🚀 The Short Pitch
Sendcloud is the leading shipping platform in Europe, and our carrier network is the backbone of that success. As we move toward a high-growth, data-driven future, we are evolving how we manage these critical relationships. We are looking for a Carrier Partnerships Manager for DACH (formerly Strategic Alliance Manager).
This isn't a traditional purchasing job. You will be the operational and commercial owner of our DACH carrier portfolio (in collaboration with our co-founder and our Head of Carrier Partnerships), managing some of our most significant partnerships in a market that accounts for a large share of our €150M annual spend. You will transition these relationships from simple rate-card discussions to sophisticated, long-term strategic alliances focused on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and margin sustainability.
🧐 The Role
As the Carrier Partnership Manager for DACH, you are the primary architect of our home market carrier strategy. Reporting to the Head of Carrier Partnerships, you sit at the heart of our Strategic Alliances team.
Your mission is to move away from the yearly negotiation grind and instead build a stable, scalable economic engine. You will manage the full lifecycle of our DACH carrier partners, from high-stakes negotiations and multi-year contract structuring to ensuring that our operational costs (surcharges, cost leakage, and indexation) are fully transparent and optimised. You will act as the critical bridge between our DACH Sales/CS(M) teams and our carrier partners, ensuring that our product remains the most competitive in the region.
🎯 What you'll do
- Own the Total Cost of Ownership for DACH: You are responsible for the real cost of shipping. This means moving beyond just the label price to actively manage surcharges, credit lines, and address cost leakage within DACH.
- Drive Strategic Partnerships: Manage the entire life cycle of carrier partnerships and support (and in due time: lead) negotiations with major DACH carriers (e.g., DHL and DPD) to secure multi-year agreements and clear indexation frameworks that provide long-term predictability.
- Build Relationships: Actively develop and manage key executive relationships with strategic partners on various levels within their organization (from Account Manager to C-level).
- Operational Value Realisation: Ensure that carrier partnerships actually deliver value. You'll tackle operational reliability and service issues that impact direct customer satisfaction and margin quality.
- Carrier Strategy: You are responsible for developing, overseeing and executing your carrier partnership strategy with all carriers in the DACH region. Setting the strategy and executing actions that will drive revenue growth based on our partnership with DACH carriers
- Internal Advocacy: Act as the voice of DACH carrier within Sendcloud. You will ensure that all relevant teams (Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Finance CS(M), etc.) understand DACH-specific requirements.
- Data-Driven Negotiation: Utilise volume and performance data to build leverage, ensuring we grow with the right partners at the right margins.
✅ What you bring to the table
- DACH Market Native: You have a deep understanding of the logistics and carrier landscape in Germany & Austria. You know the players, the industry, and the rules of the game.
- Solution Driven: You enjoy spending time in DACH market to understand carrier problems and find innovative solutions for our growth
- Proactive: You are proactive in identifying new market opportunities for Sendcloud with our carriers
Communication: You are able to communicate in a clear, direct and professional way. You enjoy networking at events. You are a native German speaker and fluent in English (written and spoken).
- Negotiation Mastery: You are a seasoned negotiator (or are willing to become one) who moves past us vs. them to find win-win multi-year structures.
- Analytical Skills: You don't just look at rates, you look at the total costs.
- Relationship Management: You have intrinsic motivation to connect with people in order to drive the business forward in the right direction
- Commercial Sophistication: You understand how carrier costs directly impact Sales, CSM, and ultimately, our Profit & Loss statements.
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