• Align daily actions with mid- and long-term channel strategy, beyond immediate re-quests
• Be accountable for partner pipeline and results
• Provide clear reporting and visibility on partner activity, pipeline status, and ongoing actions

➢ Location: Paris preferred (open to other locations) ➢ Languages: Fluent in English and French (spoken and written) ➢ Occasional travel required

Experience level

• Minimum 3 years of experience in IT sales (virtualization experience not required) Skills and experience
• Strong understanding of sales fundamentals
• Experience with multi-level IT sales models (vendors, partners, distributors)
• Solid knowledge of software and hardware environments
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced, high-context environment requiring strong prioritiza-tion
• Ability to structure work, priorities, and partner interactions with minimal supervision
• Comfortable working in an international, multicultural environment
• Proven experience working effectively in a remote or distributed environment

Soft skills

• Strong personality with high resilience under external pressure
• Excellent team player with strong collaboration skills
• Clear, structured, and effective communicator
• Fast learner with strong adaptability
• Strong sense of ownership and responsibility
• Ability to manage conflicts in a professional and constructive manner
• Ability to think beyond short-term objectives and understand long-term strategy

Nice to have

• Prior experience in channel or indirect sales
• Exposure to public-sector or regulated markets
• Proven ability to drive partner engagement and measurable revenue growth, directly or through partners

Vates is a French software company specializing in Open Source and virtualization with a deep commitment to open, collaborative development. Our main projects, Xen Orchestra and XCP-ng, span the full virtualization stack—from the hypervisor (Xen) and virtualization platform (XCP-ng) to management and VM backups (Xen Orchestra). Our team works across multiple countries, fully embracing remote work with transparent workflows and accessible communication channels. At Vates, we are driven by a strong, people-first culture that values benevolence, inclusivity, and a horizontal structure. Every member is empowered to contribute ideas, make decisions, and grow with the company. Our open-source model is core to everything we do, not just in our code, which is available on GitHub and GitLab, but in our collaborative approach with the community. We believe in "upstream first," dedicating our expertise and resources to support and advance foundational projects like Xen, and helping contributors of all levels join us on this journey.