Director of Strategic Partnerships

About the Team

The Partners Team plays a critical role in extending that impact. We build and scale mutually beneficial relationships with leading LMSs, LXPs, HR platforms, and technology partners that distribute, bundle, or refer to OpenSesame's enterprise learning solutions globally. Our mandate is to create a scalable, tiered partner ecosystem that fuels indirect revenue, amplifies partner-led go-to-market motions, and delivers a world-class partner experience.

As Director of Strategic Partnerships, you will act as the architect and leader of this ecosystem, connecting strategy to execution, partners to product, and opportunity to revenue. You are a hands-on, player/coach leader who builds systems, drives outcomes, and leads by example.

You will define and evolve OpenSesame’s partner strategy, lead a global team of Strategic Partner Managers, own the programmatic maturity of the partner ecosystem, and serve as an executive-level partner to both internal leaders and external stakeholders.

Performance Objectives

Establish Strategic Clarity & Ecosystem Understanding (0–60 Days)

• Build deep working knowledge of OpenSesame’s partner ecosystem by meeting with the top 30 partners to understand their business models, goals, performance metrics, and integration requirements.
• Review existing partner processes, systems, reporting, and playbooks to identify scalability gaps and execution friction.
• Develop strong relationships with Strategic Partner Managers by observing partner touchpoints, including QBRs, enablement sessions, and joint planning meetings.
• Gain fluency in OpenSesame’s value proposition, competitive positioning, and integration approaches — including tradeoffs across different partner requirements.

Drive Program Insight & Early Impact (60–90 Days)

• Conduct and present a comprehensive SWOT analysis of the partner program, identifying growth blockers, operational inefficiencies, risks, and expansion opportunities.
• Define the critical path for ecosystem growth aligned to OpenSesame’s 30%+ annual revenue targets.
• Begin contributing individually to high-impact partner engagements, including QBRs and strategic planning sessions.
• Review and evaluate partner tiering, incentives, joint value propositions, and performance metrics to assess alignment with long-term strategy.
• Lead executive-level partner meetings, onsite visits, and strategic presentations.
• Establish clear expectations, goals, and communication cadences with your global team.
• Demonstrate early improvements in partner contribution metrics, including sourced revenue, influenced revenue, partner satisfaction, and depth of collaboration.
• Act as a trusted contributor to the Senior Management Team, helping refine OKRs, inform strategy, and represent the partner ecosystem across the business.

Scale the Partner Operating System (90–180 Days)

• Deliver a comprehensive three-year partner ecosystem strategy, outlining revenue milestones, GTM alignment, resourcing needs, operational improvements, and partner experience enhancements.
• Present cross-functional recommendations to Sales, Marketing, Product, and Operations to unlock partner-led growth.
• Launch key initiatives to evolve the partner program, such as improved onboarding workflows, refined partner tiers, enhanced enablement, and optimized operating processes.
• Establish a scalable partner governance model covering roadmap visibility, escalation paths, joint planning, and communication cadences.
• Build and launch internal and external partner reporting systems that track performance, pipeline, onboarding, enablement, and strategic outcomes.
• Optimize and operationalize the Partner Playbook to document best practices for forecasting, escalations, enablement, and partner management.
• Demonstrate measurable improvements in indirect pipeline contribution, funnel conversion, and partner engagement.
• Collaborate with Partner Operations to define scoring rubrics and threshold criteria for future partner tiers.

Deliver Sustained Ecosystem Growth (12+ Months)

• Serve as the executive owner for OpenSesame’s most strategic partners, leading roadmap alignment, joint business planning, and high-impact GTM initiatives.
• Drive ecosystem-led revenue growth through mature partnership models, strong executive relationships, and repeatable partner motions.
• Demonstrate sustained improvements in partner satisfaction, revenue contribution, and long-term collaboration depth.
• Lead complex partnership opportunities end-to-end, including structuring partnership models, executive negotiations, onsite engagements, and strategic presentations.
• Continue evolving the partner ecosystem to support OpenSesame’s global scale, product strategy, and long-term growth.

What Success Looks Like

• Partners consistently generate meaningful sourced and influenced revenue.
• The partner ecosystem operates with clarity, repeatability, and strong executive trust.
• Strategic partners see OpenSesame as a core, long-term growth partner.
• Internal teams experience strong alignment and confidence in partner-led GTM motions.
• The partner program scales with structure, accountability, and measurable impact.

You might notice we don’t list a traditional set of requirements or buzzwords here. That’s intentional. We’re looking for proven examples from your career that show you can build systems, lead teams, scale ecosystems, and drive results.

When you look back a year from now, you’ll know you’ve made OpenSesame stronger, faster, and more scalable because of the partner organization you built and led.

Location: This is a remote role open to candidates based in the United States or Canada. OpenSesame is a remote-first company, and this position requires approximately 25% travel for partner engagements, senior leadership collaboration, industry and team events.

Compensation: The base salary for this position typically ranges from $180,000 to $220,000 USD annually, depending on experience. This role is also eligible for up to a 30% bonus. At OpenSesame, we offer a comprehensive benefits package to employees upon hire, including professional development, ISOs, health insurance, 401(k) matching, and paid time off. 

Performance Driven: We're looking for self-starters with a track record of delivering excellent results, and we're highly selective about who we hire. We don't focus on typical job requirements, instead, we're interested in specific examples from your past experiences.