Carrier Partnerships Manager - NL

Sendcloud is the leading shipping platform in the Benelux, and our carrier network is the backbone of that success. As we move toward a high-growth, data-driven future, we are evolving how we manage these critical relationships. We are looking for a Carrier Partnerships Manager for the Benelux (formerly Strategic Alliance Manager).

This isn't a traditional purchasing job. You will be the operational and commercial owner of our Benelux carrier portfolio (in collaboration with our co-founder, Sabi), managing some of our most significant partnerships in a market that accounts for a large share of our €150M annual spend. You will transition these relationships from simple rate-card discussions to sophisticated, long-term strategic alliances focused on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and margin sustainability.

🧐 The Role

As the Carrier Partnership Manager for the Benelux, you are the primary architect of our home market carrier strategy. Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, you sit at the heart of our Strategic Alliances team.

Your mission is to move away from the yearly negotiation grind and instead build a stable, scalable economic engine. You will manage the full lifecycle of our Benelux carrier partners, from high-stakes negotiations and multi-year contract structuring to ensuring that our operational costs (surcharges, cost leakage, and indexation) are fully transparent and optimised. You will act as the critical bridge between our Benelux Sales/CS(M) teams and our carrier partners, ensuring that our product remains the most competitive in the region.

🎯 What you’ll do

• Own the Total Cost of Ownership for Benelux: You are responsible for the real cost of shipping. This means moving beyond just the label price to actively manage surcharges, credit lines, and address cost leakage within the Benelux.
• Drive Strategic Partnerships: Manage the entire life cycle of carrier partnerships and support (and in due time: lead) negotiations with major Benelux carriers (e.g., PostNL, DHL, DPD, Bpost) to secure multi-year agreements and clear indexation frameworks that provide long-term predictability.
• Build Relationships: Actively develop and manage key executive relationships with strategic partners on various levels within their organization (from Account Manager to C-level).
• Operational Value Realisation: Ensure that carrier partnerships actually deliver value. You’ll tackle operational reliability and service issues that impact direct customer satisfaction and margin quality.
• Carrier Strategy: You are responsible for developing, overseeing and executing your carrier partnership strategy with all carriers in the Benelux region. Setting the strategy and executing actions that will drive revenue growth based on our partnership with Benelux carriers.
• Internal Advocacy: Act as the voice of the Benelux carrier within Sendcloud. You will ensure that all relevant teams (Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Finance CS(M), etc.) understand Benelux-specific requirements.
• Data-Driven Negotiation: Utilise volume and performance data to build leverage, ensuring we grow with the right partners at the right margins.

✅ What you bring to the table

• Benelux Market Native: You have a deep understanding of the logistics and carrier landscape in the Netherlands & Belgium. You know the players, the industry, and the rules of the game.
• Solution Driven: You enjoy spending time in the Benelux market to understand carrier problems and find innovative solutions for our growth.
• Proactive: You are proactive in identifying new market opportunities for Sendcloud with our carriers.
• Communication: You are able to communicate in a clear, direct and professional way. You enjoy networking at events. You are a native Dutch speaker and fluent in English (written and spoken).
• Negotiation Mastery: You are a seasoned negotiator (or are willing to become one) who moves past us vs. them to find win-win multi-year structures.
• Analytical Skills: You don't just look at rates, you look at the total costs.
• Relationship Management: You have intrinsic motivation to connect with people in order to drive the business forward in the right direction.
• Commercial Sophistication: You understand how carrier costs directly impact Sales, CSM, and ultimately, our Profit & Loss statements.

You live by our core values:

• 💩 No bullshit: Honest, transparent, and real—even when it’s tough.

• 🎯 Grow & Win: Always learning, always improving.

• 🎠 Have fun: Be yourself and enjoy the ride with a team that’s got your back.

Benefits 🎉

• A flexible hybrid working model and a dedicated 500€ budget to set up your home office 🏠

• A good base salary that grows with the company and your accomplishments

• An additional bonus agreement based on team performance

• After 3 years of employment, you get a sabbatical of 4 weeks from us

• Keep growing with a study budget of €2000,- per year!

• Stay fit in our Sendcloud gym and weekly bootcamp sessions!

• Pension scheme

• Discount on health insurance

• Access to many different discount programs, shop til you drop! 🛍

Presence in Eindhoven: As this role manages our core market, you thrive being at our HQ 3-5 days a week, collaborating closely with the Benelux commercial teams, business control teams, product teams and the CCO.