Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships
Job Description Summary:
The Coca-Cola Company is a total beverage company with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. The company’s purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference. Coca-Cola was introduced in Atlanta in 1886, and the company’s portfolio has grown enormously over time. Today, the company sells more than 30-billion-dollar brands across several beverage categories worldwide.
The company’s portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Water, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Fuze Tea, Gold Peak and Ayataka. Juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and Santa Clara.
The Coca-Cola Company employs about 66,000 people worldwide and operates through nine geographic segments, supported by global functions that drive scale and consistency across the system. Under CEO Henrique Braun, Coca-Cola is shaping its strategies and operating model to meet changing consumer preferences.
The global Coca-Cola system includes the company itself, plus more than 200 bottlers, collectively employing more than 700,000 people. The Coca-Cola Company sets enterprise strategy and leads brand marketing, innovation, partnerships and supply chain stewardship. Independent bottling partners manufacture, merchandise and distribute products.
Our Digital Transformation
The Coca‑Cola Company is evolving into a more digital‑first, data‑driven enterprise to fuel sustainable growth, increase speed to market, and unlock new sources of value. Rapid advances in technology, data, and AI create a unique opportunity to accelerate the Coca-Cola System’s next chapter of growth by reimagining our core competitive advantages. Building on a strong foundation of modernized infrastructure, global digital experiences, early data capabilities, and proven use cases, we are now shifting from early wins to scaled, end-to-end impact on growth, productivity, and efficiency.
This next phase moves us from an analog world to a fully digitized one, powered by a digital growth engine that embeds data, technology, and AI into our most critical business domains. Success will require more than technology implementation; it demands a strategic transformation of core capabilities, a domain-based, product-centric operating model, and a cultural shift toward experimentation, data and technology fluency, and seamless partnership between business and digital teams.
Position Overview
We are seeking a Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships to be the primary relationship manager and day-to-day execution lead for The Coca-Cola Company’s most important technology and AI partner relationships. Reporting directly to the Head of Partner Ecosystem, this role runs the partner portfolio, manages the pilot pipeline end-to-end, supports commercial negotiations, and ensures that every active partner engagement is tracked, governed, and delivering against agreed outcomes.
The ideal candidate is a senior technology partnerships professional with strong relationship management skills, deep knowledge of the AI and enterprise software landscape, and a proven ability to execute complex partner engagements with discipline and commercial rigor. You are the person who makes the partnership strategy real: converting executive intent into active relationships, structured pilots, and tangible results.
What You’ll Do for Us
Own the strategic partner portfolio: act as the day-to-day relationship owner for a portfolio of strategic technology partners, proactively managing working relationships, identifying opportunities, monitoring partner performance, and ensuring engagements continue to deliver business value
Lead partner-enabled innovation: coordinate AI and technology pilots from concept through evaluation, partnering with Product, Engineering, and business stakeholders to scope opportunities, prepare business cases, and position successful pilots for enterprise scaling
Support investment decisions: develop the analysis and recommendations to inform pilot funding decisions, monitor portfolio performance, and recommend opportunities to scale, continue, or discontinue investments
Support commercial negotiations and contract execution: prepare commercial analysis, vendor benchmarking, and negotiation materials that enable the Head of Partner Ecosystem to lead high-value negotiations effectively; coordinate with Legal, Finance, and Procurement throughout the contracting process to ensure timely review and execution
Build and maintain technology and AI market intelligence: continuously track developments in the AI, data, cloud, and enterprise technology vendor landscape. Prepare curated market intelligence briefs for the Head of Partner Ecosystem and internal stakeholders on relevant vendor capabilities, competitive dynamics, and emerging co-innovation opportunities. Identify prospective partners whose capabilities align with The Coca-Cola Company’s digital roadmap, with a recommended approach for initial engagement
Represent The Coca-Cola Company in partner and ecosystem engagements: participate in partner meetings, industry forums, and technology ecosystem events as a representative of The Coca-Cola Company. Build working-level relationships with counterparts at priority partner organizations that complement the executive relationships held by the Head of Partner Ecosystem
Drive cross-functional coordination on active partnerships: coordinate across Product and Engineering, Digital Strategy, Finance, Legal, and business stakeholders to ensure strategic partnerships progress efficiently and maximize business impact
