Partner Ecosystem Program Manager

NetApp, Inc.•Durham, NC

About The Position

NetApp is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Partner Ecosystem Program Manager to join our team. This senior program management role focuses on ensuring our partners are technically enabled, operationally synchronized, and transformation-ready from an IT perspective. The role involves managerial responsibilities and significant experience in program management, partner relationship management, and strategic initiative execution.Key ResponsibilitiesJob Responsibilities 1.Partner Relationship Ownership:Serve as the primary systems point-of-contact for all external partners, including: Contract Manufacturers (CMs), Distribution Centers (DCs), 3PL/3PR providers, and OEM/Reseller/Channel partners.Establish structured communication, escalation paths, and process governance.Build productive long-term relationships with partners’ technical and operational teams to gain insight into partner system needs, performance, and constraints.Conduct Quarterly Business Review (QBR) meetings with strategic partners.2.Strategic Initiatives:Engage Operations leadership to identify operational improvement opportunities and strategic initiatives.Conduct business case development, including problem definition, expected benefits, cost/resource estimation, and ROI modeling.Prepare investment proposals and recommend portfolio decisions for senior leadership approval.Participate in recurring planning cycles, ensuring initiatives are prioritized, sequenced, and incorporated into the QBR agenda.Track and support initiative execution and benefit realization.3.Transformation & Program Alignment:Own intake and triage for partner-impacting IT issues.Support major NetApp transformation programs (e.g., ERP, WMS changes).Drive partner onboarding, testing coordination, training, and go-live enablement for transformation initiatives.Represent partner operational and system requirements within program decision-making.4.Partner Enablement & Change Management:Develop partner enablement frameworks for new systems, integrations, and operational processes.Facilitate system adoption and operational capability uplift across partner organizations.Evaluate enhancements using ROI, fulfillment life cycle, and Time-to-Customer impact.Align enhancement prioritization to Operations and IT strategy.Maintain systems enhancement backlog driven from both NetApp and partner inputs.

Requirements

Proven experience in program management, particularly in partner relationship management. Background in working with Contract Manufacturers (CMs), Distribution Centers (DCs), 3PL/3PR providers, and OEM/Reseller/Channel partners.
Strong understanding of IT systems and operational transformation.
Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to develop and execute strategic initiatives and business cases.
Experience in conducting QBRs and managing strategic partner relationships.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to evaluate ROI and impact on operational metrics.
Familiarity with major transformation programs and change management practices.

Nice To Haves

Minimum of 10 years of experience in supply chain and customer delivery models.
Extensive knowledge of ERP, WMS, and other relevant IT systems.

Responsibilities

Partner Relationship Ownership:Serve as the primary systems point-of-contact for all external partners, including: Contract Manufacturers (CMs), Distribution Centers (DCs), 3PL/3PR providers, and OEM/Reseller/Channel partners.Establish structured communication, escalation paths, and process governance.Build productive long-term relationships with partners’ technical and operational teams to gain insight into partner system needs, performance, and constraints.Conduct Quarterly Business Review (QBR) meetings with strategic partners.
Strategic Initiatives:Engage Operations leadership to identify operational improvement opportunities and strategic initiatives.Conduct business case development, including problem definition, expected benefits, cost/resource estimation, and ROI modeling.Prepare investment proposals and recommend portfolio decisions for senior leadership approval.Participate in recurring planning cycles, ensuring initiatives are prioritized, sequenced, and incorporated into the QBR agenda.Track and support initiative execution and benefit realization.
Transformation & Program Alignment:Own intake and triage for partner-impacting IT issues.Support major NetApp transformation programs (e.g., ERP, WMS changes).Drive partner onboarding, testing coordination, training, and go-live enablement for transformation initiatives.Represent partner operational and system requirements within program decision-making.
Partner Enablement & Change Management:Develop partner enablement frameworks for new systems, integrations, and operational processes.Facilitate system adoption and operational capability uplift across partner organizations.Evaluate enhancements using ROI, fulfillment life cycle, and Time-to-Customer impact.Align enhancement prioritization to Operations and IT strategy.Maintain systems enhancement backlog driven from both NetApp and partner inputs.