Alliance Director

About the role

You will serve as the primary business development engine for Databricks' Gold-tier and Rising Silver partner portfolio within the EMEA region, owning the full spectrum of motions that convert strategic alliances into quantifiable partner-sourced pipeline and consumption growth. Your core mandate is to act as an intentional market-maker, shifting partners away from a delivery-first mindset and toward structured demand creation through Big Bet account engagements, coordinated joint GTM campaigns, targeted Brickbuilder solution plays, and highly scalable co-sell execution. You will work in close collaboration with Partner Sales Managers (PSMs), Partner Solutions Architects (PSAs), and both Partner and Field Marketing teams to meticulously plan, execute, and advance partner GTM initiatives while simultaneously building the internal GTM capability within the partner ecosystem to ensure this motion is repeatable and sustainable. You will report directly to the EMEA Partner Manager Leader, acting as a strategic extension of the leadership team to drive measurable outcomes across a critical segment of the Databricks ecosystem. The impact you will have is substantial, as you will define and own the business development motion for a clearly defined portfolio of high-value partners, co-developing structured GTM plans that directly drive partner-sourced pipeline volume and velocity aligned with company targets. You will lead a targeted number of partner industry workshops annually and execute a defined number of structured partner GTM campaigns each quarter, systematically moving partners from opportunistic co-selling to programmatic, campaign-driven demand generation that is tightly aligned with Company and GTM Priorities. You will be responsible for translating the Databricks Brickbuilder program into live partner GTM plays, which includes identifying the right high-impact use cases, qualifying partners for Specialization and Brickbuilder eligibility, and connecting partner solution IP directly to Databricks sales programs and established customer outcome maps for priority industries. Furthermore, you will execute the Power-of-3 motion (SI + ISV + Cloud) within your partner portfolio, skillfully brokering joint account engagements that combine deep partner industry expertise with cloud hyperscaler funding and ISV capability to create comprehensive multi-workload, multi-year customer outcomes. Finally, you will build and mature the GTM capacity inside your partner portfolio by driving sales badge completion, organizing sales masterclasses, developing partner champions, and advancing Specialization progression, with the ultimate goal that each priority partner has a dedicated Databricks GTM team operating seamlessly to Databricks field standards.

Key facts

What you'll do

You will own the business development motion for a defined portfolio of Gold-tier and Rising Silver partners in EMEA, co-developing structured GTM plans with the partners that drive partner-sourced pipeline volume (early-stage opportunity creation) and velocity aligned to the partner-sourced contribution targets. You will lead a targeted number of partner industry workshops per partner per year and run a defined number of structured partner GTM campaigns per quarter, moving partners from opportunistic co-selling to programmatic, campaign-driven demand generation aligned to Company and GTM Priorities. You will translate the Databricks Brickbuilder program into live partner GTM plays - identifying the right use cases, qualifying partners for Specialization and Brickbuilder eligibility, and connecting partner solution IP to Databricks sales programs and customer outcome maps for the key industries. You will execute the Power-of-3 motion (SI + ISV + Cloud) within your partner portfolio, brokering joint account engagements that combine your partners industry depth with cloud hyperscaler funding, and ISV capability to create multi-workload, multi-year customer outcomes. You will build GTM capacity inside your partner portfolio - driving sales badge completion, sales masterclasses, partner champion development, and Specialization progression - moving partners from certified to market-making, with the goal that each priority partner has a dedicated Databricks GTM team operating at the Databricks field standard. You will own the partner-facing governance model for your portfolio: Plan-on-a-Page and Partner Cockpit discipline, deal registration and SLA compliance, cadenced partner business updates, and the CRM hygiene that ensures partner-sourced and delivery pipeline is correctly marked and credited. You will run co-marketing investment decisions for your portfolio (MDF, Accelerate, co-sponsored demand gen), applying ROI discipline - strategic impact over activity volume - aligned to the principle that investment is intent, not incremental spending. You will operate as a Partner First leader in the field, treating priority partners as extensions of the Databricks sales

team: setting accountability expectations, recognizing and scaling what works, and being the first call for partners who are creating net-new pipeline in accounts. You will analyze partner performance data and market signals to identify new opportunity areas, refine targeting, and adjust GTM approaches to maximize partner effectiveness. You will collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure partner feedback, especially from deal registration and business reviews, directly informs product positioning, packaging, and enablement assets.

Requirements

You must possess partner business development or channel sales experience with a demonstrated track record of driving partner-sourced or partner-initiated pipeline, not merely providing co-sell support, with tangible evidence of moving a partner from reactive delivery to proactive demand creation. You must have hands-on experience designing and running structured joint campaigns with partners, moving beyond one-off events to programmatic demand generation that connects partner solution IP to defined sales programs and clear customer outcome narratives. You must have direct experience managing a defined portfolio of regional or national partners, selecting and prioritizing based on commercial fit and growth potential, and building Joint Business Plans that produce measurable sourced pipeline outcomes. You must be operationally rigorous, comfortable owning deal registration hygiene, KPI/OKR tracking (sourced, conversion, campaign attribution, etc.), pipeline management, and the consistent execution of partner-facing governance disciplines. You must have a strong working knowledge of the Databricks Partner Program elements, including the Brickbuilder program, Specialization pathways, and relevant sales programs, or the ability to rapidly master these systems to drive immediate impact. You must be able to clearly articulate how you will translate company priorities into partner GTM campaigns and ensure partner teams understand and can execute these plans effectively. You must demonstrate the ability to build and maintain credible relationships with senior partner leadership, influencing without direct authority and acting as the primary advocate for Databricks priorities within the partner organization. You must be highly proficient in CRM hygiene and governance, ensuring that all partner-sourced and delivery pipeline is accurately recorded, credited, and visible for reporting and incentive alignment.

Practical notes

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