Senior Director, Alliance EMEA

Databricks; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks is seeking a Director, EMEA Alliances to lead strategic partnerships with Platinum-tier GSIs across the EMEA region. You will shape the EMEA GSI strategy, co-create executive plans, and drive joint innovation and platform expansion at scale.

You will manage a team of alliance professionals, build executive relationships, and ensure alignment with regional sales to grow partner-sourced and consumed pipeline. A deep AI and data platform background is essential for success.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in securing and supporting strategic partnerships in EMEA.
• Track record of success managing a team of alliance professionals.
• Deep GSI relationship expertise with exposure to major firms (e.g., Accenture, Deloitte, Capgemini, EY).
• Executive presence and ability to engage with partner executives at regional/global level.
• Deep domain experience in enterprise infrastructure, cloud, data, and AI/analytics.
• Proven ability to drive partner-sourced pipeline and joint field campaigns.
• Experience delivering structured joint campaigns and scalable partner-led plays.
• Experience in a hyper-growth, multi-billion-dollar enterprise environment.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the EMEA GSI strategy across named Platinum-tier partners.
• Engage the C-Suite at Platinum partners to co-develop strategy and business plans.
• Lead product/innovation strategy around Lakebase, Genie & AI/BI, Agentic AI, and platform expansion.
• Drive co-innovation with partners around IP and campaigns for go-to-market success.
• Manage a team of EMEA partner managers and coach the Alliance Director.
• Align with regional sales leaders to grow sourced and consumed pipeline.
• Establish executive cadences and governance for partner plans.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic partnerships

GSI relationships

C-Suite engagement

Team management

Programmatic GTM

Partnership governance

AI fluency

Job description

The Consulting & Systems Integrator (C&SI) team accelerates Databricks' growth by building and managing relationships with the world's leading data and AI services companies. As Director, EMEA Alliances, you will lead the strategic partnership motion across Databricks' highest-tier named Platinum-tier partners in EMEA - driving partner-impacted consumption ($DBU), partner-sourced pipeline, executive alignment, and joint innovation at scale.

This is a leadership role responsible for the EMEA Global Systems Integration (GSI) portfolio of named Platinum-tier partners. These GSIs are critical for the CXO narrative in EMEA's top strategic accounts — they are the delivery and influence partners that shape executive buying decisions at our largest customers.

You will directly manage the named Platinum partner relationships at the EMEA level and lead a team that includes a direct report managing Gold-tier and priority Silver-tier partners. Together, you will provide end-to-end coverage of Databricks' most impactful partner tiers in EMEA.

You will report to the Vice President, EMEA Alliances.

The impact you will have:

Strategic Partnership Leadership

• Own and drive the EMEA GSI strategy across named Platinum-tier partners, building strategic relationships.
• Engage the C-Suite at each Platinum partner to co-develop the EMEA Strategy and Business Plan, with clear goals for consumption, bookings, certification, and joint innovation.

Forward-Looking Product & Innovation Strategy

• Lead partners through Databricks' next wave of platform innovation — Lakebase (OLTP use cases), Genie & AI/BI (winning business users), Agentic AI, and platform expansion — ensuring GSI partners build practices, solutions, and certified capacity around these strategic priorities.
• Drive joint co-innovation with partners around repeatable IP and Brickbuilder Solutions — activating go-to-market campaigns that position Databricks and partners as the platform of choice for enterprise Data + AI transformation.
• Ensuring partners are building differentiated practices that drive customer adoption of Databricks' newest capabilities.
• Activate partner-led migration motions through structured plays and funded programs.

Team Leadership & Operating Model

• Manage a team of EMEA partner managers, including a direct report (Alliance Director) who owns the Gold-tier and Rising Silver partner portfolio — providing coaching, development, and strategic direction.
• Maintain trust and collaboration with the regional leadership and partner sales teams, including clear strategy, planning, and governance of partner plans in the EMEA region.
• Align with regional partner sales leaders to drive growth in sourced and consumption with named partners.

Executive Engagement & Governance

• Create and foster executive-level relationships at all levels within each partnership.
• Establish healthy and sustainable executive cadences with priority partners, including quarterly business reviews, joint planning sessions, and strategic alignment meetings.
• Own the partner-facing governance model that ensures partner-sourced and delivery pipeline is correctly attributed.
• Create a mutually structured plan and track key metrics that address the needs of partners and key cross-functional team members.

Enablement & Capacity Building

• Develop a training and enablement strategy with the enablement team resulting in practice growth and knowledge expansion - driving technical certifications, sales badges, and delivery expertise across the GSI portfolio.
• Secure investment and establish programs around repeatable IP and solution investments, resulting in activating go-to-market campaigns.

What we look for:

• Extensive experience in securing and supporting strategic partnerships in EMEA, with progressive leadership experience at a reputable technology organization.
• Track record of success managing a team of alliance professionals - hiring, developing, and leading people to exceed target goals and be their best version of themselves.
• Deep GSI relationship expertise — in-depth understanding of Global SI partner organizations, key stakeholders, overall strategy, company culture, market offerings, and joint value propositions. Experience working with partners such as Accenture, Deloitte, Capgemini, EY or equivalent.
• Executive presence and C-Suite engagement — proven ability to build and maintain trust-based relationships with partner executives at the regional and global level, and to mobilize joint field and partner teams around a shared strategy.
• Deep domain experience in enterprise infrastructure, cloud, data, and AI/analytics space — comfortable in a complex technical environment and able to articulate the value of the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform.
• Partner-sourced pipeline ownership — demonstrated track record of driving measurable partner-sourced and partner-initiated pipeline, not just co-sell support or delivery attachment. Evidence of moving partners from reactive delivery to proactive demand creation.
• Programmatic GTM execution — experience designing and running structured joint campaigns, Big Bet account engagements, and scalable partner-led sales plays that use partners' industry expertise to create repeatability and faster time to value.
• Experience driving results in a hyper-growth, multi-billion-dollar enterprise organization — comfort operating where the operating model is still being built, and contributing to building it.
• AI fluency — actively uses AI tools in daily work to manage, analyze, and scale partner activity. Understanding of the agentic AI landscape and how partners can build differentiated practices around emerging AI capabilities.
• Strong written, verbal, presentation, and organizational skills, with the ability to articulate and evangelize the value of Databricks solutions to partners and customers alike.

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog.

Compliance

If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.