GDS Ecosystem Emerging Relationships Lead - Assistant Director

Job Title: GDS Ecosystem Emerging Relationships Lead

Job Span: Ecosystem and Alliances Program

Function: GDS ES Growth & Innovation

Skill Level: High

Rank: Assistant Director (63)

Sub Function: Alliances Partner Ops CoE

Reports to: GDS Alliance Contracts Lead

Role Purpose

The Emerging Relationships Manager is responsible for enabling, shaping, and operationalizing new and early‑stage ecosystem and alliance relationships, supporting their journey from initial formation through early scale and stabilization.

The role combines ecosystem formation rigor with foundational operations leadership, ensuring that emerging relationships are set up with the right governance, processes, insights, and stakeholder alignment to transition smoothly into mature, scalable alliances.

Role Summary

The Emerging Relationships Manager will act as a bridge between ecosystem formation and alliance operations, owning the operational and governance aspects of early‑stage relationships across the ecosystem lifecycle.

This role works closely with Service Line leaders, Risk, Independence, Legal, Finance, and Alliance leadership to ensure that new relationships are formed correctly, governed consistently, and operationalized effectively, while also identifying opportunities to standardize, scale, and optimize emerging alliance models.

Key Responsibilities

Ecosystem & Emerging Alliance Enablement

• Support the end to end formation and activation of new ecosystem and alliance relationships, working closely with global stakeholders across Service Lines, Risk, Independence, Quality, Legal, and Finance.
• Guide business teams through intake, approval, and onboarding processes, ensuring clarity of requirements and adherence to governance standards.
• Perform first level reviews of business cases, intake forms, and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, and readiness.

Operationalization & Early Stage Scaling

• Design and operationalize foundational operating models for emerging relationships, including roles, processes, reporting, and stakeholder engagement cadences.
• Partner with Alliance Operations and Markets teams to ensure a smooth transition from formation to steady state operations for relationships that demonstrate scale potential.
• Establish early tracking and reporting mechanisms (pipeline, activity, benefits, risks) to support informed decision making.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Drive adherence to risk management, independence, and quality control requirements throughout the lifecycle of emerging relationships.
• Maintain accurate records in ecosystem and alliance systems of record, ensuring audit‑ready documentation and traceability
• Support internal reviews and checkpoints to assess readiness for scale, continuation, or exit.

Insights, Process Improvement & Enablement

• Identify process bottlenecks and opportunities to simplify, standardize, and automate ecosystem formation and early operations activities.
• Develop playbooks, checklists, FAQs, and guidance materials to improve consistency and stakeholder experience.
• Translate operational data into clear insights and recommendations for senior stakeholders.

Stakeholder & Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Act as a central coordination point across Service Lines, GDS teams, and onshore leadership, ensuring alignment and timely progression of activities.
• Support leadership and governance forums through preparation of materials, status reporting, and action tracking.

Build trusted relationships with stakeholders involved in early‑stage alliances and ecosystem engagements.

Support efforts to ensure that the ecosystem formation process is documented, reviewed, and refreshed, on a regular basis

• Identify opportunities to educate global stakeholders on the ecosystem formation process to build awareness and promote adherence to the process
• Bring innovative thoughts, take proactive steps for improving the existing process. Find better ways to perform existing tasks through continuous process innovation, take the initiative in identifying possible bottle-necks and take suitable measures to mitigate them

Knowledge and Skill Guidance:

• Strong experience in ecosystem enablement, alliance formation, alliance operations, or partner program support within a global professional services or technology environment.
• Solid understanding of operating models, governance frameworks, and cross‑functional orchestration across complex stakeholder landscapes.
• Proven ability to operate effectively at the intersection of strategy and execution, particularly within ambiguous or early‑stage environments.
• Strong analytical, research, and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to structure issues, perform root‑cause analysis, and recommend practical, sustainable solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to succinctly articulate issues, risks, and process requirements, and confidently engage senior stakeholders across geographies.
• Highly organized and process‑driven, with strong program and project management capabilities and a consistent focus on quality, compliance, and first‑time‑right outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders across multiple geographies, time zones, and in a virtual, matrixed operating model.
• Strong attention to detail, with experience performing external research and due diligence to a high standard of accuracy and completeness.
• Ability to independently identify issues, develop mitigation strategies, and drive resolution to prevent recurrence.
• Experience applying continuous process improvement methodologies to simplify, standardize, and enhance operational effectiveness.
• Proficiency in core business tools, including MS Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and related collaboration and reporting platforms.
• Knowledge of EY and GDS operations, including organizational structure, operating model, and management information systems (for internal candidates).

Other Guidance:

Academics & Experience:

• Bachelor of Business Administration, Science, Commerce
• Masters in Business Admniistration
• 12+ years, years of experience in alliances, ecosystem management, operations, program management, or professional services environments.
• Prior experience within a Big Four, GSI, or ecosystem‑driven organization strongly preferred.
• Experience working across geographies and time zones in a global delivery model

Location:

• GDS Philippines, Manila

Working Hours:

• Flexible, based on assignment; substantial overlap with US time zones will be key

Note:

This job description is intended as a guide to reflect the principal functions of the job. However, it is not an all-inclusive listing of the required job functions and functions may vary depending business requirements, on the geographic location of the job and/or the manager. Further, the job description is subject to change at the discretion of management.