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What does an MSP Account Manager do? (And how to get started in the job)

An MSP account manager works at a tech company that sells through managed service providers (MSPs). MSPs run IT for other businesses. You recruit them, help them start selling your product and work with them to grow the business over time.

By ChannelCareers. Updated . Built from our live job posts and public sources, listed at the bottom.

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Key takeaways

  • An MSP runs IT for other businesses, often for a monthly fee. Your job is to help MSPs sell and support your product.
  • MSPs buy in their own way. Many charge their customers a flat fee each month. Some buy through distributors or online marketplaces.
  • Job posts ask for MSP sales or channel experience, plus forecasting, onboarding and training.
  • Good first steps can be MSP work, inside sales at a vendor or a distributor job. That is our suggestion, not a rule.

What is an MSP?

MSP stands for managed service provider. It is an outside company that looks after another company's IT, often from a distance. Many of its customers are small and mid-sized firms.

The work often covers networks, security and monitoring. The customer pays the MSP to keep things running.

Vendors that sell through MSPs hire people to work with them. That is the job in this guide.

How do MSPs buy?

MSPs often charge their own customers a flat monthly fee. That gives the MSP a steady monthly income, called monthly recurring revenue (MRR).

Some MSPs charge a flat fee for each user, called per seat.

MSPs buy from vendors in a few common ways:

  • Directly: the MSP signs up with the vendor and buys from it.
  • Through a distributor: a distributor buys from many vendors and supplies MSPs.
  • Through a marketplace: an online store run by a distributor where an MSP can order many products in one place.
  • Through Microsoft CSP: the Cloud Solution Provider program. Partners use it to sell and bill Microsoft cloud products.

MSPs also run their own tools. Two come up a lot. RMM software watches and updates customer devices from far away. PSA software handles projects, tickets, contracts and billing.

MSPs work with many vendors. Your job is to make your product easy to sell, easy to bill and easy to support.

Which channel words do you need on day one?

Here are the short words you will hear most in this job.

  • MSP (managed service provider): a company that runs IT for other businesses as an ongoing service.
  • MSSP (managed security service provider): an MSP that focuses on security, such as running a customer's firewalls from a distance.
  • RMM (remote monitoring and management): software an MSP uses to care for customer devices, including updates and patches, from a distance.
  • PSA (professional services automation): software an MSP uses to run projects, help desk tickets, contracts and billing.
  • MRR (monthly recurring revenue): money that comes in every month from ongoing service.
  • Per-seat: a flat fee for each user.
  • CSP (Cloud Solution Provider): Microsoft's program for partners that sell and bill Microsoft cloud products. Here it does not mean cloud service provider.
  • Distributor: a company that buys from vendors and supplies resellers and MSPs.
  • Marketplace: an online store where an MSP can find, order and manage products from many vendors.

What does an MSP account manager do?

You work for the vendor. Your customers are MSPs, and you help them sell your product to their own customers.

Titles vary. You may see MSP Account Manager, MSP Partner Manager or Partner Account Manager - MSPs. They overlap a lot. Read the job text to see what the work is.

This guide is about the vendor side. The Channel Account Manager guide covers the wider job of working with all kinds of partners.

What does the work look like?

No post we read lays out a typical week. Posts list duties like these:

  • Recruit: find and sign MSPs, and work with distributors that reach them.
  • Onboard: help new partners get started so they can sell.
  • Grow: sell more into MSPs you already work with. One post asks for expansion sales into existing accounts.
  • Forecast: keep a clear view of your deals and report them in the CRM. A CRM is the tool that tracks every contact and deal.
  • Train: teach MSP sales and technical staff about your product.

Two phrases from posts show the tone. A JumpCloud post for a Partner Account Manager - MSP asked for "Expansion sales into existing accounts with strong forecast and funnel management process." A Proofpoint post asked you to "Support the onboarding of new partners and foster long-term, successful relationships."

Both posts are closed now. We use them only to show the duties. The list comes from job posts. Your team will set its own rhythm.

What is an MSP program?

Some vendors run a special program for MSPs. It sets the rules for who can join and what they get in return.

Amazon Web Services runs one. Its AWS MSP Program is open to partners at the Advanced and Premier tiers. A tier is a level in a partner program. Premier partners need three validations, and one of them must be an MSP, DevOps or CloudOps Competency.

