Sales Strategy and Operations Manager

Are you ready to power the World's connections?

If you don’t think you meet all of the criteria below but are still interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box - we’re looking for candidates that are particularly strong in a few areas, and have some interest and capabilities in others.

About the role:

Kong is looking for a seasoned Senior Sales Strategy & Operations Manager – AMS to join our Revenue Operations team. In this role, you’ll be a trusted business partner and the glue that connects sales teams with the broader organization. You will advocate for and advise the AMS GTM Leadership team, driving the definition and execution of key business initiatives.

This role requires a hands-on approach—from ideation to execution—to support a hyper-growth sales team. You should be a practitioner of full-funnel GTM Strategy & Operations, a self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, data-driven environment, and someone with a curious, get-things-done mindset.

Clear, sales-focused communication is critical—you must translate insights, analysis, and key business decisions into language that resonates with sales teams. The successful candidate will report to the Sr. Director, Global Sales Strategy & Operations.

Preferred location: Chicago, Toronto.

Responsibilities:

• Define & execute the go-to-market strategy for the AMS team by leading the annual GTM planning process which include fiscal year/long-range modeling, investment ROI analysis, headcount planning, quota and capacity setting, territory planning.
• Own and execute strategic initiatives to deliver on the defined strategy, working cross functionally and aligning across sales, post sales, marketing, product and finance. 
• Partner with leadership to design and implement the AMS GTM structure, segmentation and coverage model across roles, including Sales, Solutions Engineering, Customer Success, Sales Development and Professional Services, Marketing, Partners, HR and TA.
• Provide foresight, through data-driven decision making and operational excellence across the theater by refining team cadence, processes, policies, data and tooling for sales.
• Lead execution of the operating cadence within the theater supporting management inspection throughout the customer lifecycle at each level of the organization.
• Collaborate with counterparts in EMEA & APJ on the business and trends. Making sure similar processes and approaches are adhered to where applicable, which will drive scale for the company.
• Support sales leadership with content preparation for key management reporting needs to include but not limited to Quarterly Business Reviews. Making sure where applicable output is executive ready, crisp and concise and delivers on the key messages.
• Drive CRM accuracy, pipeline analytics, as well as owning forecasting, reporting, analysis and insights for the AMS teams.
• Participate in regular meetings with Marketing, Customer Success, Finance, Legal, Channel, HR and various other teams to assist in addressing issues, building plans and driving change management.
• When requested, assess inquiries directed to the AMS VP of Sales, determine the proper course of action and delegate to the appropriate individual to manage.
• Create and run initiatives with impact on revenue that take the current state to the next level with current resources in play.
• Ensure all Sales Leadership team issues are addressed properly, efficiently and judiciously, and keep track of progress until resolved.
• Any additional tasks required by the manager.

Qualifications:

• Organization and order during busy periods with composure and focus.
• Experience with SFDC (Sales Cloud, CPQ), Clari, Outreach, Zoominfo and similar tools
• Demonstrable competence with Google G-Suite tools
• Excellent quantitative and analytical skills, a data-driven mindset. Being agile and comfortable with pulling information from a wide variety of sources, and being able to synthesize it, and provide insights to the business.
• Strong customer service attitude, ability to work independently and in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent written and communication skills.
• 5-8 year relevant business experience in strategy, operations, finance, management consulting or a similar role. (SaaS experience will be an advantage)
• A team player who works well in a collaborative environment.
• BA/BS in a quantitative field, MBA or related graduate degree a plus
• If you don’t meet all of the requirements listed here, we still encourage you to apply because skills can be used in lots of different roles at Kong.

Kong has different base pay ranges for different work locations within the United States, which allows us to pay employees competitively and consistently in different geographic markets. Compensation varies depending on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to specific candidate location, role, skill set and level of experience. Certain roles are eligible for additional rewards including sales incentives depending on the terms of the applicable plan and role. Benefits may vary depending on location. US based employees are typically offered access to healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan, short and long term disability benefits, basic life and AD&D insurance, among others. The typical base pay range for this role in the US is $140,000 - 190,000.

About Kong: 

Kong is THE cloud native API platform with the fastest, most adopted API gateway in the world (over 300m downloads!). As the innovation leader of cloud API technologies, Kong is on a mission to enable companies around the world to become "API-first" and securely accelerate AI adoption. Kong helps organizations globally - from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises - unleash developer productivity, build securely and accelerate to market.

83% of web traffic today is API calls! APIs are the connective tissue of the cloud and the underlying technology that allows software to talk and interact with one another. Therefore, we believe that APIs act as the nervous system of the cloud. Our audacious mission is to build the nervous system that will safely and reliably connect all of humankind!

For more information about Kong, please visit konghq.com or follow @thekonginc on Twitter. We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.