Senior Manager, Sales Ops & Business Transformation

Company Description

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.

Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

Who We Are

We believe collaboration thrives in person. That’s why most of our teams work from the office full time, with flexibility when it’s needed. This model supports real-time problem-solving, stronger relationships, and the kind of precision that drives great outcomes.

Job Description

Your Career

We are seeking a proactive, detail-oriented Senior Partner Operational Manager to join our Global Ecosystems Operations team. In this role, you will lead key operational workstreams and processes that drive our partner programs, sales operations and partner compensation - enabling scalable, compliant, and performing growth across our global partner ecosystem.

You will work cross-functionally with stakeholders across Partner Programs, Sales, Finance, Legal and IT to design and execute high-impact operational processes across order Q2C, compensation, incentives and partner governance. This role requires a deep understanding of indirect routes to market (resellers, distributors, system integrators, service providers, cloud service providers, etc.) and a passion for driving clarity, consistency, and efficiency in how we support partners at scale. 

The ideal candidate brings strong systems fluency, process rigor, and the ability to lead through ambiguity while delivering operational excellence across global workstreams.

Your Impact 

• Lead partner compensation and incentive operations

  • Own end-to-end execution of partner incentive programs, ensuring accuracy, scalability, and compliance with internal controls

  • Partner with Finance, legal, and Ecosystem teams to implement policies and governance frameworks for incentive structures.

  • Lead audit and compliance reviews related to partner compensation, surfacing faps and driving corrective actions

• Drive operational scalability across partner programs and routes to market

  • Design and maintain standardized processes that support different partner types (resellers, distributors, GSIs, MSSPs, CSPs)

  • Develop documentation, playbooks, and training to ensure consistency and operational readiness

  • Lead operational planning for new partner program launches, coordinating across Systems, Enablement, and Field teams

  • Influence partner tooling and systems roadmaps by providing business requirements and feedback to technical teams

• Own cross-functional execution and continuous improvement initiatives

  • Serve as a senior operational point of contact for partner-facing teams, guiding issue resolution and process handoffs

  • Facilitate the rhythm of the business for theatre channel teams, enabling visibility, alignment, and accountability across top partnerships.

  • Identify inefficiencies and partner across teams to implement scalable solutions and improve tooling and workflows

  • Partner with Analytics to deliver insights that drive data-informed decisions on partner performance and operational effectiveness

  • Partner with enablement to ensure field teams adopt new processes effectively

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• 8+ years in partner operations, channel operations, or related business operations roles, preferably within a SaaS or high-growth tech company

• Proven success managing partner incentive programs, compensation frameworks, or operational policy implementation across partner ecosystems (resellers, distributors, GSIs, MSSPs, and CSPs)

• Hands-on experience with Salesforce (CPQ, PRM) and inventive management platforms like Varicent. Experience with cloud marketplace private offers is a strong plus.

• Advanced skills in Excel/Google sheets (pivot tables, vlookups, visual storytelling) and Powerpoint/Google Slides

• Demonstrated ability to identify operational gaps, define scalable solutions, and drive cross-functional alignment to implement them

• Deep understanding of governance, compliance requirements, and audit controls related to partner compensation and incentives.

• Strong business acumen and judgment, analytical and problem-solving skills, and ability to structure solutions to complex problems

• Strong