Channel Account Manager - Church & Social Economy

The Channel Account Manager (CAM) is responsible for positioning Fortinet as the leading provider of cybersecurity within the Church & Social Economy sector – through sales, enablement, and training with and through our authorized partner community.

The CAM manages partners within Fortinet’s channel program guidelines, develops new business opportunities, and builds strong alliances with key internal stakeholders and distributors. The CAM motivates, enables, and trains partners with a focus on strategic business planning, account penetration, and the value of the full Fortinet portfolio.

As Channel Manager – Church & Welfare, you will own the strategy, ecosystem development, and performance management of our partner landscape across a diverse and highly decentralized sector: church organizations (all confessions), welfare associations (Caritas, Diakonie, AWO, Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, Lebenshilfe, a. o.), social service providers, care institutions, and specialized IT service providers in the non-profit environment.

The role requires building long-term partner relationships, a deep understanding of the specific needs of non-profit organizations, their federated structures, and expectations for secure, privacy-compliant IT environments. It also includes coordinating internal stakeholders such as IT Security, OT, Compliance, and Public Sector.

Responsibilities / Tasks:

Channel Strategy & Ecosystem Development (Church & Welfare)

· Develop and execute a channel strategy for the Church & Welfare sector, including partner segmentation (system integrators, MSPs/MSSPs, OT specialists, cloud/hosting partners, specialized non-profit IT providers).

· Identify, recruit, and qualify new partners with proven expertise in church or welfare environments.

· Build joint business plans with top partners (pipeline, revenue targets, use cases, sector-specific focus areas).

Go-to-Market & Sales

· Create and execute joint business plans (targets, pipeline, focus organizations, campaigns, enablement).

· Manage co-selling and co-marketing activities (events, workshops, webinars) tailored to the needs of church and social institutions.

· Ensure a strong pipeline, forecasting accuracy, and deal qualification.

· Support tenders, framework agreements, procurement processes, and deal registration where required.

Compliance, Data Protection & Positioning

· Understand relevant regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, BSI standards, NIS2, ISO 27001, sector-specific privacy rules, church data protection laws such as KDG/DSG-EKD).

· Position Fortinet solutions for IT/OT security, Zero Trust, SOC services, incident response, network segmentation, and secure remote access in non-profit environments.

Partner Enablement & Performance

· Plan and deliver partner enablement (sales, presales, technical), certifications, and solution workshops.

· Conduct QBRs (Quarterly Business Reviews) and implement structured improvement plans.

· Ensure partners can successfully position, implement, and operate Fortinet solutions in church and welfare environments, including services and managed services.

Stakeholder Management

· Act as the interface between partners and internal teams (Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Services, OT).

· Maintain relationships with relevant networks and associations in the Church & Welfare sector (e.g., Caritas, Diakonie, AWO, DRK, Paritätischer, church IT networks, professional associations).

Requirements (Skills & Experience):

Professional

· Minimum of 5 years of experience in channel/partner management at a technology vendor (IT security, networking, infrastructure, or cloud), ideally with focus on non-profit organizations, public sector, or other regulated industries.

· Proven track record of building and scaling partner-led revenue (pipeline creation, growth, win rates).

· Strategic business planning expertise: creating and executing business plans focused on market penetration and revenue targets.

· Channel knowledge: experience working in a two-tier distribution model.

· Solid understanding of IT security and ideally OT security.

· Knowledge of relevant standards and regulations (BSI, NIS2, ISO 27001, GDPR, KDG/DSG-EKD) is a plus.

Methodological

· Partner business planning, pipeline management, forecasting.

· Strong negotiation skills; understanding of contracts and commercial frameworks (discounts, MDF, partner programs).

· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; ability to build strong relationships with partners and internal stakeholders, comfortable engaging with senior leadership; collaborative and assertive.

Personal

· High reliability, discretion, and sensitivity to security- and privacy-critical topics.

· Willingness to travel depending on region and partner landscape.

· Master’s degree in business administration, marketing, or related field (preferred).

· Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office tools.

· Knowledge of Salesforce.com and Tableau (preferred).

· Fluent in German and English.

Interfaces (Internal/External)

· Internal: Sales (field/inside), Presales/SE, Marketing, Professional Services, Support, Legal/Compliance, Partner Operations.

· External: System integrators, MSPs/MSSPs, OT service providers, distributors, technology partners, church IT providers, welfare associations, consultants, engineering firms, planners and potentially authorities or umbrella organizations.