Job Description
Ciena is committed to our people-first philosophy. Our teams enjoy a culture focused on prioritizing a personalized and flexible work environment that empowers an individual’s passions, growth, wellbeing and belonging. We’re a technology company that leads with our humanity—driving our business priorities alongside meaningful social, community, and societal impact.Blueplanet, the Software division of Ciena, provides market-leading, vendor neutral, intelligent automation software and specialized professional services to help clients modernize their IT and network operations. Driven by policy and AI-based insights, Blueplanet delivers the closed-loop automation tools needed to align IT and networking processes—critical to facilitating digital transformation and an adaptive network. If you want to be part of the company that delivers these outcomes, then the Blueplanet division of Ciena is the place to be. (Visit www.blueplanet.com.) How You Will Contribute:The Alliance and Partner Relationship Manager is a critical role within Blue Planet, responsible for managing strategic alliances with key Global System Integrators based in India. This individual will foster relationships that drive business growth, align with Blue Planet’s objectives, and enable seamless execution of strategic initiatives. Reporting to the Global Alliance Leader, the role requires a strategic thinker with exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across global teams.Your core role will cover the following key activitiesPartner Relationship ManagementBuild and nurture strong, long-term relationships with strategic global partners in India.Serve as the primary point of contact, addressing issues and ensuring partner satisfaction.Facilitate regular communications and meetings to strengthen alignment and collaboration.Strategic PlanningCollaborate with the Global Alliance Leader to develop and execute partnership strategies.Align partner initiatives with Blue Planet’s broader business objectives and strategic goals.Stay informed on market trends, competitor activities, and emerging opportunities. Performance MonitoringTrack and evaluate partnership performance using established metrics and KPIs.Regularly report progress, challenges, and successes to senior management.Identify opportunities for optimization and implement improvements to maximize outcomes.Collaboration and Cross-Functional EngagementPartner with global and regional teams across sales, marketing, product development, and customer support to ensure seamless execution of initiatives.Coordinate with legal and finance teams to ensure compliance with contracts and financial agreements.Contribute to a collaborative, inclusive culture by sharing best practices and innovative ideas.Reporting and DeliverablesReport directly to the Global Alliance Leader based in the U.S., accommodating morning U.S. time zones for key activities.Enhance partner relationships to enable a smooth global sales pipeline and opportunity engagement.Actively participate in weekly business development and partner enablement meetings, ensuring timely follow-through on agreed actions.What Does Blue Planet’s Expect of You?You’re a proven relationship builder – you know how to build trusted and long-term system integrators relationships quickly.Proven partner management expertise – you’re skilled in all aspects of partner relationship management and partner success through strategy development, executive discussions, relationship initiation, market dynamics assessment, service(s) and/or solution definitions and monetization models, opportunity qualification and development , assistance with closure, and partner satisfaction.Collaborator – adept at interacting with a set of multifunctional teams such as Systems Engineers, Sales, Field Marketing, Support, Finance, Legal and Operations to achieve desired business outcomes.Initiative – You’re a self-starter who takes initiative and works with limited direction on core job responsibilities maintaining and expecting high standards for yourself and your team members.Agility – you are readily able to manage competing and ever-changing account priorities and maintain a balanced and methodical approach to problem solving.Business acumen – you have detailed knowledge of Blueplanet products and the network they oversee, the competitive landscape and an in-depth understanding of sales cycle and stage requirements.Communication expertise – you can effectively tailor a message/articulate a value proposition to an audience to enable engagement at all levels of an organization, i.e., able to communicate a good blend of technology/networking trends, as well as business value of Ciena solutions.The ability to influence – you’re a change agent capable of leading organizational transformations by overcoming internal and external barriers to success, drive thought leadership and influence in a matrixed environment with diverse cross-functional teams and a broad range of functions and stakeholders.A commitment to learning – you keep abreast of the market and competition and use that information to Blueplanet’s advantage.The Must Haves:Education and ExperienceBachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred). At least 5 years of relevant experience in partnership management, business development, or a related domain and total experience of 10+ years Demonstrated success in managing strategic partnerships and achieving measurable results. Skills and CompetenciesStrong interpersonal, communication, and negotiation skills. Strategic thinker with a proven ability to identify growth opportunities. Excellent project management, organizational, and problem-solving abilities. Experience in managing Digital OSS and automation software platforms is a plus. Technical ExpertiseProficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and CRM tools. Familiarity with market research and data analysis techniques. Knowledge of sales and pre-sales processes within the telecom and software industries. Ability to understand and analyze customer requirements to define appropriate customer solutions. Demonstrated comfort with interacting at senior levels of partner companies. Effective communicator (executive presence, synthesized messaging (+) strong written/verbal/visual/video/social skills).#LI-FANot ready to apply? Join ourTalent Communityto get relevant job alerts straight to your inbox.At Ciena, we are committed to building and fostering an environment in which our employees feel respected, valued, and heard. Ciena values the diversity of its workforce and respects its employees as individuals. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination.Ciena is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status.If contacted in relation to a job opportunity, please advise Ciena of any accommodation measures you may require.
