Head of Software Partnerships Pasadena, CA

Head of Software Partnerships - Hybrid Role - NO SPONSORSHIP - MUST BE A US CITIZEN

Must be able to commute to Pasadena 1-2 days a week.

This is a HUNTER role, not an account manager. MUST have experience selling to organizations that produce software, specifically accounting and tax software. The CSO wants someone who has run partnership programs for companies that produce software that CPAs and CFOs use.

Pasadena, CA | Direct Hire | $150,000–$175,000 Base + Commission | 1st year $200,000–$250,000 OTE

The Adecco Permanent Recruitment Team has partnered with a growing specialty tax solutions provider to identify a Head of Software Partnerships to drive strategic alliances, expand software partnership channels, and create new revenue opportunities.

This senior-level role will work closely with executive leadership, Sales, Marketing, and Product Management to identify and develop high-value partnerships, negotiate commercial agreements, and build scalable programs that support revenue growth and product adoption.

The ideal candidate combines strategic vision with hands-on execution and has experience building partnership ecosystems, leading complex negotiations, managing affiliate programs, and translating market opportunities into measurable business results.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Partnerships & Business Development

• Develop and execute a strategic partnership roadmap aligned with company growth objectives.

• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize opportunities across software platforms, marketplaces, technology providers, referral networks, and complementary business ecosystems.

• Build relationships with senior executives at prospective partner organizations and lead partnership discovery, qualification, and business case development.

• Negotiate and structure complex commercial agreements, including referral, affiliate, revenue-share, marketplace, co-selling, embedded, and white-label partnerships.

• Coordinate internal stakeholders to move partnership opportunities from initial concept through agreement, launch, and ongoing growth.

Affiliate & Channel Program Leadership

• Lead and optimize affiliate marketing and partner programs, including recruitment, onboarding, activation, incentive structures, and performance management.

• Develop scalable partnership processes, including partner tiers, enablement standards, governance, reporting, and performance reviews.

• Manage partner inquiries and provide timely support related to program policies, tracking links, payments, and enablement.

• Align partner and affiliate initiatives with broader marketing campaigns, demand generation, and software revenue goals.

Go-to-Market & Product Alignment

• Collaborate with executive leadership, Marketing, Sales, and Product Management to translate partner insights and market demand into product and commercial strategies.

• Incorporate customer feedback, partner needs, positioning, packaging, and launch readiness into product planning.

• Develop partner onboarding and enablement resources, including sales materials, pitch decks, pricing guidance, demos, FAQs, and partnership playbooks.

• Lead joint go-to-market initiatives such as webinars, marketplace listings, co-marketing campaigns, events, and content collaborations.

• Establish regular partner communications, pipeline reviews, enablement sessions, and business performance reviews.

Performance & Revenue Optimization

• Establish and monitor key partnership metrics, including partner-sourced pipeline, affiliate performance, closed revenue, activation, conversion, and channel contribution.

• Implement tracking, attribution, CRM processes, dashboards, and reporting to measure partnership effectiveness.

• Continuously improve partner economics, incentives, messaging, workflows, and enablement to maximize growth and efficiency.

Qualifications

• 8–15+ years of experience in partnerships, strategic alliances, business development, strategic sales, corporate development, or a related field.

• Proven success negotiating and closing complex partnership agreements and commercial arrangements.

• Experience developing and scaling partnership programs, channel strategies, affiliate programs, or partner-led revenue models.

• Strong understanding of revenue models, joint go-to-market strategies, contract structures, incentives, and partnership economics.

• Experience identifying and developing strategic commercial, technology, channel, or ecosystem partnerships.

• Ability to build repeatable processes, playbooks, governance models, and performance measurement systems.

• Familiarity with Salesforce or comparable CRM platforms, partnership management tools, and analytics dashboards.

• Experience with affiliate partnership platforms such as AWIN or impact.com is highly desirable.

• Strong executive presence, communication, negotiation, and cross-functional leadership skills.

• Ability to connect market opportunities and partner feedback with product strategy, positioning, and commercial execution.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Digital Marketing, Communications, Advertising, or a related field preferred.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to shape and scale a strategic software partnership function, work directly with executive leadership, and build commercial relationships that contribute meaningfully to product adoption and revenue growth.

If you have a track record of turning strategic partnerships into measurable business results and enjoy building programs from the ground up, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect.

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