Senior Strategic Partner Manager Newbury, United Kingdom Strategic Partnerships Posted 11 hours ago

At Vodafone, we’re not just shaping the future of connectivity for our customers – we’re shaping the future for everyone who joins our team. When you work with us, you’re part of a global mission to connect people, solve complex challenges, and create a sustainable and more inclusive world. If you want to grow your career whilst finding the perfect balance between work and life, Vodafone offers the opportunities to help you belong and make a real impact.

The role of the Strategic Partner Manager will own the global relationship with one or two Global Strategic Partnerships / Alliances and lead any engagement with new partners to bring them into our ecosystem for Vodafone Business.

• Build and drive the definition of the global partnership and partner go to market, and lead the global governance to support Vodafone Business success through the partnership.
• Drive the implementation of the joint business group through a broad cross-functional team: Including all Markets, Product Portfolios, VBI, Technology VBPS, VPC and the supporting functions such as legal, finance, HR etc.
• Build a consistent Go To Market strategy with the partner(s) and the Vodafone Opco/sales organisation so we can clearly identify the opportunity of the joint solution/s. Sales Enablement plans for the joint solution and account engagement strategy.
• Be the lead person within the strategic partnerships team to lead proposition development with wider Product/marketing and local opcos across all partnerships, especially focused on SME activities.

Who you are

• Drive partnerships definition and set-up
• Innovation & Ideation

• Lead ideation, design-thinking, and executive visioning workshops with Vodafone and partner leaders to define or refine partnership scopes.
• Align with partner visions, innovation agendas, and product roadmaps to drive co-creation opportunities and new commercial motions.
• Consolidate joint areas of interest and facilitate prioritisation discussions to inform a shared business strategy.

• Translate the joint business strategy into contractual frameworks and coordinate negotiation across Vodafone Business, VPC and partner stakeholders.
• Ensure agreements include reciprocity where relevant and align with VBI strategic priorities.
• Build contractual mechanisms that maximise partner value (incentives, GTM funds, discounts, first-to-market opportunities).

• Establish governance to monitor revenue vs targets, partner programme tiering, funding deployment and ROI.
• Track partner accreditations and resource requirements to maximise value and ensure compliance with critical certification needs.

• Relationship Management

• Act as the primary point of contact for the partnership.
• Maintain a clear stakeholder map across both organisations and lead C-level engagement.
• Build strong relationships with partner CEOs, CFOs, CMOs and sales leaders globally.
• Safeguard high NPS in Voice of the Partner surveys.

• Ensure regular executive interactions, including West Coast EBCs.
• Lead quarterly business reviews and coordinate regular interlocks with Global Account Managers.
• Define and embed cross-BU best practices based on collaboration with functional teams and markets.

• Secure joint participation at relevant global events aligned with PR and communications strategy (e.g., MWC, Gartner).

• Provide recommendations on partner tiering and strategic classification.

• Go-to-Market & Marketing

• Allocate partner funding to GTM and marketing activities to maximise ROI and support launches and lead generation.
• Develop joint GTM and marketing initiatives with internal teams to accelerate revenue.

• Ensure a comprehensive sell-to/sell-with plan with partners.
• Define and lead a global partner strategy that enhances sales capability and drives business growth.

• Improve partner operational efficiency by reducing friction in processes such as ticketing and customer support.
• Define risk-management plans to safeguard partnership performance.

• Support development of new propositions for both Vodafone and partners.
• Drive market engagement for product launches and adoption.
• Support RFIs/RFPs to assess partner capabilities and strategic fit.

• Help define in-market GTM strategies to enable strong joint sales motions, improve product profitability, and optimise incentives.

We are a leading international Telco, serving millions of customers. At Vodafone, we believe that connectivity is a force for good. If we use it for the things that really matter, it can improve people's lives and the world around us. Through our technology we empower people, connecting everyone regardless of who they are or where they live and we protect the planet, whilst helping our customers do the same.

Belonging at Vodafone isn’t a concept; it’s lived, breathed, and cultivated through everything we do. You’ll be part of a global and diverse community, with many different minds, abilities, backgrounds and cultures. We’re committed to increasing diversity, ensuring equal representation, and making Vodafone a place everyone feels safe, valued and included.

If you require any reasonable adjustments or have an accessibility request as part of your recruitment journey, for example, extended time or breaks in between online assessments, please refer to guidance.

Together we can.