Job title:
Partner manager
Reports to:
Head of Partnerships
Direct reports:
None
Accountabilities:
The Partner Manager will play a pivotal role in driving commercial growth and strategic impact through GS1 UK’s partner ecosystem. This role is about more than programme management — it requires a commercially minded professional who can identify high-value opportunities, influence senior stakeholders, and translate partnerships into measurable outcomes for GS1 UK and its members.
The Partner Manager will initially focus on GS1 UK’s healthcare and construction portfolios, building strong pipelines of strategic partnerships and delivering measurable outcomes in these priority sectors. As GS1 UK expands into new markets, the role will broaden to cover additional verticals, creating opportunities to embed GS1 standards more widely, influence sector adoption, and generate long-term value by aligning partner success with GS1 UK’s mission.
Key responsibilities:
Management of the Partner Programme
• To proactively identify and secure new partners for the programme, targeting those with the capability to integrate GS1 standards into their solutions and drive adoption at scale.
• To facilitate and drive the relationship with GS1 UK partners, ensuring recognition of, and delivery against, GS1 UK priorities.
• Working with the Head of Partnerships, further improve the GS1 UK partner programme. This will include ensuring the annual roadmap review process, relevant partner approvals and regular communications are taking place with every partner.
• To keep abreast of all relevant legislation and regulation within that impacts on partner organisation.
• To ensure the efficient running of the partner programme. This includes invoicing, communications, website upgrades and ensuring partners are abiding by the rules of the programme.
• To work with the GS1 UK standards & consulting team on ensuring GS1 standards are actively promoted.
Delivery of events
• To support the Head of Partnerships and other leaders in GS1 UK in relevant national activity such as the representative groups and conferences, including speaker acquisition and preparation.
• To work with teams within GS1 UK to ensure the successful delivery of the GS1 UK conferences which includes partners where appropriate.
• To support the development and delivery of GS1 UK partner events.
• To maximise revenue from events.
Building relationships
• To lead the partner team’s key account management programme ensuring that appropriate and complete information is held in GS1 UK’s business systems.
• To support the Head of Partnerships develop the partner programme across the remit of GS1 UK – to include healthcare, retail, traceability and sustainability.
• To work with the GS1 UK standards and consulting team to arrange and deliver the highest quality training to our partners.
Person specification
Background and experience
Essential
• Experience within healthcare and/or construction, ideally with exposure to retail or supply chain ecosystems.
• Demonstrated ability to build, manage, and convert a commercial pipeline, with clear evidence of delivering revenue growth or market adoption.
• Strong key account management experience, including senior-level engagement and influencing, segmentation and tiering frameworks.
• Proven track record of turning partnerships into measurable commercial outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to distil complex value propositions for different audiences (executives, technical teams, and partners)
• Comfortable negotiating commercial agreements and managing competing interests.
• High level of business acumen, able to spot cross-team and cross-sector opportunities.
• Experience facilitating partner or industry groups towards strategic consensus and sector-wide solutions.
• Strong collaborator, experienced in cross-functional environments and delivering against strategic plans.
• Demonstrable proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications (e.g. Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel) and cyber security awareness aligned with the UK Cyber Essentials framework, including secure working practices, threat recognition, and responsible data handling.
Desirable
• Understanding of GS1 standards, systems, and their commercial application.
• Experience scaling digital solutions into healthcare, construction, or retail markets.
• Knowledge of ecosystem dynamics (e.g. marketplaces, SaaS platforms, supply chain technologies).
Personal strengths and style
• Ability to create and build long term relationships with senior partners in any industry.
• A natural communicator with experience in engaging many people in different environments.
• Has gravitas: able to represent the voice of the partner and manage competing demands with peers and senior colleagues.
• Thrives on having a wide variety of activities to deliver.
• Ability to be strategic and willingness to examine detail where necessary.
• Has a bias for action and delivery against clearly agreed action plans.
• Self-driven and willing to hold self and peers to account.
• Curious and creative: seeking out new opportunities.
• Excellence: Strive to deliver beyond expectations.
• Professional: Ethical, honest and respectful.
• Collaborative: Building partnerships through open communications.
Why join us?
As a colleague at GS1 UK you will enjoy a supportive working environment along with a generous amount of benefits available to you.
• A healthy work life balance (hybrid working with flexibility on start and finish times).
• 25 days annual leave (excluding bank holidays) with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days every year.
• Join our social and charity team events.
• Generous pension scheme with employer contributions up to 12%.
• Life assurance policy (5x annual salary) to give you a peace of mind.
• Full range of benefits available (PMI, dental, travel, gym membership and many more).