Manager, Global Pipeline Strategy & Sales Development Planning

SLSQ427R609 The Global Pipeline Strategy & Execution team sits at the heart of Databricks’ GTM engine. We set the pipeline targets the company runs on, monitor global pipeline health, evaluate performance, and architect the future top-of-funnel operating model. We are seeking a strategic, high-leverage Manager / Senior Strategy Lead to serve as the central strategic spine for global pipeline strategy, executive pipeline governance, and long-term Sales Development (xDR) capacity and talent planning. In this role, you will lead the global pipeline strategy narrative, architect executive Cross-Functional Pipeline Councils, and drive capacity, coverage, compensation, and target-setting frameworks across our global Sales Development organization. As AI and automation transform routine prospecting tasks, you will redefine how our Sales Dev org operates - pairing AI-native capabilities with specialized human roles to unlock optimized coverage ratios while powering our enduring engine for Account Executive talent development. You will bridge high-level corporate strategy with operational execution - ensuring executive leaders have clear visibility, aligned targets, and structured strategic choices to maximize pipeline generation across all channels. The Impact You'll Have 1. Executive Pipeline Governance & Strategic Spine • Executive Pipe Councils Framework: Architect, scale, and orchestrate Executive & Cross-Functional Pipeline Council frameworks, operating cadences, and executive communications alongside senior leadership. • Central Pipeline Strategy Narrative: Own the global pipeline strategy narrative, synthesizing complex, multi-workstream performance insights into coherent executive presentations and leadership decision frameworks. • Cross-Functional Alignment: Foster seamless alignment across Sales, Sales Development, Marketing, Partner, Programs, and Product GTM teams to ensure leadership remains unified behind top strategic growth bets. 2. Next-Gen Sales Development (xDR) Strategic Planning & Talent Engine • Capacity & Coverage Modeling: Design and implement scalable xDR capacity and coverage models that integrate automation to optimize territory coverage, improve rep productivity, and drive deeper strategic account engagement. • Evolving Role Archetypes: Shape the long-term vision and pilot frameworks for specialized Sales Dev role archetypes aligned directly with company-wide growth, product expansion, and sales productivity targets. • Future AE Talent Architecture: Partner with Sales Dev leadership to design in-seat career progression architecture. Establish target-setting philosophies, compensation structures, and performance gates that develop xDRs into technically credible, high-performing Account Executives. 3. AI-Native Workflows & Operating Rigor • Operating Frameworks: Install repeatable cadences, standardized review frameworks, and governance models that increase velocity, eliminate friction, and improve cross-functional decision-making. • AI Builder Mindset: Proactively deploy AI tools (e.g., LLMs, conversational analytics, custom agents) to improve strategy team workflows, automate strategic reporting, and raise the bar for AI capabilities across the GTM strategy org. What We Look For • Radical ownership and speed: You own outcomes at pace, not just tasks. You are measured on the impact you deliver, not on effort. • Run-the-business operator: You want to own a business end-to-end and operate on the leader's behalf, not support from the sidelines. You earn trust through immersion and reliability, you're a doer as much as a designer, and you bring structure to ambiguity. • Technical and analytical horsepower: You want your hands in the data and to build, not just direct it - modern data & AI tools (advanced Excel, SQL, BI platforms, conversational analytics, custom agents), and you pick up new tools fast. • AI-fluent, and on the frontier: AI is part of your daily workflow as a multiplier, and you proactively keep up with the latest tools and trends. You enjoy being an early adopter, learn new technology fast, and turn it into enterprise-quality work while offloading operational load to it. • Proactive strategic instinct: You don't wait for the question; you spot the pattern, form a point of view, and bring the recommendation, framed around the leader's decisions. • Zero-defect operational rigor: Accurate, on-time, exec-ready output. You trace discrepancies to the root cause and won't ship something you can't defend. Strategy and operations are equally weighted. • Connective tissue, with sound judgment: You run toward cross-functional partnership, understand other teams' incentives, and make it easy to say yes. You see the org as a system rather than silos - with high honesty, integrity, and judgment. You document and teach what you build. • Executive presence and excellent communication: Command in front of Senior Directors, VPs, and BU leadership; you synthesize complex data into leader-ready decks, exec summaries, and quantitative business cases. • Relevant Experience & GTM Depth: Prior experience in GTM Strategy, Strategy & Operations, Sales Operations, or Management Consulting at a high-growth technology company, with deep understanding of capacity planning, coverage ratios, and top-of-funnel mechanics. What This Role Isn't • Not a pure strategy role: If you want to think but not execute, this isn't the right role. The operational parts of the job aren't optional - strategy and execution are equally weighted, and you are expected to build and run what you design. • Not an arm's-length role: This job rewards deep immersion in the business: the accounts, the team, the numbers. If you prefer to stay at the analytical surface or delegate execution from the sidelines, this isn't the right fit. • Not a "maintain-the-status-quo" position: Designed to continually evaluate and evolve target-setting philosophy, coverage models, and executive alignment