Partnership & Alliance Manager - Microsoft

Cognizant; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognizant in the United Kingdom seeks a Microsoft Partnership & Alliance Manager to lead the UK alliance with 3Cloud/Cognizant. You will translate global priorities into country execution, drive co-sell, funding programs, and field engagement across Microsoft and channel stakeholders.

Reporting to the Senior Director – Alliances, you will own the regional cadence, build executive relationships, and ensure disciplined pipeline tracking in Salesforce, while delivering scalable, repeatable

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to operate independently, manage ambiguity, and make sound decisions across geographies and time zones.
• Experience in the Microsoft partner ecosystem, including co-sell, field engagement, partner programs, incentives, or cloud services motions.
• Strong executive presence with excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Experience using CRM and partner management systems; Salesforce experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead UK alliance priorities, cadence, and stakeholder alignment.
• Build relationships with Microsoft UK field sellers and partner teams.
• Drive UK funding programs, co-sell motions, and incentives.
• Operationalize GTM campaigns and field enablement in the UK.
• Identify gaps and improvements in regional alliance processes.
• Coordinate with clients and delivery to manage Microsoft engagement.

Skills

Alliances

Partner management

Business development

Sales operations

Microsoft ecosystem

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Technology, Marketing, Operations, or related field

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

The Microsoft Partnership & Alliance Manager, United Kingdom serves as the regional alliance leader responsible for driving 3Cloud/Cognizant’s Microsoft partnership strategy, execution, and field engagement across the UK market. Reporting to the Senior Director – Alliances, this role owns the local rhythm of business with Microsoft and channel stakeholders, translates global alliance priorities into country-level execution, and ensures disciplined follow-through across co-sell, pipeline, funding progams, and go-to-market motions. This role requires a high degree of independence, judgment, and self-starting execution given the responsibility for an entire country region and the need to operate across a significantly different time zone from U.S.-based leadership

Responsibilities:

Regional Alliance Leadership & UK Market Ownership

• Serve as the primary Microsoft Alliance lead for the United Kingdom region, owning country-level priorities, execution cadence, and stakeholder alignment.
• Translate global alliance strategy into actionable UK market plans across 3Cloud and Cognizant Sales, Delivery, Marketing, and Microsoft field engagement.
• Operate as a senior representative of the Alliance organization in the UK, exercising sound judgment and independent decision-making when leadership is not immediately available.

Microsoft Relationship Management & Field Engagement

• Build and manage productive working relationships with Microsoft UK field sellers, partner teams, account teams, and relevant channel stakeholders.
• Facilitate Rhythm of Business engagements with Microsoft and channel field leaders to drive brand awareness, pipeline visibility, and opportunity progression.
• Act as an escalation point for Microsoft-related partner engagement needs in the UK, coordinating with internal leadership where executive support is required.

Funding Strategy, Co-Sell & Pipeline Execution

• Lead UK execution of Microsoft funding programs, co-sell motions, and partner incentives, ensuring alignment to priority opportunities and revenue goals.
• Partner with Sales to identify, attach, and maximize Microsoft funding and co-sell support across active and future opportunities.
• Maintain disciplined tracking of pipeline, funding, partner activity, follow-ups, and outcomes in Salesforce and relevant Microsoft partner systems.

Go-To-Market & Sales Readiness

• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Delivery, and Alliances leadership to operationalize Microsoft-aligned GTM campaigns, events, and field enablement in the UK.
• Equip internal teams with guidance on Microsoft programs, field priorities, incentive structures, and co-sell motions to improve execution quality.

Alliance Operations & Process Ownership

• Identify operational gaps, process bottlenecks, and execution risks across UK alliance activities, and recommend improvements that increase scalability and consistency.
• Document repeatable processes, governance expectations, and best practices for regional Microsoft alliance execution.
• Prepare materials, updates, and insights for internal alliance reviews, pipeline discussions, executive briefings, and recurring leadership cadences.

Stakeholder Coordination & Independent Execution

• Work directly with clients, Sales, Delivery, project managers, and partner stakeholders to coordinate Microsoft engagement and navigate escalations as needed.
• Serve as a trusted execution partner to the Senior Director – Alliances, providing timely updates, clear recommendations, and concise decision support.
• Maintain cross-functional alignment despite time-zone differences, proactively communicating status, risks, dependencies, and required decisions.

Job Requirements:

• Demonstrable track record of success in an alliances, partner management, business development, sales operations, Microsoft ecosystem roles
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Technology, Marketing, Operations, or related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
• Experience working within or alongside the Microsoft partner ecosystem, including co-sell, field engagement, partner programs, incentives, or cloud services motions.
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently, manage ambiguity, and make sound decisions while working across geographies and time zones.
• Strong executive presence with excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Experience using CRM and partner management systems; Salesforce experience preferred.
• Strong analytical problem-solving ability with attention to detail, process discipline, and comfort managing multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Passion for cloud technologies, Microsoft solutions, and continuous learning.
• Some travel required

Don’t meet every single requirement? At 3Cloud/Cognizant we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway