Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager-12 month FTC

 We have a 12 month FTC opportunity for a Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager to manage and develop strategic relationships with other major national telco providers, acting as the primary interface between VMO2 and these critical external partners. The role focuses on strengthening partnership engagement, ensuring effective governance, driving service and operational performance, and identifying opportunities to deliver additional business value through collaboration and relationship management.

Working across multiple internal functions, the role is responsible for representing business requirements, aligning internal stakeholders to partnership priorities, and maintaining strong executive-level relationships to support business performance, strategic objectives, service excellence, and long-term value creation.

At Virgin Media O₂, we connect people to the moments that matter most. Virgin Media leads the UK for broadband reliability, speed and overall performance, while O₂ keeps people connected on the move with award-winning coverage.

We’re also proud to be named one of the Financial Times Top 500 Best Employers for 2026, based on one of the UK’s largest employee satisfaction surveys.

Join us and you’ll be part of a team that stays curious, positive and focused on making life easier for our customers and each other. We’re investing in the future of connectivity, from expanding next-generation 5G to exploring satellite-supported solutions that help reach rural communities and hard-to-connect places. 

You’ll work with people who back good ideas and give you plenty of room to grow. So if you’re looking for a place where you can feel supported, trusted and genuinely valued, you’ll feel right at home here.

Our ways of working

We’re a flexible-first organisation, because we know people do their best work when they have choice and clarity. To support meaningful collaboration, we ask everyone to spend at least eight days a month connecting with each other in person.

That doesn’t just mean time in the office – it could be team meetings, offsites, volunteering days, cross-functional projects, or away days. What matters is making those moments count – so when we come together, it benefits everyone.

Accessible, inclusive and equitable for all 

We believe a better tomorrow starts with the choices we make today. That means moving the dial on diversity, building equity into everything we do and putting inclusion at the heart of our business.

Virgin Media O₂ is an equal opportunities employer and we work hard to remove bias and barriers. We want every person who joins us – and everyone thinking about joining us – to feel seen, heard and supported.

When you work with us, you’ll have access to our award-winning employee network groups. These communities bring people together, champion allyship and create uplifting spaces where you can learn, share and feel part of something bigger. They play a big role in helping people feel connected from day one.

In order to be considered for the role you must have the following skills:

• Proven experience managing strategic supplier, partner, wholesale, telecommunications or ISP customer relationships, with a strong track record of developing long-term trusted partnerships and influencing executive-level stakeholders.
• Strong capability to engage, influence and align stakeholders at all levels, internally and externally, with proven success in driving outcomes, resolving competing priorities and securing customer and business alignment.
•  Sound understanding of commercial drivers, customer value, contractual obligations and growth opportunities, with evidence of delivering tangible business outcomes.
• Proven experience leading governance forums, service reviews and partner performance discussions, ensuring accountability and continuous improvement.
• Strong understanding of supplier management, contractual governance, service delivery and telecommunications operations, supported by demonstrable examples from previous roles.

 We'd also love it if you could bring:

• Ability to champion customer outcomes and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver service excellence.
•  Previous experience working with other major national telco providers, or similar strategic telecommunications partners is highly desirable.
• Experience managing customer performance, service reviews and governance processes.
• Skilled at managing complex issues, customer escalations and achieving positive outcomes.

As you're already a valued member of the Virgin Media O2 crew, you'll know lots about the amazing stuff we do to take care of our people. If you need a reminder, head on over to the benefits portal via the main intranet site.

This opportunity is open to all employees. However, we will be prioritising any at risk employees who meet the minimum criteria which are outlined above. 

If you’ve got any burning questions or require reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please drop the recruiter a note.

Once you've applied the next steps of the process, if successful, are likely to include a competency interview with the Hiring Manager.