Head of Partnership Operational Readiness

Head of Partnership Operational Readiness

Overview

We are seeking an experienced operational leader to drive the end-to-end readiness and execution of strategic partnerships. This role is responsible for ensuring partnerships are fully prepared for launch across commercial, legal, financial, risk, technology, and go-to-market functions.

The successful candidate will lead a high-performing team responsible for moving partnerships from intake through launch readiness using a structured governance and stage-gate framework. This individual will own the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of operational processes that enable scalable, efficient, and compliant partnership execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end operational readiness process for strategic partnerships from intake through launch.

• Manage and develop a team responsible for partnership governance, execution, and launch preparedness.

• Establish and maintain a repeatable, scalable, and audit-ready framework for partnership delivery.

• Drive continuous process improvement initiatives to reduce friction, accelerate cycle times, and improve operational effectiveness.

• Partner closely with Legal, Finance, Tax, Pricing, Product, Technology, Risk, Procurement, and Commercial teams to ensure successful execution.

• Coordinate cross-functional activities and secure required approvals throughout the partnership life cycle.

• Identify and mitigate operational, commercial, legal, and compliance risks.

• Develop governance standards, reporting mechanisms, and performance metrics to track partnership readiness and execution.

• Provide executive-level updates and recommendations to senior leadership.

• Coach and influence senior subject matter experts and stakeholders across multiple business functions.

Required Skills & Experience

• Significant experience leading complex partnership, operations, program management, or business transformation initiatives.

• Strong commercial acumen and ability to balance growth opportunities with operational and compliance requirements.

• Proven experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing senior stakeholders.

• Expertise in process design, governance, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.

• Experience working with legal, contracting, finance, risk, technology, and go-to-market functions.

• Strong project and program management capabilities within complex organisational environments.

• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and executive presentation skills.

• Demonstrated ability to build scalable operational frameworks and drive organisational change.

Key Skills

Strategic Partnerships | Operational Readiness | Program Leadership | Process Improvement | Governance & Controls | Commercial Operations | Stakeholder Management | Risk & Compliance | Contract Management | Go-to-Market Enablement | Technology Readiness | Business Transformation | Change Management | Continuous Improvement | Executive Communication | Team Leadership | Operational Excellence