Director of Channel Partner Sales, AI Academy

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Role: Director of Channel Partner Sales, AI Academy
Location: SmarterX HQ (Cleveland)
Reports To: Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)

About SmarterX

SmarterX is an AI transformation company. We educate and empower leaders to reimagine business models, reinvent industries, and rethink what's possible. 

  • We believe AI will rapidly transform businesses, industries, jobs, the economy, educational systems, and society. 
  • We believe you can build a smarter version of any business through a responsible, human-centered approach to AI.
  • We believe the future of all business is AI native, AI emergent, or obsolete.  
  • We believe AI education and training is the foundation for success in every organization.

Our goal is to Accelerate AI Literacy for AllTM through courses, content and events. Consulting and speaking are also secondary solutions under the SmarterX brand.

SmarterX has three primary public-facing business units and brands:

  • Marketing AI Institute: Media, event and education business founded in 2016 that is designed to make AI approachable and actionable for marketers. The Institute has more than 90,000 contacts, and its flagship in-person conference, MAICON, draws 1,000+ marketers to Cleveland each year. 
  • AI Academy by SmarterX: Originally launched in 2020 under the Marketing AI Institute brand, AI Academy is being spun off as a dedicated site and brand. AI Academy is a high-growth business unit designed to prepare individuals and organizations for the future of work by making AI education accessible and personalized.
  • The Artificial Intelligence Show: The podcast is SmarterX’s fastest growing media channel with 65,000+ downloads per month. The podcast serves as a promotional tool and lead generator for SmarterX and its business units. 

SmarterX also has an internal AI Content Studio that supports audience growth, demand generation, and customer success across all brands / business units. The AI Content Studio produces blog posts, books, blueprints, courses, newsletters, podcasts, presentations, research, videos and webinars.

Role Overview

The Director of Channel Partner Sales is responsible for developing and expanding partnerships that drive revenue and market expansion for AI Academy. 

This role will focus on qualifying, nurturing, and converting inbound channel partnership leads while also executing outbound business development strategies to engage high-value partner prospects. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in AI Academy’s offerings and act as an AI transformation consultant for businesses seeking to integrate AI education and training into their organizations.

Key Responsibilities

Channel Partnerships: Lead Qualification, Nurturing & Conversion

  • Manage inbound channel partnership inquiries from forms, CRM contacts, and referrals.
  • Qualify potential partners, assess strategic fit, and guide them through the sales funnel.
  • Develop tailored partnership packages and proposals to align with partner objectives.
  • Negotiate and finalize agreements to ensure mutually beneficial relationships.

Outbound Business Development for Channel Partnerships

  • Identify and pursue strategic partnerships across industries, including:
    • Universities & Associations
    • AI SaaS Vendors & AI Model Companies
    • Cloud Providers
    • Marketing Agencies & Consulting Firms
    • Venture Capital (VC) & Private Equity (PE) Firms
    • Government Agencies & Economic Development Organizations
    • Chambers of Commerce, Nonprofits, Media, and Military/Veteran Organizations
  • Develop and execute outreach strategies to engage potential partners and drive new business opportunities.
  • Build long-term relationships with key decision-makers to secure strategic alliances.

Expertise in AI Academy Courses, Certifications & LMS

  • Maintain deep knowledge of AI Academy’s curriculum, certification programs, and learning management system (LMS).
  • Guide prospective partners in integrating AI Academy offerings into their educational and workforce development initiatives.
  • Work with internal teams to refine and expand AI Academy’s partner programs based on market needs.

AI Transformation Consultant for Businesses

  • Serve as a trusted advisor to organizations seeking AI transformation through education.
  • Provide strategic insights on how businesses can implement AI learning programs for employees and customers.
  • Customize AI Academy solutions to align with the goals and challenges of each partner organization.

AI Agent Management

  • Oversee and optimize AI-powered sales and partner engagement agents to streamline communications and lead nurturing.
  • Ensure AI agents are trained with up-to-date information to enhance partner interactions.
  • Continuously evaluate and refine AI-driven sales processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Qualifications & Experience

  • Proven track record in B2B channel sales, business development, or partnership management.
  • Experience selling training, certification programs, or AI education solutions is a plus.
  • Strong understanding of AI adoption trends, enterprise training needs, and industry-specific challenges.
  • Exceptional communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
  • Ability to work with CRM tools, sales automation platforms, and AI-powered assistants.
  • Deep experience with HubSpot for managing leads, pipeline tracking, and sales automation is preferred.
  • Advanced prompting abilities with standard LLMs and reasoning models. 
  • Extensive experience with OpenAI ChatGPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini and / or Microsoft Copilot.

Compensation & Benefits

  • Competitive base salary with performance-based incentives.
  • Profit-sharing and long-term incentive opportunities.
  • Eligible for the company’s Phantom Stock Program, allowing participation in future company growth.
  • Comprehensive benefits package (health, dental, vision, Simple IRA, etc.).
  • Flexible work environment with a strong team culture.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their resume and a cover letter outlining their experience and approach to channel sales and partnership development at SmarterX. Apply here!