(Senior) Partner Relations Manager

GÉANT; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5% annual bonus

Pension scheme

Medical insurance

Job summary

GÉANT in Amsterdam or Cambridge seeks a (Senior) Partner Relations Manager to build trusted relationships with European NREN partners, turn member priorities into action, and shape services that deliver value across our international community. You will manage a defined portfolio and serve as a senior contact for directors and C-level stakeholders.

The role combines relationship management, programme coordination and cross-functional delivery, guiding service development and engaging with CTO

Qualifications

• Experience in strategic relationship management with senior stakeholders.
• Ability to translate member needs into actionable insights.
• Ability to coordinate across technical, operational, financial and strategic functions.

Responsibilities

• Act as Relationship Manager for a defined portfolio of European NREN partners.
• Lead service and technology engagement across the Partner Relations function.
• Coordinate input across service portfolios and with CTO and other owners.
• Prepare briefings and governance materials for senior-level meetings.
• Represent member interests in service development and lifecycle management.

Skills

Relationship management

Stakeholder management

Program management

Cross-functional collaboration

Event coordination

Job description

(Senior) Partner Relations Manager

Build trusted relationships with Europe’s research networks, turn member priorities into action, and shape services that deliver meaningful value across GÉANT’s international community.

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands or Cambridge, United Kingdom
Hours: Full time, 1 FTE
Contract: Permanent role. In the Netherlands, the initial contract is for 12 months.
Reports to: Head of Partner and Global Relations

Role Overview

GÉANT’s services and international activities need to reflect the priorities of more than 40 national research and education network partners across Europe. This role brings those priorities into the organisation, connecting strategic relationships, operational needs and service development so that members receive meaningful value from the GÉANT community.

As a member of the Partner Relations and Insights Team, you will manage a defined portfolio of European NREN relationships and serve as a principal point of contact for directors, C-level stakeholders and senior leads. You will also lead service and technology engagement across the Partner Relations function, creating a clear two-way connection between members, GÉANT service teams and the CTO function.

This role would suit someone who can operate credibly with senior stakeholders, turn complex member needs into actionable organisational insight and coordinate work across technical, operational, financial and strategic boundaries.

What You’ll Do

Build trusted relationships with European partners

• Act as GÉANT’s dedicated Relationship Manager and principal point of contact for a defined portfolio of European NREN partners.
• Build and sustain relationships through regular meetings, video calls, events and proactive engagement.
• Onboard new members and associates, helping them become confident and active partners in the GÉANT Association.
• Serve as the primary contact and escalation point for partner issues, coordinating internal teams and tracking actions through to resolution.
• Maintain accurate records of important interactions, decisions and developments.

Understand and represent member priorities

• Monitor the national landscape, priorities and initiatives of each partner in your portfolio.
• Identify opportunities across GÉANT services, projects and community activities, supporting members in taking them forward.
• Gather feedback and requirements to inform process improvement, capacity planning and service development.
• Reflect the differing circumstances, digital infrastructure and capabilities of partner organisations across Europe.
• Ensure material requirements, concerns and opportunities reach the appropriate organisational owners, with decisions and outcomes communicated back clearly.

Connect members with services and technology

• Lead service and technology engagement across the Partner Relations function.
• Lead the programme management of the annual CTO Workshops in partnership with the CTO function, Service Area Leads and relevant experts. Event logistics sit outside this role.
• Create effective two-way communication between Partner Relations, service teams and the CTO function.
• Represent member and relationship considerations throughout service development and lifecycle management, from consultation and piloting through launch, adoption, significant change and end-of-life planning.
• Coordinate Partner Relations input and follow-through across the service portfolio, while service strategy, technical decisions, commercial decisions, operational delivery and performance remain with the relevant organisational owners.
• Consolidate member intelligence, identify common requirements, adoption barriers, emerging risks and opportunities, and translate these into actionable insight.
• Support relationship owners with clear briefings on service portfolios, roadmaps and changes, including appropriate material for senior-level meetings.

Coordinate engagement and cross-functional delivery

• Plan, lead, deliver and document outreach and engagement programmes for individual partners, regional clusters or the wider membership.
• Coordinate procurement, financial, operational and technical activity across GÉANT to support effective service delivery to NRENs.
• Work across internal teams and with external stakeholders to move complex issues and opportunities forward.

Support governance and community engagement

• Prepare and contribute to strategic briefings and governance papers on NREN-related matters.
• Present at partner meetings, community events and conferences when required.
• Bring a balanced, well-informed view of membership needs into organisational discussions and decision-making.

About You

We’re open to candidates from a range of backgrounds. You may not have worked in a role exactly like this before, but you should be able to demonstrate many of the skills, experience and capabilities needed to succeed.

Please consider the responsibilities of the role carefully and how your experience aligns with the following areas:

• Building and sustaining long-term organisational relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Acting as a trusted point of contact and managing sensitive or complex escalations.
• Understanding stakeholder priorities and translating them into clear requirements, opportunities and organisational insight.
• Coordinating activity across technical, operational, financial and strategic functions.
• Connecting external stakeholder needs with internal service, product or technology teams.
• Planning and delivering structured outreach, engagement or stakeholder programmes.
• Interpreting information from multiple stakeholders to identify common themes, barriers, risks and opportunities.
• Preparing briefings, governance papers and senior-level communications.
• Presenting and representing stakeholder interests in meetings, events, working groups or committees.

This may not be the right level if...

You are primarily looking for a role where you will receive detailed direction on priorities, processes and decisions, or where your responsibility is mainly focused on delivering individual tasks within an established framework.

Equally, if you are already operating with organisation-wide strategic accountability, significant budget or functional ownership, or responsibility for multiple teams or managers, you may be looking for a level above this role.

We recognise that people build experience in different ways and do not expect candidates to meet every point listed above. If your background aligns with many of these areas and you’re interested in the opportunity, we’d like to hear from you.

Working Arrangements

The role follows our flexible-hybrid working model, with employees working flexibly between a remote and office environment.

Regular business travel is required, with approximately eight trips per year. Travel will mainly be within Europe.

What We Offer

You'll receive excellent benefits at GÉANT – we offer a generous holiday allowance and a 5% end of year bonus/allowance as standard. The other benefits you receive will depend on the country you are employed in, but you can rest assured that these will include an appropriate pension scheme and medical insurance.