Partner Development Manager - Middle East

Who are we?

Our mission is to scale intelligence to serve humanity. We’re training and deploying frontier models for developers and enterprises who are building AI systems to power magical experiences like content generation, semantic search, RAG, and agents. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI.

We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. We like to work hard and move fast to do what’s best for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are passionate about their craft. Each person is one of the best in the world at what they do.

We believe that a diverse range of perspectives is a requirement for building great products.

The Middle East is undergoing a remarkable transformation, driven by ambitious national visions like Saudi Vision 2030 and the UAE’s AI Strategy. Enterprises across the region are accelerating their digital transformation and AI adoption, creating a unique and exciting market inflection point. At Cohere, we’re committed to partnering with forward-thinking organizations to unlock the potential of generative AI and shape the future of innovation in the Middle East.

• Define and execute Cohere’s partner-go-to-market plan for the Middle East Enterprise Market, aligning with regional business objectives.
• Partner with the broader GTM team to identify and recruit high-impact partners across system integrators, distributors, resellers, ISVs, and cloud providers.
• Develop relationships with key stakeholders across the partner ecosystem to ensure success of the partnership.

• Lead partner onboarding, certification, and training programs to ensure partners are equipped to sell, deploy and manage Cohere’s solutions effectively.
• Collaborate with enablement to scale partner enablement in the Middle East through sales and technical workshops, empowering them to deliver value to enterprise customers.

• Own joint pipeline generation by creating co-sell motions, solution plays, and strategic joint go-to market motions that align Cohere’s capabilities with enterprise mission needs and procurement cycles.
• Collaborate with partners to identify and pursue high-value opportunities across the Middle East.

• Ensure partners are aligned with Cohere’s strategic goals and performance metrics.
• Run joint business planning sessions and quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with partners, tracking sourced and influenced ARR against targets.

• Serve as the voice of the partner within Cohere, relaying feedback to Product, Engineering, and Legal teams.
• Work with Coheres Public Policy teams to navigate the government’s AI policies to advise partners on risk management and responsible AI best practices.

• Evangelize Cohere’s vision and solutions at partner and industry events, positioning Cohere as a leader in responsible GenAI in the Middle East market.
• Build thought leadership through briefings, speaking engagements, and collaborative initiatives.

• 8+ years experience in partner development, channel sales, or alliance management within the tech industry, preferably in AI or cloud solutions, with a track record of enterprise ARR contribution.
• Deep understanding of the Middle East enterprise market and key industry verticals with existing relationships with government entities, enterprises and partners in the region.
• Strong relationship-building and negotiation skills, with a track record of driving partner success.
• Ability to navigate complex regulatory and compliance landscapes, including AI ethics and government policies.
• Working understanding of AI (LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation, agentic workflows).
• Experience working with major system integrators, global consultancies, and hyperscalers including joint GTM and co-sell motions.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the…