Cisco Alliance Manager at NTT Ltd

Working at NTT

Develop Alliance Management Plans

• The Partner Alliance Manager will use his/her understanding of Dimension Data solutions and of technology trends to assist with the evaluation and development of detailed alliance management plans. They will explore existing alliances to discover perspectives, information and opportunities which later are included in these alliance management plans. They will execute the Alliance Management operational plans and objectives. In so doing, the Partner Success Manager will assist with the development of a complete plan for managing the alliance, ensuring the execution of projects in co-operation with marketing needs. They will assist by ensuring that all partner accreditations are in line with the agreed strategy. These individuals will ensure that Dimension Data understands and harnesses and maximises all partner programs which contribute to bottom line profit, client awareness and unique positioning and registrations.

Develop and manage Propositions

• The Partner Alliance Manager will drive and market Dimension Data skills, propositions and capabilities within selected partners. The individual will drive new partnerships, selling new business opportunities to existing partners and developing and managing the partner propositions. They will negotiate and secure the best available level of partner funding for Dimension Data activities, including marketing and rebates. They will negotiate and secure the best value pricing for partner supplied services and products and ensure that effective processes and tools are implemented to drive the adoption and benefit of partner programs.

Engagement and Activation

• The Partner Alliance Manager will work closely with a variety of internal stakeholders to negotiate and implement catalogues, operational processes and the terms and conditions for new partner take on and renewed partners. He/she will contribute to the facilitation of service development and ongoing product management for new and existing propositions, ensuring introduction, in-life management and continual improvement plans are established and followed. They will conduct due diligence negotiations of terms and introduction to operations and ensure that partner contracts are signed to enable activation of the partner relationship, including the conclusion of service level agreements.

Monitor plan progress

• Once the plan has been developed, the Partner Success Manager will assist with the consistent and systematic monitoring of the implementation of the plan by various stakeholders to ensure its sustained success. They will ensure adherence to the plan and making recommendations for adjustments to the plan. The Partner Success Manager will ensure the performance management of selected partners to ensure that metrics are accurate and evidential, and that remedial action is taken against poor performance. They will ensure that partner investments and activities from funding are measured against agreed key performance indicators. They will ensure that preferred partners adhere to strict service level agreements and adopt the Dimension Data processes and methods and deliver to high standards of service and quality.

Manage risk

• The Partner Success Manager will have knowledge about the risks that are common to the types of alliances that he/she manages and identifies these risk and assists with the development of mitigating strategies. They will evaluate and assess the impact of and the overall success of the alliance and in so doing will be able to proactively assist with detection and management risk situation through conducting a variety of audits. They will ensure the ongoing management of the partner relationship and their levels of service delivery.

Ensure supporting Resources

• The Partner Success Manager will assist with the identification of the supporting resources and systems such as reports, processes, training and/or documents that provide the most value to the alliance and employ them appropriately. They assist with gathering, evaluating, assessing and ensuring the use of the supporting resources that have consistently provided the greatest value and in so doing maximise the success of the alliance. Once this knowledge has been gathered, they store it in an electronic library for future use.

Relationship Development

• The Partner Success Manager will build sustainable relationships with their partners, including those in more senior positions. They use their knowledge of partner propositions, their markets, the business challenges and customer opportunities to assist with the development of these alliances. The individual ensure that the relationships with their partners are well managed and mutually beneficial, creating alliance retention and adding immense long-term value to the business.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s (graduate) degree in business or any technical field
• Customer Success training
• Good knowledge of the LAER model
• Vendor certifications – AWS, VMware, DellEMC, Fortinet, Palo Alto will be an added advantage
• Over 3 years Experience of working in partner alliances

Behavioural skills:

• Partner Success Manager will assertive in their approach and will display well developed persuasion and influence ability.
• She/He will use negotiation skills and knowledge of the business and solutions to ensure effective alliance management.
• Possess excellent communication skills (both verbally and written) and employ these skills to interact with a variety of stakeholders.
• Display good project management skills and are able to engage in difficult situations.
• Ability to prepare and deliver concise reports on to various stakeholders and effectively manage set targets, both financial and operational.