Director of Channel Growth and Partnerships

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Formulate and implement a thorough growth strategy for the U.S. Industrial channel that aligns with Lakeland's commercial goals.

• Cultivate and enhance relationships with national, regional, and strategic industrial distribution partners.

• Create joint business plans with key distributors that include growth objectives, opportunities for product expansion, and performance metrics.

• Discover opportunities to boost market penetration, product adoption, and end-user demand via current distribution networks.

• Promote new product placements, stocking programs, vending solutions, onsite supply initiatives, and other strategic channel efforts.

• Conduct business reviews with major partners to assess performance, identify growth prospects, and reinforce accountability.

• Identify, assess, and forge new partnerships outside of traditional industrial distribution channels.

• Devise innovative go-to-market strategies for generating additional revenue and targeting underserved customer segments.

• Build business cases for upcoming partnerships, incorporating financial forecasts, resource needs, and anticipated ROI.

• Lead negotiations for partnerships and coordinate implementation with internal teams.

• Develop scalable partnership frameworks aimed at long-term growth and competitive advantage.

• Review and enhance distributor incentive programs, rebates, cooperative marketing investments, and channel spending.

• Create partner programs and spearhead joint demand-generation activities with distribution partners.

• Work with Marketing and Sales Enablement on distributor training, product education, and certification programs.

• Enhance the distributor experience by streamlining processes and improving responsiveness.

• Track channel performance through metrics such as revenue growth, sell-through trends, gross profit, market share, and partner profitability.

• Analyze channel investments and pinpoint performance trends, risks, and growth opportunities.

• Offer recommendations to boost channel productivity, optimize investment distribution, and enhance commercial performance.

• Aid in forecasting, performance reporting, and strategic business planning in collaboration with Finance and Sales leadership.

• Collaborate across functions with Field Sales, Regional Sales, Strategic Accounts, Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, Product Management, and Finance.

• Advise leadership on distributor trends, competitive factors, and emerging partnership opportunities.

• Establish partner connections, evaluate channel performance, identify growth potentials, and execute high-impact initiatives within the first 90 days.

• Achieve measurable channel revenue and sell-through growth, enhance channel profitability, initiate at least one strategic partnership or route-to-market project, increase product placements, fortify distributor support, and set up performance reporting within the first 12 months.

• Candidates may share an example of a self-developed channel growth initiative; finalists may be required to complete a business case exercise.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Sales, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.

• At least 8 years of progressive experience in channel sales, distributor management, strategic partnerships, national accounts, or similar commercial leadership roles.

• Proven experience in industrial safety, personal protective equipment (PPE), maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO), or related industrial sectors.

• Demonstrated success in developing and nurturing relationships with national or major regional industrial distributors.

• Proven track record of developing, launching, and scaling new channel programs, strategic partnerships, or routes to market with measurable revenue outcomes.

• Strong financial and commercial acumen, with experience in evaluating gross profit, channel incentives, return on investment, and partner profitability.

• Experience in translating market insights and business analytics into actionable commercial strategies.

• Demonstrated capability to lead complex initiatives, influence stakeholders, and achieve results in a cross-functional setting.

• Excellent negotiation, relationship management, strategic planning, and executive communication skills.

• Ability to balance strategic thinking with practical execution in a dynamic, growth-focused business environment.

• Willingness and ability to travel as necessary to support distributor relationships, business development, and strategic initiatives.

• Preferred: Experience with protective clothing, chemical protection, or critical-environment safety products.

• Preferred: Established relationships within the national industrial distribution landscape.

• Preferred: Experience in implementing distributor vending, onsite inventory management, or integrated supply programs.

• Preferred: Experience in developing partner segmentation, tiered incentive structures, or channel certification programs.

• Preferred: Experience in leading commercial transformation, market expansion, or new business development initiatives.

• Preferred: Familiarity with CRM systems, sales analytics platforms, and distributor performance reporting tools.

🏝️ Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Competitive salary with performance-based bonuses.

• Opportunities for professional development and career advancement.

• Generous paid time off and holiday policies.

• Flexible work arrangements and a supportive work environment.