The Manager, Partnerships (Satellite Data Vendors) is a commercially focused, strategically important role responsible for owning the full lifecycle of relationships with satellite data vendors globally. You will manage an existing portfolio of vendor agreements while proactively sourcing, evaluating and contracting with new data providers to expand our geospatial data capabilities.
Working within the Data Acquisition & Partnerships team, you will serve as the primary point of contact for satellite vendors, acting as both a relationship steward and a commercial negotiator. You will collaborate closely with internal stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and Commercial teams to ensure vendor partnerships deliver sustained, measurable value.
Key Responsibilities
Manage full partner life cycle from recruiting new vendors to managing and exiting existing suppliers.
Requirements
Must Have
- Significant experience in vendor management, strategic partnerships, or data procurement — ideally within geospatial, satellite, maritime or data-intensive industries.
- Demonstrated track record of leading complex commercial negotiations and closing multi-year agreements.
- Strong commercial acumen with the ability to build and interrogate financial models, pricing structures, and business cases.
- Experience operating in fast-paced, high-accountability environments, ideally including PE-backed, scale-up, or high-growth businesses.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills — comfortable engaging from engineer to C-suite and, where relevant, to investor level.
- Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple deals and relationships simultaneously without loss of rigour.
- Collaborative by nature, with experience working across cross-functional teams including Legal, Sales, Finance, Product, Marketing and R&D.
Advantage
- Knowledge of the satellite data ecosystem: RF, SAR, optical, multispectral, hyperspectral, or related sensor modalities.
- Familiarity with data licensing frameworks, IP considerations, and geospatial data rights.
- Experience managing vendor portfolios in a global, multi-jurisdiction context.
- Exposure to value creation frameworks, management reporting, or investor relations in a PE-backed environment.
- Degree-level education in a relevant field (Business, Space, Maritime, Geography, Engineering, or similar); postgraduate business qualification is advantageous but not required.