Partner Development Manager

Cognizant; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global technology company in Dubai is looking for a Partner Development Manager to enhance partner sales across the UAE. This role demands driving joint sales activities and establishing a strong operating rhythm with partners to achieve sales targets. The ideal candidate will have 5-10 years of experience in business development and partner management. An MBA is a plus. This position supports a hybrid work model, reflecting a commitment to work-life balance.

Benefits

Wellbeing programs

Hybrid work model

Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in sales and technology partnerships.
• Proven track record of exceeding revenue targets.
• Ability to take ownership and develop creative approaches.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute partnership plans with measurable outcomes.
• Drive joint sales activities with priority partners.
• Collaborate with internal leaders to shape joint offerings.

Skills

Partner management

Business development

Sales strategy

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA

Job description

About the role

As a Partner Development Manager you will go beyond traditional partner relationship management to lead the partner sales motion across the UAE. You will own the strategy and execution for a set of priority partners ensuring they drive meaningful impact through coordinated joint sales activities and strong alignment to our commercial goals.

In this role you will represent our top opportunities with partners and work directly with their sales teams to build effective co-sell approaches. Internally you will serve as a trusted advisor to our Client Partners and Customer Relationship Managers helping them identify the right partner fit for each client based on solution capabilities industry relevance and technical strengths. You will also be responsible for identifying prioritizing and launching region-specific partner solutions and go-to-market motions that expand our reach across the UAE. A strong network with regional hyperscalers is essential. Arabic language proficiency is strongly preferred fluency in English is required.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and own end to end execution of the partnership plan including defining measurable outcomes and delivering against sales and pipeline targets.
• Establish a regular operating rhythm with partners for pipeline reviews joint opportunity management and business performance updates.
• Drive coordinated joint sales activities with priority partners ensuring strong alignment on top opportunities and clear action plans to advance them.
• Collaborate with internal practice leaders to shape and package joint offerings tailored to key industries and accounts in the region.
• Identify strategic accounts and lead joint account planning by country and segment ensuring clear partner involvement and value articulation.
• Serve as the internal subject matter expert on partner solutions by developing deep knowledge of their strategies technologies GTM models and incentive structures.

Work model:

We believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role 0s business requirements, this is a hybrid position requiring 2/3 days a week in a client or Cognizant office in Dubai. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you 0re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.

What you need to have to be considered

• Experience in business development partner management or strategic sales with a proven track record of exceeding revenue targets and driving successful partner led sales motions.
• Results oriented mindset with the ability to take ownership lead initiatives independently and develop creative approaches to generating new partner driven opportunities.
• Highly collaborative and effective in matrixed environments influencing across functions geographies and levels of seniority without direct authority.
• Excellent communication presentation and stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage confidently from individual contributors to senior executives within Cognizant and partner organizations.
• 5-10 years of experience in sales and technology partnerships.

These will help you stand out

• Bachelors degree preferred MBA a plus.

We\'re excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don\'t hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.