Alliance Partner Development Manager IV

Summary

Join Rackspace Technology as an Alliance Partner Manager and play a pivotal role in driving revenue growth through strategic partnerships. You will be responsible for improving alignment and partnership with alliances, driving tighter coordination across sales, product, marketing, and commercial teams. This position requires establishing and managing governance meetings, developing a deep understanding of Rackspace's portfolio, and creating strategies based on alliance offerings and customer needs. You will collaborate with alliances to determine areas of added value, document strategic alliance documents, and discover areas for direct investment in Rackspace. Furthermore, you will build relationships with partner resources, understand and suggest improvements to commercial arrangements, and coordinate alliance activities across multiple Rackspace divisions. This role also involves influencing parties within alliances to increase funding for Rackspace and providing partner support for new product lines.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or regional equivalent required
• Bachelor's Degree required, preferably in field related to role
• 8 - 11 years of experience in the field of role required
• Alliance Sourced/Influenced Revenue, Enablement Activities Conducted, Partner Spend, Certifications, Partner Achievement Awards, Commercial Improvements, MDF Improvements
• Alliance Partner Knowledge: Strong understanding of the partner, including partner economics, solution development, processes to take a solution to market and successful partner management. Understands partners’ sales and sales management goals and objectives, and what influences behavior. Growth in leading sales and alliance teams and understands collaborative relationship that must exist to grow the business
• Program Knowledge: Strong understanding of channel and alliance partner programs. Partners with Rackspace sales teams to implement our program offerings and assures Rackspace is provider of choice for our ecosystem partners
• Collaborative: Works collaboratively with all supporting technical integration, marketing, field sales and channel support organizations to ensure all organizations understand what we are trying to accomplish and the importance of their role / organization in our success
• Presentation Skills: Skilled communicator and effective at delivering executive level presentations. Ability to build and manage Director and VP level relationships
• Conflict Resolution: Able to surface and resolve breakdowns in commitment and drive behavior changes required
• Utilize business relationship skills, such as negotiating with customers or management, or using influencing skills with senior level leaders regarding matters of significance to the organization
• Advanced knowledge of planning, designing and executing partner programs that drive partner interest and demand
• Analytical Skills
• Budget Management
• Business/Sales Development Skills
• Client/Customer Service
• Digital Transformation
• Negotiation Skills
• Operational Strategy Skills
• Platform/Technical Software Support
• Process Improvement
• Product Portfolio Management
• Project Management
• Sales Strategy Skills
• Stakeholder Management (external/internal)
• Technology Integration

Responsibilities

• Owns a piece of a relationship with a strategic alliance or may own multiple smaller alliance relationships
• Establish and manage governance meetings and activities
• Develop deep understanding Rackspace’s entire portfolio and translate to alliance partners
• Confirm partner is adhering to activities laid out in the Rackspace alliance framework
• Creates a strategy based on alliance offering and customer needs, then executes against the objectives
• Establishes credibility and influence through demonstration of business acumen relative to alliance’s strategy and how it integrates across the Rackspace portfolio
• Collaborate with alliance to determine where they can add value across business portfolio
• Document clear strategic alliance document per partner, and maintain and revise on a quarterly basis
• Discover areas for direct investment in Rackspace based on partner strategy
• Confirm partner is adhering to activities laid out in the Rackspace alliance framework
• Establish relationships with partner resources in multiple areas including support, product, sales, marketing etc., to facilitate introductions and working relationships between functional leaders on both sides
• Understand and suggest improvements to partner commercial arrangements (partnering with supply chain)
• Coordinate alliance activities with multiple divisions in Rackspace, acting as the single POC for the alliance, including establishing new relationships where they do not exist
• Influence parties within alliances to increase funding to Rackspace, uncovering new areas for development/funding
• Provide partner support for areas where partners want Rackspace to consider new product lines from the partner
• Document a clear strategic alliance document per partner, and maintain and revise on a quarterly basis
• Enable executive relationships with partners, including establishing opportunities to influence at a CEO/C-suite level
• Generate partner enablement materials in coordination with the product marketing teams
• Assist in event planning and execution, including minor and major events
• Relay partner priorities to the product team and influence the roadmap
• Performs key areas of accountability while demonstrating sound judgment and decision making with some leadership oversight, and operates with a moderate degree of ownership and autonomy
• Receives minimal instructions on routine work, general instructions on new projects or assignments
• May provide guidance and training to new team members
• Decisions impact the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of own client group
• Actions are guided by personal goals and objectives
• Works on complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of variable factors
• Exercises judgment in selecting methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results
• Expected to weigh multiple options and outcomes, considering impact within and outside of client group and business function
• Typically resolves issue independently utilizing input from peers and superiors

Preferred Qualifications

At the manager’s discretion, additional relevant experience may substitute degree requirement

Benefits

• Find your fanatical . We deliver the best customer experience in the industry to businesses that perform life-saving research, power cities, and feed millions
• Come as you are . Cultivating inclusion is not just the right thing to do, it enables us to win. Our Executive Inclusion Council and Racker Resource Groups (RRGs) partner to enable an inclusive workplace and drive initiatives such as Rackspace’s participation in the annual Texas Conference for Women
• Satisfy your curiosity . No matter where you are going, we can help you get there. Our internal learning department, Rackspace University®, provides training and development to Rackers – from Microsoft™ certifications to effective leadership training – our goal is to help you grow
• Make a difference . At the core of every Racker is a drive to leave the world better than we found it, and we are passionate about giving back to our communities across the globe. While Rackers can leverage paid volunteer time off for any cause, our Rack Gives Back program creates opportunities for Rackers to give their time and talent to others
• Live life completely . We offer a well-rounded suite of health and wellness programs that help our Rackers achieve a healthy and balanced lifestyle. So while our Rackers are busy taking care of our customers, we take care of our Rackers
• Unless already included in the posted pay range and based on eligibility, the role may include variable compensation in the form of bonus, commissions, or other discretionary payments