Head of Alliances

NSC is a world-renowned supplier of IT services – including Field engineers for endpoints, networks and datacentres – to the world’s largest companies and system integrators. The company also provides IT hardware globally from leading OEMs either as one-off resale or as-a-service. This includes a spares service in over 250 locations. With 2022 revenues of over £160m, the company is on the edge of a period of sustained growth and is investing for the future to grow quickly, maintaining profitability, over the next 5 years.

You will report the Chief Client Officer and will be located for at least 2 days per week in the company’s offices in No.1 London Bridge, SE1 9BG. The remainder of the time you are likely to be in front of the OEMs NSC are working with. 

NSC have strong relationships with a number of OEM partners – particularly in the networking sector (eg Aruba/HPE, Dell, Juniper/Mist, Cisco, Arista) – however, these relationships are not well organised and spread amongst a number of owners in the organisation. 

Your role will be to consolidate relationships with all NSC’s vendors – both those with whom there is an existing relationship and those where there needs/is an opportunity one to be developed:

• Holding senior vendor channel relationships in the UK and beyond, delegating to others where appropriate and attending/organising vendor events
• Working with sales directors to ensure NSC treat each vendor opportunity as a customer opportunity to deliver services either to or through the OEM
• Researching MDF availability and opportunities to work on joint marketing campaigns in the UK, EMEA, USA and world-wide
• Claiming MDF funds and working with marketing to deliver agreed campaigns
• Managing a creative marketing assistant to help deliver vendor campaigns
• Accreditations held – where they need to be held (location) & skill set required
• Training – arrange training for appropriate individuals (sales or technical) within the organisation upskilling the team appropriately
• Attending vendor conferences on behalf of NSC and promoting NSC’s brand and competencies to the OEM wherever possible (eg speaking on stage)

Additional Management Responsibilities

You will also be responsible for managing and recruiting the vendor procurement team.  The existing team of 7 is managed from the UK and located across the NSC global network.  Having an understanding of what and where NSC buy product should assist you in your main duties of developing vendor relationships and alliances.  You will also hold senior relationships with NSC’s distributor partners across the world as most goods are bought through distribution. 

You should already have a high profile with leading IT vendors today understanding MDF programmes, accreditations and their impact on the ability for a reseller to earn rebates.  You might be working in product management for a distributor or an IT reseller or perhaps working in the channel/marketing team for a vendor.

You should be organised, creative and be an excellent presenter and be prepared to travel.  

You will be responsible for MDF claims and hence will be financially competent and you will receive commission based on vendor rebates and MDF targets as well as KPI targets