Strategic Partnership Manager

About this role

About us Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems. Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving. In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future. At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact. Make Wayve the experience that defines your career! The role Wayve is building the AI Driver to power autonomous mobility at global scale. We have launched in London, are preparing for Tokyo and are building toward the US — and none of it scales without fleet operations. Our fleet operations run through a network of external partners who deliver vehicle operations and driving data collection across the UK, Germany, Japan and the US, and that network has grown quickly. We are hiring a Strategic Partnership Manager to take global ownership of this partner network. You will own the relationships, the commercial terms and the performance standards, decide who we work with next, and build the operating model that lets the network scale. You will also be the fleet operations partnership expert our Robotaxi teams turn to as those services grow. This is a newly created role with real commercial accountability and high visibility across Fleet Operations, Safety, Legal, Finance and company leadership. Key responsibilities • Own end-to-end relationships with the external partners who deliver Wayve’s fleet operations across the UK, Germany, Japan and the US — building trust with partner leadership, navigating disagreements and leading major partner changes • Act as the primary link between regional Fleet Operations leads and partners, resolving performance, capacity and operating-model issues • Own contract negotiations, commercial terms, renewals and contractual compliance, and lead recurring partner reviews covering hiring, training, KPIs and operations • Scan the market, source and evaluate new partners, and bring diligence and proposals to leadership for decision • Lead partner onboarding, transitions and offboarding, ensuring operational continuity and carrying learnings across markets • Build the global playbook and performance framework for fleet operations partnerships, and support internal change initiatives that depend on partner alignment • Provide partnership and commercial support to our Robotaxi operations teams on fleet-related topics as our services scale About you In order to set you up for success as a Strategic Partnership Manager at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience. Essential • Strong ownership mindset, with a proven track record of managing strategic partnerships or outsourced/vendor relationships end-to-end and clear commercial accountability for the outcome • Experience negotiating commercial terms and contracts, and holding partners to KPIs or SLAs — including when performance slips • Operational depth: you have managed partners who deliver a frontline operational workforce, and you are credible on hiring ramp, training, utilisation and quality • Comfortable operating across multiple markets and time zones, building trust with partners and stakeholders in different cultures and operating models • Able to bring structure and momentum to fast-moving, ambiguous situations, particularly where a partner network has outgrown its operating model • A credible internal partner to operations leaders — you work through them rather than around them Desirable • 6+ years in strategic partnerships, vendor or outsourcing management, mobility or operations roles • Experience in mobility, autonomy, logistics or another highly operational or regulated industry • Experience managing partners in Germany, Japan and/or the US • Experience standing up a partnership operating model or playbook from scratch Wayve is committed to creating an inclusive interview experience. If you require any accommodations or adjustments to participate fully in our interview process, please let us know. We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self-driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply. At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law. For more information visit Careers at Wayve. To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve For US candidates only, please visit E-Verify Notice and Participation and Right to Work DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non-discriminatory.