Requirements & Qualifications
7 to 10+ years of experience in technology strategic partnerships, alliances, vendor management, or enterprise commercial roles, with demonstrated seniority and ownership of partner relationships
Track record of managing a portfolio of strategic technology partnerships at a working level, including maintaining executive relationships, tracking partner commitments, and driving outcomes across multiple concurrent engagements
Experience running structured pilot or proof-of-concept programs, including scoping, stakeholder coordination, milestone tracking, and evaluation
Strong working knowledge of the AI and enterprise technology vendor landscape, including familiarity with leading AI providers, cloud platforms, and the commercial models they use to engage enterprise customers
Experience supporting or co-leading commercial negotiations with technology vendors, including preparation of benchmarking analysis, commercial term comparisons, and negotiation materials
Strong financial literacy with experience tracking and reporting budgets, investment allocations, or vendor commercial performance
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to prepare high-quality written materials and represent The Coca-Cola Company credibly in senior partner and internal forums
Proven ability to operate effectively in a large, matrixed enterprise, coordinating across Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, and business teams to move partnerships forward
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Technology, Engineering, or a related field; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in a CPG, FMCG, retail, or consumer-facing enterprise, with familiarity with the technology and data vendor landscape relevant to those industries
Familiarity with AI and GenAI vendor commercial models and co-innovation structures, including experience engaging with providers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, or equivalent
Background in management consulting, digital transformation, or technology strategy
Experience working in a global organization with multi-region vendor and partnership governance requirements
Familiarity with procurement, data governance, and compliance considerations relevant to AI vendor engagement in an enterprise context
Ways of Working
Execution-oriented: takes clear direction from the Head of Partner Ecosystem and converts it into action; manages a complex portfolio of relationships and workstreams with discipline, keeping stakeholders informed and commitments on track
Relationship-driven: invests in genuine, trust-based relationships with external partners and internal stakeholders; understands that consistent follow-through and real engagement are what make partnerships productive over time
Commercially literate: brings strong analytical and commercial instincts to partner engagements; prepares well-grounded analysis that supports high-quality decision-making by the Head of Partner Ecosystem and senior leadership
Curious about emerging technology: stays current on the AI and enterprise technology landscape and brings a well-informed perspective on which vendors and capabilities are worth attention; comfortable engaging technical stakeholders and vendor product teams with credibility
Cross-functional and collaborative: builds trust and alignment across Product and Engineering, Digital Strategy, Finance, and Legal; gets things done through relationships and clear communication rather than authority
Structured and detail-oriented: manages the operational complexity of an active partner portfolio without losing sight of the bigger picture; produces clear, accurate, and well-organized reporting that gives leadership confidence in the state of the ecosystem
What We’ll Do for You
Place you at the operational center of The Coca-Cola Company’s technology and AI ecosystem, with direct responsibility for the partner relationships and pilot programs that are shaping the company’s digital future
Give you close working access to the Head of Partner Ecosystem and senior The Coca-Cola Company leadership, with real visibility into how strategic partnership decisions are made at the highest level of a global enterprise
Offer the opportunity to engage the world’s leading AI vendors, cloud platforms, and digital innovators as a senior representative of one of the most recognized consumer brands in the world
Provide a platform to develop deep commercial, relationship, and technology expertise across a fast-moving and high-priority function within The Coca-Cola Company’s Digital Organization
Support your career development through stretch assignments, cross-functional exposure, and access to world-class partners and networks across technology, AI, and digital transformation
Skills:
Pay Range:
United States of America: 193,000 USD - 224,000 USDBase pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.
Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:
30Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.
Location(s):
United States of AmericaCity/Cities:
AtlantaTravel Required:
00% - 25%Relocation Provided:
NoJob Posting End Date:
August 14, 2026Our Purpose and Growth Culture:
We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. When we collect your personal information as part of a job application or offer of employment, we do so in accordance with industry standards and best practices and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.