What does the Partnerships department look like?

The Partnerships team sits within the revenue function at Bench. We drive impact on business growth by identifying new channels to market, while also bringing new product capabilities to Bench’s small business customers via partners.

Bench works with a range of innovative and diverse partners - from software platforms and fintechs to company formation agents, marketplaces and professional service firms - our partners are companies looking to expand their offering by providing their customers with a market leading bookkeeping and tax solution. Bench provides this through different modes of partnering: from referral and reseller relationships to embedded white-label solutions.

Our Partnerships team of seven is small yet well tenured at Bench. We have built strong foundations underpinned by our experience and a clear vision, however, we are still early enough in our journey that this new hire will have the opportunity to significantly shape the long-term design of our function.

We have a long-list of prospective partners who have shown a keen interest in working with Bench, which has created the demand for a well rounded, experienced partnerships professional who can qualify and realize our largest opportunities, while also applying their relationship management experience to ensure the retention and growth of our most strategic partners.

The Role

The Director, Channel Partnerships will take responsibility for Bench’s most strategic channel partners and prospects. This is initially an individual contributor position, however, the role will encompass functional leadership as we look to this person to direct our channel expansion efforts with software platforms, financial service companies and other technology enabled product companies. We also see a direct line to team management for this hire as the function grows.

We expect this person to operate as a leader within the team by coaching and mentoring others, helping to institute methods and tools which level up the function as a whole and to build impactful relationships with executive stakeholders at partners and within Bench to drive the Partnership team’s agenda forward.

The overarching goal of the Director, Channel Partnerships is to grow partner sourced revenue for Bench. You’ll benefit from a natural enjoyment of business development and crafting win-win deals with partners, while equally having the operational rigor and long-term mindset to nurture and grow existing partnerships.

What you’ll get up to:

• Manage the end to end partnerships lifecycle with Bench’s largest and most complex partner prospects - from the identification and qualification of new partners, to crafting mutually beneficial commercial terms and ensuring successful onboarding of new partners.
• Meet new prospects and effectively communicate the value of Bench’s Bookkeeping and Tax products. You will incite excitement with decision makers and instill a clear understanding of Bench’s offering for partners.
• Manage a small portfolio of existing partners that represent the highest potential for growth. You will develop effective stakeholder relationships, set and monitor targets, craft account plans and drive activities to cultivate growth within the account.
• Collaborate across various functions within the business - such as GTM, Legal, Product and Operations - to secure and prioritize resources to deliver on your opportunities with new and existing partners.
• Apply different modes of partnering as appropriate to the partner and Bench - complimenting a strong pipeline of referral and reseller partnerships with the identification of suitable white label partnerships; you will work in close collaboration with Product and Technology to inform Bench’s product roadmap as it relates to embedding its capabilities into partner platforms.
• You will pay close attention to the financial performance of your accounts. Working in concert with Finance and Operations, you will be well informed in the trajectory of your partners and be able to strategize ways to improve performance and direct the action required to deliver growth.
• You will operate as a player-coach to provide leadership to an enthusiastic, high performing partnerships team.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• 7+ years experience building and managing channel partnerships, ideally within a revenue function or driven by revenue outcomes.
• Existing relationships with partnership teams and decision makers in the North American software, technology or financial services sectors, developed through your experience working in one or more of these industries.
• A familiarity with, and enjoyment of deal making - you understand how to drive negotiations forward, craft win-win commercial terms, navigate objections and you generally thrive on the experience of closing a new deal.
• Experience setting and/or working to revenue targets - you will be comfortable with your performance being measured by commercial outcomes.
• A general manager’s mindset - you will enjoy the opportunity to “own” your portfolio of partners, you will understand their business and needs deeply, and you’ll be their primary advocate within Bench.
• Successfully launched product, marketing, and co-selling partner motions - you’ve seen partnership activities through to realizing attributable revenue.
• Experience operating in a highly matrixed organization; you will have the muscle of how to effectively work with other functions, navigating their competing priorities to secure and prioritize resources to drive your business forward.
• An aptitude for platform technology - you have an understanding of APIs, software integration, product led growth, and the development and execution of strategic roadmaps between platform companies.
• A self-starter mentality - while we pride ourselves on teamwork and being well coordinated as a function, we also operate in a remote first environment where individuals benefit from being self-directed in their work.
• An inclination to take action and accountability; your low ego means you’re often first to roll up your sleeves when things need to get done.
• Ultimately, the opportunity to 3X partnership revenue fills you with excitement and is a challenge that drives you.
• An activated curiosity and openness to being an equitable and inclusive leader. Our commitment to anti-racism and anti-discrimination as a company excites you.

It could be an even better fit if you:

• Have worked in, or have a good understanding of the accounting, bookkeeping and/or tax preparation market.
• Have worked in a medium to large business that serves North American small business customers.
• You are creative and analytically comfortable converting data (quantitative and qualitative) into insights, then action.
• A well-developed equity lens: You actively engage in leadership of teams and of strategic-level work with an equity lens and an eye for inclusivity. You don’t just accept equitable practices, you model and advocate for them on your teams and in your work.

What you'll get:

• At Bench we share information freely and openly whenever possible. On target earning are $157,980 - $189,100 USD with a component of these earnings made up of variable pay.
• In addition, we offer an extended benefits package that includes paid vacation, paid flex days, benefits stipend, and stock options.
• You’ll get access to Inkblot Therapy’s Employee and Family Assistance Program (EAP) that offers counseling and support, for you and family members, as well as professional development coaching, financial advice, legal advice and much more.
• Bench has a number of Affinity Groups - groups of people who have shared identities and experiences! The purpose of these groups is to support underrepresented Benchmates and amplify their voices.
• We currently focus our hiring efforts in the following states: Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and California.
• We provide solutions to bring all teams together for collaboration and connection.
• Regardless of how many days you decide to visit the office, you’ll have access to our Home Office Setup Fund to ensure that you have everything you need to work comfortably from home, from day one.
• You’ll have the opportunity to work from somewhere other than your home province for up to 90 days in a 12-month period.

Everyone has their own unique talents. Even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications outlined above, tell us why you’d be a great fit for this role in your application.

We believe that unchecked biases disproportionately impact the most marginalized people in society—including but not limited to BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+ people, immigrants, and people with disabilities. We strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or other marginalized communities because we believe that without you, we are all less. If you are selected for an interview and require support during the process, including disability accommodation, we'll give you the opportunity to tell us when we contact you.