Vice President (VP) of Carriers

About the role

Our client is seeking a highly strategic and results-driven Vice President of Carriers to lead the development, negotiation, and management of global roaming agreements for their fast-growing eSIM business.

This role is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with mobile network operators worldwide, ensuring access to competitive rates, extensive coverage, and high-quality service. This role is critical to the financial and operational success of the company, as it will be responsible for increasing our gross margin.

Role overview

Our client is seeking a highly strategic, commercially astute, and results-driven Vice President of Carriers to lead and scale their global carrier strategy in support of the rapidly growing eSIM business. This executive will be responsible for the end-to-end development, negotiation, and management of global roaming and interconnect agreements with mobile network operators (MNOs), ensuring optimal coverage, pricing, and service quality across all regions.

In this critical leadership role, the VP of Carriers will drive initiatives to increase gross margin, optimize carrier relationships, and improve operational efficiency. Success in this role requires a deep understanding of the telecom ecosystem, exceptional negotiation skills, and the ability to align technical, operational, and commercial priorities. The VP will also oversee a high-performing team, foster strong cross-functional collaboration, and spearhead continuous improvement in carrier performance and cost optimization.

This position plays a key role in enabling the scalability and profitability of their global connectivity solutions.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the global strategy for partnerships with mobile network operators (MNOs) and roaming platforms to enable international roaming services via eSIMs.
• Negotiate high-value commercial agreements with carriers, securing competitive pricing and favorable terms.
• Identify and develop new partnership opportunities with carriers in key and emerging markets.
• Build and maintain senior-level relationships with telecom stakeholders to ensure long-term cooperation.
• Optimize existing agreements to improve margin, service quality, and coverage footprint.
• Manage and mentor a global team of carrier and wholesale relationship managers. This team is divided into two groups:
• Business Development and account management
• Carrier operation Managers
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, and marketing teams to support product expansion and technical integration.
• Track and analyze key KPIs related to roaming performance, cost structure, and carrier performance.
• Represent the company at major industry events and conferences (e.g., MWC, ITW, WAS, GSMA forum, etc.).

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in senior leadership roles within the telecommunications or mobile industry, preferably in roaming, wholesale, or carrier partnerships. (H)
• Deep understanding of eSIM technologies, roaming frameworks, and international connectivity business models. (H)
• Past experience in Product Department is a plus.
• Proven track record in negotiating and managing roaming or wholesale agreements with a total value at least of +€75M annually. (S)
• Strong global network of industry contacts, especially within Tier 1 and Tier 2 MNOs. Should act as a leader for both “hunter / farmer” profiles. (S) Examples:
• América Móvil, China Mobile, T-Mobile…

• Excellent negotiation, communication, and leadership skills (S)

• Fluent in English (written and spoken); additional languages such as Spanish or other languages would be a plus (H)
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, multicultural, and high-growth environment. Needs to be a candidate “ahead of time” (S), with experience pushing deals from the earlier stage until signature.
• Candidate must be comfortable understanding the telco environment / platform that supports the company (S).
• Proven experience with core networks in MVNOs is a plus.

• Willingness to travel up to 50% of the time, including internationally.

Originally posted on Himalayas