SAP Alliance Lead

Summary of Role

The SAP Alliance Lead is responsible for managing and developing the strategic partnership between KPMG and SAP, focusing on driving business growth by leveraging SAP solutions to deliver client services across various industries, including identifying new sales opportunities, leading joint go-to-market initiatives, and ensuring seamless integration between KPMG's expertise and SAP's technology offerings. 

We require an outstanding Alliance professional, with extensive client facing experience, knowledge of the people and propositions associated with SAP and the sales leadership skills to drive the growth that the SAP business presents to KPMG.

The “new” SAP Alliance offers a unique and considerable market opportunity for KPMG – where numerous companies will need to upgrade from legacy on-premise SAP (or indeed, other enterprise systems) to cloud-based solutions – for SAP, this is S4HANA.

Description of Role 

As an Alliance Lead you will be responsible for:

• Developing, nurturing and maintaining key and significant relationships with the Alliance Partner and acting as key contact / "face of" KPMG
• Regularly interfacing between the Alliance Team (or equivalent) at our Alliance Partners, chairing weekly update meetings and taking decisive action accordingly
• Enhancing our brand with our Alliance Partners - i.e. ensuring that KPMG is always front and centre of their partner ecosystem.  If our Alliance Partner is implementing their technology, they should wish to do so with KPMG as their implementation / consulting partner
• Drafting, agreeing, and most importantly, executing a go-to-market plan with our Alliance Partner. This plan should:
• Determine, foster and encourage key relationships - i.e. who from KPMG aligns with the key stakeholders at our Alliance Partner
• Agree how we generate demand in the market together and then, activate as appropriate
• Identify which opportunities / targets we will work on together and then, drive dogmatic activation plans in conjunction with appropriate Advisory colleagues and Alliance Partner Account Executives
• Prioritise our approach together - what are we focusing on; when; who is involved; what are the stage gate measurements of success
• Importantly, the plan needs to underpin how we work together and how we win together
• Ongoing and regular governance of both the plan, and also our successful relationship with the Alliance Partner
• Ongoing and regular updates to senior stakeholders from both KPMG and our Alliance Partner to meet KPIs, as well as monitor progress
• Make introductions as necessary - i.e. respective Sector Leads from both sides; or Industry Leads; or key Client / Account Leads AND monitor and track progress
• Arrange and lead networking opportunities with our Alliance Partners - these might be in the form of targeted lunches, dinners, round table discussions, or Ignition-led seminars.  Follow up on all leads generated via the Alliance Sales Team
• Attend and help to arrange the successful participation on Alliance-led Events - these may be Alliance Partner initiated and may also include overseas travel.  Again, follow up on all leads generated accordingly
• Proactively engage with client and targets, where appropriate, along with the Alliance Sales Team to help promote excellent KPMG relationships and our commitment to working with our Alliance Partners
• Support and lead all contractual arrangements between KPMG and our Alliance Partners to ensure that we maintain excellent Quality and Risk Management (QRM).  This will include agreeing Alliance contracts with our QRM team; continuance contracts on a periodic basis, and any reselling / influencing contracts, as appropriate.

This role will require flexibility by the individual to respond to key growth areas and high demand propositions enabled by our alliance channel.

Role Dimensions

Stakeholder Interaction & challenges:

Essential to success will be your ability to interact and build trusted working relationships both internally and externally. You will be expected to own multiple relationships with key stakeholders at our Alliance Partner(s).

• You will be challenged to respond to demand and work flexibly across high growth areas.
• You will be challenged to ensure your partner interactions are intentional and you are focussed on working on insightful opportunities with our Alliance Partner(s). You will be expected to be present ‘onsite’ with the Alliance Partner several days a week.

Impact, Risk, Accountability & Governance:

The impact you will have on growing our alliance-enabled pipeline will be significant. The role presents an opportunity for you to make your mark and utilise your relationship-building skills to propel collaboration and origination/insight through the channel to the next-level.

You will help build our market presence within our technology ecosystem – helping KPMG to become the partner of choice for our strategic Alliances;

The Person

We want passionate, energetic, articulate, driven people to join our team and help us to enhance our brand, reputation, and market share.

This is a busy role within the team, requiring a balance of business development, sales origination, account management, self-motivation and a flexible mindset to respond to demand in key growth areas.

Essential experience

• Be able to form trusted relationships with key alliance partner stakeholders, and drive value-adding business conversations with clients.
• Be confident interacting with stakeholders at multiple levels, internally and externally
• Inquisitive, with strong questioning and listening skills with ability to see the bigger picture
• Effective networker
• A growing external profile through social media and events
• Mature in outlook, with strong influencing skills (internal and with client) and diplomacy
• Positive and enthusiastic manner in dealing with a cross section of people
• Be well organised, detail-conscious, pro-active, hard-working, and resilient. Finish what you start.
• Be flexible in their approach and able to work under pressure

KPMG Overview 

KPMG in the UK is part of a global network of firms that offers Audit, Legal, Tax and Advisory services. Through the talent of over 16,000 colleagues we bring our creativity, insight and experience to solve our clients’ and communities’ biggest problems. We’ve been doing this for more than 150 years.

We aim to be universally recognised as a place for great people to do their best work. A firm known for our collaborative and inclusive culture, using technology to empower and equip our people to deliver outstanding work with real flexibility – through inspiring workspaces, innovative ways to collaborate and hybrid ways of working.

With offices across the UK, we work with everyone from small start-ups and individuals to major multinationals, in virtually every industry imaginable. Our work is often complex, yet our mission is simple: To support the UK in a connected world. It guides everything we do, underpinned by our values: Courage, Integrity, Excellence, Together and For Better.

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