Strategic Partner Management Lead

Nokia Corporation; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Nokia Corporation in Sunnyvale, CA, seeks a senior Partner Manager to coordinate global execution and removal of internal roadblocks for strategic IP MC-E partnerships.

You will partner with GSCO Partner Sales to enable the largest global partners, develop joint business plans, and provide asset-rich materials to accelerate pipeline and revenue. Travel will be required to engage partners and customers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, telecommunications, or business.
• 8+ years of experience in strategic partner management or channel development.
• Experience with large global partners, system integrators, or technology partners.
• Strong understanding of IP networking solutions and enterprise customers.
• Experience developing joint go-to-market plans and partner enablement programs.
• Strong executive communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Willingness to travel for partner engagements and events.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary IP MC-E interface to assigned partners and coordinate global execution across a matrixed organization, territories, or industry.
• Partner with the GSCO Partner Sales organization to support the largest and most strategic global partners serving the IP MC-E market.
• Develop and maintain joint partner plans that define target markets, priority accounts, opportunity pipelines, enablement needs, success measures, and executive engagement.
• Provide partners with clear IP MC-E value propositions, solution positioning, sales plays, reference material, training paths, roadmap context, and reusable customer-facing assets.
• Identify internal dependencies, ownership gaps, and execution barriers; mobilize the appropriate teams and escalate when required and drive issues to closure.
• Establish a disciplined operating cadence with partner and internal stakeholders, including pipeline reviews, opportunity support, quarterly business reviews, action tracking, and executive updates.
• Capture partner and market feedback and translate it into actionable recommendations for IP MC-E business, portfolio, enablement, and go-to-market priorities.

Job description

The role will serve as the primary IP MC-E interface to assigned partners, remove internal roadblocks, and coordinate global execution across a matrixed organization, territories, or industry.

• Partner with the GSCO Partner Sales organization to support the largest and most strategic global partners serving the IP MC-E market.
• Act as the primary IP MC-E interface for assigned partners, coordinating engagement across segment, regional Sales and Pre-Sales, Product Line Management, marketing, services, operations, and technical teams.
• Enable partners to pursue an aggregate annual sales objective of approximately $50 million by ensuring timely access to the technical, commercial, market, solution, and competitive information needed to build pipeline and close business.
• Develop and maintain joint partner plans that define target markets, priority accounts, opportunity pipelines, enablement needs, success measures, and executive engagement.
• Provide partners with clear IP MC-E value propositions, solution positioning, sales plays, reference material, training paths, roadmap context, and reusable customer-facing assets.
• Identify internal dependencies, ownership gaps, and execution barriers; mobilize the appropriate teams, escalations when required, and drive issues to closure.
• Establish a disciplined operating cadence with partner and internal stakeholders, including pipeline reviews, opportunity support, quarterly business reviews, action tracking, and executive updates.
• Capture partner and market feedback and translate it into actionable recommendations for IP MC-E business, portfolio, enablement, and go-to-market priorities.

Key Deliverables

• Joint business and enablement plans for assigned global partners, aligned with IP MC-E priorities and the approximately $50 million annual sales objective.
• Partner opportunity pipeline, governance cadence, executive engagement plan, and documented escalation path.
• Partner-ready technical and business information package, including solution positioning, roadmap context, training resources, customer evidence, and reusable sales assets.
• Regular partner-performance, risk, dependency, and action-closure updates for IP MC-E leadership.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, telecommunications, business, or an equivalent combination of education and practical experience.
• Typically 8+ years of relevant experience in strategic partner management, channel or alliance development, business development, Sales, or Pre-Sales.
• Demonstrated success working with large global partners, system integrators, technology partners, or channel organizations to build pipeline and achieve revenue objectives.
• Strong understanding of IP networking solutions and the needs of mission-critical enterprise customers.
• Experience developing joint go-to-market plans, partner enablement programs, sales plays, and executive engagement plans.
• Strong executive communication, negotiation, facilitation, stakeholder-management, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work autonomously, manage competing priorities, remove ambiguity, and drive action without direct authority.
• Willingness to travel for partner engagements, customer meetings, business reviews, and industry events.

Success Measures

• Partner-influenced pipeline, sales, and order intake progress against the approximately $50 million annual objective.
• Improved partner readiness, engagement quality, access to information, opportunity progression, and satisfaction.
• Faster resolution of internal roadblocks, with clear ownership and fewer route-to-market or execution ambiguities.
• Quality and consistency of joint planning, partner governance, executive engagement, and action closure.
• Positive feedback from GSCO Partner Sales, assigned partners, Regional Sales and Pre-Sales, and IP MC-E leadership.

Key Interfaces

• Internal: IP MC-E leadership; GSCO Partner Sales; Regional Sales and Pre-Sales; Product Line Management; marketing; services; operations; finance; legal; and technical teams.
• External: Priority global partners, system integrators, technology partners, channel organizations, and selected customers.

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