Programs differ a lot. Read the one at the company you apply to. It tells you what MSPs can earn and what they must do.

What skills help?

  • Know how MSPs make money: Monthly fees, tools and many vendors. Understand why an MSP says yes or no to a new product.
  • Sell to a business: Posts ask for MSP sales or channel experience. The JumpCloud post asked for "2+ years MSP sales experience." The Proofpoint post said direct experience with MSPs in partner account management or channel sales was required.
  • Forecast with care: Say what you expect to close, and update it when things change.
  • Onboard and train: Make it simple for a new partner to get going. Teach in short, clear steps.
  • Know the product area: Posts at security and identity companies ask for that knowledge.
  • Build trust: MSPs have many vendors. Answer fast and do what you say.
  • Keep records: Notes in the CRM help the next person pick up where you left off.

How do you get an MSP partner job?

The posts we read ask for MSP or channel experience, so the first job is often a step toward this one. These are our suggestions, not a rule. Every company hires in its own way.

  • Work at an MSP: A job as a technician or in sales at an MSP shows you how MSPs buy and what they need. That is useful when you later sell to them.
  • Start in inside sales at a vendor: Some vendors have inside sales roles for the MSP market. These can lead to account roles.
  • Join a distributor: Distributors work with MSPs and vendors all day. You learn both sides.
  • Learn the words: Use the list above. Read one vendor's MSP program page and write down what MSPs get.
  • Meet people: Channel events and early-career groups are a good start.

Applying does not guarantee an interview.

Where does the job lead?

The Channel Account Manager guide shows where wider channel jobs lead.

Senior MSP titles on our board include Principal Partner Account Manager - MSPs and Chief MSP Officer. Titles and scope change from one company to the next.

  1. MSP Account ManagerYou are here. Help MSPs sell your product
  2. Senior MSP titlesOur board shows Principal Partner Account Manager - MSPs
  3. OrChannel Account ManagerThe wider job of working with all kinds of partners

Do MSPs hire too?

Yes. MSPs employ technicians and sales staff as well. This guide covers the vendor side, where the job is to work with MSPs.

What jobs will you see on the page?

The jobs we list for this group are mostly account and partner roles at vendors. Read each title and post before you apply.

What does it pay, and who is hiring?

7open jobs
6companies hiring now
43%remote
7jobs show pay

Typical base pay: $140,000 to $190,000

$59,000$214,000

From 7 jobs that list a yearly base salary. The dark part is the typical range.

Senior roles can pull the top end up. Some jobs list pay with a bonus included, so read each post.

From the MSP roles jobs on ChannelCareers on November 1, 2026. These numbers change as jobs open and close.

Who is hiring right now

LogicMonitor 2Amazon Web Services 1Arctic Wolf 1Cohesity 1Meter 1Pure Storage 1

Newest MSP roles jobs

Questions, answered fast

What does an MSP account manager do?

An MSP account manager works at a vendor and helps MSPs sell the vendor's product. The work includes recruiting partners, helping them get started, training them and growing sales with them. Duties differ by company.

Is an MSP account manager the same as a channel account manager?

They overlap. A channel account manager works with all kinds of partners. An MSP account manager focuses on MSPs. Some posts use the titles for the same work, so read the job text.

What is the difference between an MSP and an MSSP?

An MSP runs IT for other businesses. An MSSP is an MSP that focuses on security, such as running a customer's firewalls from a distance.

What is MRR?

MRR stands for monthly recurring revenue. It is money that comes in every month from an ongoing service. MSPs often charge a flat monthly fee, so MRR matters to them.

What is an MSP program?

An MSP program is a set of rules and perks a vendor offers to MSPs. The rules say who can join. Programs differ, so read the one at the company you apply to.

Do I need MSP experience?

The posts we read ask for it. One asked for "2+ years MSP sales experience." Working at an MSP, at a distributor or in vendor inside sales can build that experience.

What comes after this job?

Senior MSP titles on our board include Principal Partner Account Manager - MSPs and Chief MSP Officer. The Channel Account Manager guide shows where wider channel jobs lead.

Meet people in the channel

Young Channel Leaders is a community for people early in their channel careers.

Sources

Our own live jobs, plus the pages below. Many are company blogs, so we treat their numbers as rough.