Lead Partner Operations Specialist – Global Alliances & Channels

This is an individual contributing role to help lead and drive operational excellence and accelerate global partner growth by optimizing our ecosystem's lifecycle for our premier AI-Powered Process Automation platform.

Location: Chennai, India | Work Model: On-site

About the Team

The Global Alliances and Channels team at Appian is a fast-paced, dynamic organization that plays an integral role in driving Appian's growth globally. We are passionate about driving digital transformation by bringing Appian solutions that provide the speed, agility, and efficiency needed for enterprises to compete and grow. Our team is dedicated to supporting an extraordinary global network, ensuring our partners are fully equipped to deliver Enterprise-Grade Orchestration at scale.

The Opportunity

At Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards, approach challenges with ambition, and hold ourselves accountable to achieve the best results. As a Partner Operations Lead, you will oversee local team members in Chennai while also delivering high-value operational support, executive administrative assistance, and improvements to support our global alliances experience.

What You’ll Do

• Own the deal registration lifecycle for global partners, including deal eligibility validation, status monitoring, and escalation to ensure timely approvals, accurate CRM attribution, and program compliance.
• Act as the primary conduit between partner deal submitters, the alliance team, and field sales representatives to facilitate seamless communication, approvals, and conversion to Stage 2 qualification.
• Optimize the partner experience by reviewing existing registration processes to systematically identify bottlenecks, reduce errors, and drive operational efficiency.
• Transform data into actionable insights by generating and analyzing deal registration reports to identify emerging trends and partner performance gaps.
• Provide ad-hoc operational support for global partner initiatives, such as new partner onboarding and long-tail enablement and support.
• Manage day-to-day operations for the local team by setting priorities, mentoring staff, handling escalations, and ensuring deliverable completion.
• Assist Global Alliances leadership with administrative activities, such as expense reports and calendar logistics.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 3–5+ years of experience in channel operations, sales operations, or deal desk support, with at least 1+ years in a lead, supervisory, or senior coordinator role.
• Demonstrated experience navigating, updating, and maintaining enterprise CRM systems, with a strong proficiency in Salesforce.
• Exceptional verbal and written English communication skills, with a proven ability to interact professionally with diverse global stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills and Critical Thinking, with the ability to manage multiple tasks independently in a fast-paced environment across different time zones.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working within a global software-as-a-service (SaaS) or enterprise software environment.
• Knowledge of channel programs, structures, and partner portal management.
• Proficiency with enterprise expense and travel platforms (e.g., Concur) and reporting tools.
• We value experience with enterprise platforms such as Salesforce or ServiceNow, as these skills translate well into our Enterprise-Grade Orchestration

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