THE ROLE & THE TEAM

As a Principle Strategic Development Manager within ZEOS Commercial team, you will identify, develop, and manage partnerships that align with our business objectives. In this role, you will act as a bridge between our organization and external partners, ensuring mutually beneficial relationships that drive growth and innovation. You will work closely with cross-functional teams, including sales and account development, marketing, product development, and operations to translate high-level strategies into actionable plans, ensuring that partnerships are effectively integrated into our overall business strategy. You will also be responsible for monitoring the performance of partnerships, providing regular updates to stakeholders, and making recommendations for improvement.

INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN 

At Zalando, our vision is to be inclusive by design. And this vision starts with our hiring - we do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, personal expression, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability status. You are welcome to leave out your picture, age, or marital status from your application. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit.

We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support you throughout the hiring process. 

do.BETTER - our diversity & inclusion strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/dobetter-our-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy

Our employee resource groups: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/our-employee-resource-groups

WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)..

• Strategic focus: Drive comprehensive partnership strategies by clarifying what challenges we expect those partnerships to solve and how they contribute to our overall strategy and targets at ZEOS. Translate these strategies into actionable initiatives and projects and drive them to execution.

• Partnership development: Identify and evaluate potential partnership opportunities in alignment with the strategic frameworks we apply to define where to partner and who to partner with. Drive the preparation and negotiation of partnership agreements.

• Joint Go-to-Market Strategy and Execution: Develop and execute joint go-to-market strategies with partners, including co-marketing campaigns, sales enablement programs, and joint merchant engagements. Collaborate with partners to identify and pursue new business opportunities, leveraging each other's strengths and capabilities. Coordinate the development of joint solutions, ensuring seamless integration and interoperability between products and services.

• Partner management and relationship building:  Develop and maintain strong relationships with the partners in our scope. Monitor and analyze the performance of partnerships by using key business metrics and defining new ones specific to the partnership type/context, providing insights and recommendations to refine strategies and improve outcomes. Identify and address challenges in existing partnerships both on operational (daily/weekly) and on strategic level (longer term).

• Cross-functional collaboration: Collaborate with internal teams to align partnerships with business goals and to solve operational and strategic challenges in seamless coordination.

• Stakeholder management:  Provide regular updates and reports to stakeholders. Serve as a thought leader and trusted advisor to senior leadership on partnership strategies in a way that drives value for customers and the company.

WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF..

• You have at least 7+ years of experience in business development, partnership management, or strategic alliances, preferably within retail or e-commerce.

• You have a proven track record of establishing and managing successful strategic partnerships and joint go-to-market initiatives, including co-building, co-selling, and co-marketing initiatives to drive revenue and pipeline growth.

• You have a proven ability to develop strategic initiatives and present them to senior management. Your analytical skills allow you to solve complex problems with high-quality solutions. 

• You are comfortable with analyzing data sets and rep