Business Development Manager - Strategic Sales

Thoughtworks · London, United Kingdom

2Z_UKSTH Regional Markets London Posted May 7, 2026

We are a global software consultancy and a community of passionate, purpose-led individuals. We think disruptively to deliver technology to address our clients; toughest challenges, all while seeking to revolutionize the IT industry and create positive social change.

Thoughtworks is seeking industry- and market-relevant business development leaders to join and lead our client growth in the UK region. Business Development Executives at Thoughtworks are responsible for developing and securing a pipeline of new opportunities and building relationships with both new clients and in new areas of existing client organizations.

The role of Business Development Director, reporting to the Head of Strategic Sales holds responsibility for the conversion of our largest and most complex sales to establish long-term client partnerships and revenue growth.

This is a critical commercial role with the responsibility for owning the end-to-end sales process to attract and on-board new strategic clients, and for driving plans on how to undertake demand generation within the UK&I region.

Industry Expertise and Strategic Focus

You will bring deep expertise, insights, and credibility in one or more of the following key industries:

Life Sciences, Medical Technology & Devices
Manufacturing & Automotive
High Tech
Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI)
Federal and State Government (Public Sector)
Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Transportation, Travel & Logistics.

Job responsibilities

You will generate and develop business relationships and sales pipeline with an approach that maximises both revenue and profitability, working to support agreed sales targets.
You will focus to nurture inbound leads through to a large enterprise sales.
You will proactively target enterprise clients with compelling tailored propositions.
You will effectively interact with all other relevant internal departments including Service Lines, Finance, Legal, Staffing and Professional Services teams.
You will have a close partnership with UK & European management and marketing teams, to foster energy and support for developing projects and new market propositions alike.
You will build investment strategies to strengthen and progress the our domain focus through a multi year evolutionary approach.

Job qualifications

Technical Skills

Whilst this is a fully commercial role, Thoughtworks are a “technology at core” organisation.
We have found that sales leaders who possess a deep understanding of the key aspects of agile and/or lean practices can often navigate our organisation ethos and goals for these lead roles more adeptly than traditional Commercial Managers or Sales Directors.
With this in mind Thoughtworks are seeking a broad range of key skill sets to match the very interesting proposition we are working towards.

Professional Skills

You are an exceptional communicator, who can influence at board level, while being flexible and adaptable enough to collaborate with internal teams on complex delivery solutions.
You can bring in a broad network of industry contacts to improve and strengthen Thoughtworks’ presence in the market, and to develop our external technical communities.
Your networks within the community will ensure that we are deft at attracting and retaining the best talent, who you can motivate and derive the best from.
You manifest a track record of fostering growth and the experience of handling in excess of £20m worth of new business per annum.
You will have led and developed high caliber teams looking to thrive in frenetic fast-growing conditions and have the ability to bring order, structure, and direction.
You exemplify high EQ and IQ in order to work with empathy in an organisation with a very creative culture of talented people.
You have excelled at executive level customer relationship management, and can thrive via a reciprocal and non-hierarchical work style.
You are comfortable finding your way in an ambiguous environment, you thrive on autonomy and are willing to be held accountable for your actions and results.

Other things to know

Learning & Development

There is no one-size-fits-all career path at Thoughtworks: however you want to develop your career is entirely up to you. But we also balance autonomy with the strength of our cultivation culture. This means your career is supported by interactive tools, numerous development programs and teammates who want to help you grow. We see value in helping each other be our best and that extends to empowering our employees in their career journeys.

About Thoughtworks

Thoughtworks is a dynamic and inclusive community of bright and supportive colleagues who are revolutionizing tech. As a leading technology consultancy, we’re pushing boundaries through our purposeful and impactful work. For 30+ years, we’ve delivered extraordinary impact together with our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with technology as the differentiator. Bring your brilliant expertise and commitment for continuous learning to Thoughtworks. Together, let’s be extraordinary.

See here our AI policy.

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Partner Business Development Manager – Data & AI

Thoughtworks · London, United Kingdom

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24_TWUKD OPS - Ecosystem Sales London Posted May 5, 2026

Thoughtworks is looking for a seasoned Partner Business Development Manager to own and scale our Europe partnerships with the Data and AI ecosystem. This is not an alliance role. It's a revenue-driving, pipeline-generating, deal-closing position that sits at the intersection of strategic partnership and enterprise sales.

You'll be the single Europe owner of the Data & AI partners, responsible for turning a high-potential partnership into a compounding growth engine. You'll define joint go-to-market strategy, embed Thoughtworks capabilities into Data and AI partners (Databricks/Snowflake) field motions, and close complex, multi-party Data & AI transformation engagements alongside Databricks/Snowflakes' own sales and partner teams.

You are the tip of the spear. Databricks/Snowflake sellers should know your name, take your call, and want to bring you into deals. If that's not true from day one, it becomes your first problem to solve.

