Customer Automation Partnership Lead
HybridLondon, England, United Kingdom or Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Job Summary
Lead the European automation partner strategy, defining priority relationships and engagement approaches that support long-term business value. Manage the automation opportunity portfolio by qualifying opportunities based on commercial value, technical feasibility, and strategic fit. Act as the senior technical-commercial interface with OEMs and integrators, translating market intelligence into actionable input for product development, testing, and investment decisions. Mobilize cross-functional stakeholders across engineering, operations, and supply chain teams to resolve trade-offs and align responses on specification and solution design. Own the relationship portfolio with key automation vendors to strengthen Brambles' position as a preferred partner in automated supply chain environments.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (engineering, business, supply chain) or equivalent professional experience
- Significant experience leading complex technical-commercial relationships with OEMs, vendors, integrators, or strategic customers, ideally in automation, robotics, material handling, packaging, logistics, or supply chain environments
- Track record of shaping partner strategies, qualifying high-value opportunities, and influencing commercial or technical outcomes
- Experience influencing technical specifications, commercial positions, or solution design with external partners
- Demonstrated ability to operate credibly with senior internal and external stakeholders across commercial, engineering, product, quality, and operations functions
- Experience translating market, customer, and partner intelligence into actionable recommendations for product, testing, investment, or strategic priorities
- Experience working across multiple European markets, cultures, and stakeholder groups
- Technical fluency in pallet/packaging specifications and automation system requirements, sufficient to assess feasibility and credibly discuss trade-offs with engineers
- Strong commercial judgement, with the ability to assess opportunity value, strategic relevance, scalability, investment implications, and partner fit
- Skilled negotiator able to constructively challenge partner specifications while maintaining technical credibility, trust, and long-term relationship value
- Strong organisational agility, with the ability to navigate Brambles' operating model and mobilise the right stakeholders to create value for Brambles, customers, and automation partners
- Strong stakeholder influence skills, with the ability to mobilise operations, engineering, product, quality, and commercial teams quickly and effectively
- Working knowledge of European pallet and automation standards (e.g. EPAL, FEM, ISO) and awareness of regional differences in automation adoption
- Ability to synthesise market and competitive intelligence into clear, actionable input for R&D and leadership
- Comfortable managing multiple concurrent opportunities and priorities in a fast-evolving, ambiguous market
Desired Qualifications
- Engineering or technical degree/background, sufficient to engage credibly on spec discussions with appropriate technical independence
- Proficiency in additional European languages given the multi-market scope of the role
- Automation Strategy
- Innovation Management
- Partner Engagement
- Product Development
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