The director, Strategic Technology Partnerships is responsible for driving SAP’s relationship with one or more of the company’s global and most strategic next generation technology partners to deliver market impact and support the long-term growth of SAP. This role will lead the transformation of existing strategic partnerships to drive the SAP digital transformation agenda. This is a highly visible role that will interact directly with the executive level of assigned partner(s) and will engage with a broad variety of Board-level and executive-level stakeholders inside SAP.
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Technology Collaboration: Leverage your deep technology background to drive a technology agenda mapping SAP current and future products to partner technology to help create new joint offerings. Influence SAP technology and partner leaders to adopt these new offerings to help create new solutions that drive incremental value and revenue.
New Business Development. Draw upon deep understanding of complex market dynamics to identify and drive new market opportunities for the partnership. Structure appropriate partner models to achieve mutually beneficial business results and drive execution of related partnership agreements. Secure the necessary internal and external stakeholder support across involved Board areas and business units, including regional partner management and sales teams.
Partnership Transformation. Evangelize, engage, and enable partners to pursue “win-win” business plans and models that support and promote SAP’s strategic agenda – especially in S/4HANA, Line of Business Cloud Solutions, HANA and Analytics, and HANA Cloud Platform. Identify, develop, and execute strategic initiatives in support of these areas. Foster development of partner services capacity in growth areas and spearhead efforts to drive SAP platform adoption in the partner’s own business.
GTM Engagement. Drive the successful execution of joint go-to-market activities with Technology Partner and the SAP field. Achieve partner-driven revenue targets as relevant for assigned partner(s) and directly engage in key sales opportunities.
Co-innovation. Drive co-innovation initiatives with selected Technology Partner in concert with SAP development, solution management, and field stakeholders. Foster new solutions on SAP platforms, capitalizing on partner domain expertise. Facilitate development of joint solution and/or technology roadmaps (depending on nature of partnership).
Partnership Governance. Manage SAP’s overall corporate relationship with assigned strategic partner(s). Plan and manage the strategic partnership to foster executive alignment, execution, and achievement of planned business outcomes. Create strategic business plan for partnership to enhance mutual value and impact. Facilitate top-to-top meetings and ensure effective preparation, briefing, alignment, and execution for key executive meetings and Board updates. Manage partner escalations and drive issue resolution. Operate with a “One SAP” approach across the broader SAP organization to ensure effective and coherent partner engagement across Board areas, geographies, and business/ market segments.
Best Practice Champion. Serve as a collaborative luminary for raising SAP’s strategic partner management capabilities across the company’s other strategic relationships, proactively sharing best practices and mentoring/advising other partner managers. Openly embrace and capitalize on the winning practices of others to drive continuous improvement. Identify and, as appropriate, spearhead enhancements to SAP’s partner management processes and structures.
IDEAL EXPERIENCE
Deep technology background; roles where you have been responsible for driving technology agenda with success, both internally as well as externally for the company. Must possess extensive knowledge of datacenter technologies– server, storage, networking, applications and related markets and ecosystems.
Senior level roles at a top software company; Successful leadership of large business units/service lines
Extensive experience and relationships at senior levels within the enterprise solutions ecosystem – system integrators, technology vendors, ISVs.
Successful track record negotiating large-scale, complex business agreements and transactions
Experience structuring and engaging in multiple partnering models (e.g., co-selling, value-added reselling, OEM).
Demonstrated capacity for operating globally, having driven significant business results in multiple geographies and/or achieved success in a senior role with global scope.
Fluent in English. German fluency is a plus.
Bachelor’s degree from Top-tier University required; Masters, PhD, MBA or advanced degree preferred.
CRITICAL COMPETENCIES
Collaboration/EQ. Demonstrates capacity to engender trust and effectively collaborate with SAP and partner colleagues at all levels, from SAP Board, senior executives, account teams, and individual contributors. A diplomatic, natural networker who builds positive, enduring relationships and helps bridge diverse perspectives. Thinks and acts “win-win” when relating to others and demonstrates effectiveness in aligning and orchestrating interests to achieve results. Shows good judgment regarding where and when to compromise.
Industry expertise. Knowledgeable of relevant market, competitive, and technology trends influencing the enterprise solutions industry. Applies well-informed point of view to identify new business opportunities, address partnership dynamics, and shape innovative yet pragmatic business plans that drive tangible market impact.
Creative problem solving. Adept at diagnosing problems and issues, identifying root causes, and determining creative yet practical ways to address them. Willing and able to consider different points of view and engage directly in the problem solving process vs delegating to others. Able to make decisions promptly, thoughtfully, and confidently in highly ambiguous situations.
Executive Communication. Highly effective written and oral communication skills. Communicates complex topics simply but without losing important nuance and meaning. Focuses on central issues and has a command of specifics without being overly detailed. Understands how to frame messages in a compelling way for a target audience, and articulates these messages credibly, powerfully, and with confidence.
Strategic program leadership. Demonstrated ability to structure and manage cross-organizational business initiatives and drive change. Thinks big picture but able to roll up sleeves and deliver. Sets and manages clear expectations by defining concrete objectives, deliverables, and action plans. Employs clear methods for closed-loop management and holds others accountable for delivering on time with quality. Shows appropriate attention to detail with diligent, tenacious follow-through. Flexible and comfortable with ambiguity, but strives to bring structure and discipline to ad-hoc work efforts.
Learning agility. Shows capacity to adapt, master new topics/behaviors, and continuously improve. Committed to learning constantly—a quick study who is curious and observant. Eager to take on new challenges; brings a positive attitude and is resilient to setbacks. Demonstrated ability to take on new assignments in diverse business areas, ramp quickly, and accomplish significant business results.
High-clockspeed responsiveness. Operates with a sense of urgency. Brings an awareness of and sensitivity to field concerns and perspectives. Artfully brings “7x24” responsiveness while maintaining personal balance.
OTHER PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
Possesses the gravitas and executive presence to work comfortably and credibly in the highest levels of SAP and partner organizations.
Proactive and entrepreneurial leadership; someone who instinctively knows what needs to be done and rallies colleagues to get things accomplished.
Growth-oriented, assertive and action-oriented, yet a team player who seeks and acts on input from others.
Passionate about driving significant business impact; ambitious and strives to raise the bar continually.
Upbeat, positive, transparent, and engaging with a natural skill for developing professional relationships.
A sharp, rigorous thinker who can operate successfully among bright, progressive, and charismatic people.
Operates with high integrity and credibility in the eyes of key individuals with whom s/he will work.
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