Job responsibilities

Own the Europe Data & AI partner ecosystem sales — and the Relationship Behind It Be the primary owner of the Databricks/Snowflake partnership Europe. That means more than managing a business plan — it means knowing at all times how Databricks/Snowflake ranks Thoughtworks relative to other SIs, what our attributed contribution looks like in their eyes (not ours), and what you're actively doing to close any perception gaps. Pipeline numbers matter. But if we're hitting a number while Databricks views us as a low-value contributor in their ecosystem, that is a failure.
Generate Pipeline — Without Waiting for Anyone Else Own pipeline generation and revenue targets for the Data & AI alliance. You will not wait for marketing campaigns, polished offerings, or perfect conditions to engage the market. You'll maintain a live target list of 10–15 Databricks/Snowflake sellers and contacts you are actively cultivating, a clear conversational pitch for our top offerings you can deliver without a deck, and a pipeline-building plan that is entirely within your control. When campaigns and demand gen programs arrive, you pour fuel on a fire that is already lit.
Show Up Early and Create Energy Around Emerging Capabilities The best partner sales leaders use early-stage narratives to open doors — they don't wait for a finished deck. When Thoughtworks has an emerging Data & AI capability, your job is to be out in the Databricks/Snowflake field creating excitement around it. Pick up the phone. Get in front of sellers. Create pull before the offering is fully baked.
Shape and Execute Joint Go-to-Market Strategy Define and continuously evolve the Thoughtworks + Databricks/Snowflake joint GTM narrative — spanning Data Intelligence Platform, Mosaic AI, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Unistore and Databricks' broader ecosystem. Align with Databricks/Snowflake counterparts on priority verticals, target accounts, and solution plays. Orchestrate tri-party co-sell motions that weave in hyperscaler relationships (AWS, Azure, GCP) where Databricks/Snowflake is the data and AI layer of choice.
Integrate Offerings into Client Engagements Embed Databricks/Snowflake-based solutions into Thoughtworks proposals, POCs, and delivery plans across Data Engineering, ML/AI, GenAI, and Analytics modernization. Advise clients and internal teams on when Databricks/Snowflake is the right platform choice. Coordinate across delivery, marketing, and sales to ensure a seamless partner and client experience.
Build Practice Presence and External Credibility Develop Thoughtworks' Databricks/Snowflake reputation in the market through thought leadership, joint events, Databricks Summit participation, and reference client development. Champion Databricks/Snowflake capability internally by growing certifications, enablement, and a community of practice.
Move Fast and Communicate Clearly When there's a problem, bring a plan — not a 30-slide deck. What's the issue, what are you doing about it, when will results show, and what do you need unblocked. When there are obstacles — and there will be — come with what you've already done to work around them, not just a list of dependencies. Simplicity signals clarity of thought.

Job qualifications

Technical Skills

Market-facing energy and a proactive mindset. You ask yourself every week what you've done to create pipeline momentum that didn't depend on anyone else. If the answer is nothing, that's a problem — and you know it.
Deep Databricks/Snowflake ecosystem knowledge. Hands-on familiarity with the Databricks/Snowflake platform — Data Intelligence Platform, Mosaic AI, MLflow, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog — and a clear understanding of their partner GTM programs, internal incentives, and how to position a services partner as indispensable to their field teams.
A track record of alliance revenue, not just alliance activity. You've built a named technology partnership that generated measurable, attributable pipeline and closed revenue. You know the difference between a relationship and a revenue engine — and you've built the latter.
A network you activate, not just a rolodex. You have existing relationships with Databricks/Snowflake sellers, partner success teams, or equivalent hyperscaler field teams that you can activate from day one.
C-level credibility. You've influenced senior enterprise stakeholders on strategic data and AI transformation decisions and can bridge the technical and commercial — speaking with authority to data engineers and architects, and translating that into business value narratives for the C-suite.
A 60-second pitch for our top offerings. You can walk into a hallway conversation with a Databricks/Snowflake seller and excite them about what Thoughtworks brings — without a deck, without a slide, and without warming up. It doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to be compelling.
Solutions orientation. You understand that dependencies are real — marketing takes time, offerings evolve, internal alignment is messy. The difference is: you tell us what you're doing in the meantime, not just why something can't happen yet.

Professional Skills

Significant progressive experience in strategic alliances, partner sales, or business development within the Data & AI or enterprise technology space.
Demonstrable experience working with or within Databricks'/Snowflake partner ecosystem — either from the Databricks/Snowflake side or as a GSI/consulting partner.
Proven success closing large, complex Data & AI transformation deals in co-sell or channel motions.
Practical exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) as they relate to Databricks/Snowflake deployment and go-to-market.
Willingness to travel for partner engagements, client meetings, and industry events including Databricks Summit.

Other things to know

Learning & Development

Responsible Use of AI in Recruitment

At Thoughtworks, we use AI tools to support our recruitment team with administrative tasks such as drafting communications, scheduling interviews and writing job descriptions.

Crucially, our AI tools do not screen, assess, rank or make hiring decisions. Every application is reviewed by our team and all selection decisions are made exclusively by our interviewers and hiring managers.

We are committed to fairness and responsible AI. We actively manage our AI systems by testing, monitoring for biased outcomes and implementing mitigation measures. We hold our third-party vendors to these same high standards through a rigorous governance process. For additional information, please see our full Thoughtworks AI Policy for Recruitment.

About Thoughtworks

See here our AI policy.

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