Scope
What a head of partnerships actually owns
The question this role exists to answer: Which partners can reach our buyer more cheaply than we can, and what makes them want to.
Owns
- Partner recruitment and tiering
- Co selling motion and deal registration
- Technology alliances and integrations
- Marketplace listings and transactability
- Partner sourced and partner influenced pipeline
Shares
Does not own
- Direct new business quota
- Product roadmap
- Marketing budget outside partner programs
Timing
When to hire a head of partnerships
Too early
Before direct sales is repeatable, partners have nothing reliable to sell.
The right window
Five million in ARR and up, or earlier where the category sells predominantly through a channel.
Outgrown
Splits into channel, alliances and marketplace roles at scale.
How much work this actually is
At Series B, with none of it covered today, the functions in this role's scope represent roughly 0.9 full time equivalents. One hire covers this.
| Function in scope | Group | Full time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| Partnerships and channel Resellers, MSSPs, technology alliances, marketplace listings, co selling motion. |
Sales and revenue | 0.85 |
Run your own coverage grid to see what this number looks like at your stage, with your team and your existing coverage.
Compensation
What a head of partnerships costs
Structure matters as much as the number
A meaningful variable component tied to team or company performance, with base carrying the majority of on target earnings.
Equity: Commonly 0.1 to 0.3 percent at Series B.
Bands are directional, for scoping a description or a target range rather than making or accepting an offer. Benchmark figures are triangulated from the sources listed and refreshed with the data file. Live posted ranges come from GTM Radar and are only shown once enough matched postings exist to be meaningful.
Title confusion
Titles a head of partnerships gets confused with
Most mis hires in go to market are not bad candidates. They are the right candidate for a different job than the one the company actually needed.
Head of Partnerships versus Account Executive
Partnerships builds a channel that produces deals over quarters. An account executive closes deals this quarter. Companies impatient for pipeline sometimes hire partnerships and measure it like direct sales, which fails on both counts.
Requirements
What to actually require
Non negotiable
- Built a partner motion that produced sourced revenue, not just signed agreements
- Understands deal registration and channel conflict management
- Existing relationships in the relevant partner ecosystem
Genuinely optional
- Marketplace transactability experience
- Managed service provider channel experience where relevant
- Technology alliance and integration experience
Everything in this column belongs under a preferred heading, or out of the description entirely. Requirements lists that mix these two columns filter out strong candidates who self select away.
Tools this role works in
- CRM
- Partner management
- Analytics and BI
Name the specific platforms in the description. Platform experience is not fully transferable in operations and automation roles, and candidates screen themselves in or out on exactly this detail.
Before you post
Red flags in a head of partnerships job description
Screening
Interview questions that reveal fit
| Area | Question |
|---|---|
| Revenue | How much partner sourced revenue did you produce, and over what period from a standing start. |
| Conflict | Describe a channel conflict you had to resolve between a partner and a direct rep. |
| Selection | How do you decide which partners are worth investing in and which to let go. |
Measure the role on
- Partner sourced and influenced pipeline
- Active producing partners versus signed partners
- Partner deal win rate compared with direct
- Time from partner signature to first deal
First 90 days
First 30 days
- Audit existing partners for actual production
- Map the ecosystem and prioritize targets
By day 60
- Publish partner tiering and deal registration rules
- Sign or reactivate the first priority partners
By day 90
- First partner sourced opportunities in pipeline
- Deliver a partner plan with realistic revenue timing
Questions
Head of Partnerships hiring questions
How should a partnerships leader be measured?
On partner sourced and partner influenced pipeline and revenue, and on the count of partners actively producing rather than the count signed. Signed agreements are easy to accumulate and predict nothing about revenue.
When is it too early to hire for partnerships?
Before direct sales is repeatable. Partners will not invest effort in selling something the company itself has not proven it can sell, and a partner motion typically takes three to four quarters to produce revenue from a standing start.
Next step
Turn this into a job description scoped to your company
The reference above describes the role in general. The builder takes your stage, your team, your existing coverage, your territory and your stack, and produces a description scoped to the gap you actually have, with a scope load check before you post it.
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