Partnership & Alliance Head - Deputy General Manager

Role Overview
The Partnership & Alliance Manager is responsible for building, managing, and governing a global partner ecosystem for a Telco System Integrator. The role covers strategic, tactical, and point-based partnerships, with strong emphasis on structured governance, executive engagement, and long-term partner relationships. The objective is to convert partnerships into sustained revenue growth, delivery excellence, and competitive differentiation across global markets.

Key Responsibilities

Global Partnership Strategy & Ecosystem Development
Define and execute a global partnership strategy aligned to the SI’s portfolio across network transformation, 5G/Private 5G, OSS/BSS, cloud, AI/automation, and enterprise digital solutions.
Identify, evaluate, and onboard global and regional partners including OEMs, ISVs, hyperscalers, cloud platforms, system vendors, and emerging technology providers.
Establish structured engagement models ranging from strategic global alliances to regional tactical and deal-specific partnerships.
Strategic, Tactical & Point-Based Partnerships
Manage long-term strategic alliances with joint roadmaps, executive sponsorship, and co-investment.
Enable tactical partnerships to address regional, regulatory, or delivery-specific requirements.
Support point-based partnerships for RFPs, large deals, and niche capabilities, ensuring speed and governance.
Alliance Governance & Relationship Management
Own end-to-end partner relationships, acting as the single point of accountability globally.
Drive governance through executive connects, steering committees, and QBRs.
Ensure alignment across sales, solutioning, delivery, product, and partner teams.
Go-to-Market & Co-Innovation
Co-create joint solutions, reference architectures, and industry use cases with partners.
Execute joint GTM strategies, including co-selling, account mapping, and pipeline development.
Enable regional sales teams with partner propositions and playbooks.
Commercials, Contracts & Compliance
Lead negotiations of global and regional partnership agreements, covering commercials, SLAs, KPIs, IP, and compliance.
Collaborate with legal, finance, procurement, and risk teams to ensure adherence to global and local regulations.
Performance, Risk & Market Intelligence
Define and track partnership KPIs (revenue, pipeline, delivery performance, innovation impact).
Identify risks related to dependency, compliance, or delivery continuity and drive mitigation plans.
Continuously scan the market for new partners, startups, and emerging technologies; track competitor alliances and ecosystem trends.

Education /Skills & Experience

Educational Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Telecom, Business, or a related discipline (mandatory).
MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification in Strategy, Marketing, or Operations (preferred).

Experience & Skills
15+ years of experience in partnerships, alliances, or ecosystem management within global telco SIs, telecom vendors, or technology services organizations.
Strong understanding of telecom and digital ecosystems, including 4G/5G/Private 5G, OSS/BSS, cloud, AI/analytics, and enterprise platforms.
Proven experience managing global strategic alliances alongside regional and opportunity-based partnerships.
Demonstrated success supporting multi-country RFPs, large transformation programs, and multi-vendor solution delivery.
Strong negotiation, executive communication, and cross-cultural stakeholder management skills.
Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed, multi-region environment.

Key Success Factors
Ability to convert partnerships into global revenue growth, pipeline creation, and delivery leverage.
Strong global network across OEMs, ISVs, hyperscalers, and emerging technology providers.
Balance of strategic vision and hands-on execution.
Data-driven approach to partnership performance and governance.
Collaborative mindset focused on customer success and win-win outcomes.