What Does a Partner Manager Do? And How Can You Land the Role?

The role of a partner manager is growing rapidly, especially in B2B SaaS companies—from nimble startups to enterprise-level organizations. If you’re in sales, marketing, or customer success and considering a shift to partnerships, here’s what you need to know—based on reviewing 50+ partner manager job descriptions from 2024.

Role Overview: What Is a Partner Manager?

A partner manager builds and nurtures relationships with external partners—agencies, tech providers, affiliates—to hit targets like revenue growth, product integrations, and referrals. They collaborate closely with sales and marketing teams and often report to leadership roles like CROs or Heads of Partnerships.

Key traits for success:

• Proven partnership or sales background
• Strong communication and interpersonal abilities
• Strategic thinking with a results-driven mindset

Core Responsibilities

While job titles vary, most roles include these key accountabilities:

Drive Partner-Led Revenue
You’ll be responsible for growing income directly attributable to partners and will need to track conversions. Candidates should be ready to share concrete results—percentages, figures—on how they influenced revenue.

Recruit New Allies
Growing a partner ecosystem requires identifying and onboarding the right people—marketing your program, attracting vetted applicants, and keeping a healthy pipeline.

Boost Engagement
Keeping partners actively involved is crucial. From onboarding and newsletters to check-ins and co-selling—engagement is a driver of output. Your job is to test and refine outreach to maximize impact.

Build Strategic Alliances
For high-value partnerships, your role includes scouting opportunities, cultivating trust, planning initiatives together, and analyzing outcomes to build win-win relationships.

Design Partnership Programs
Whether launching a new program or revamping an existing one, partner managers often build the structure—strategy, KPIs, tiers, incentives—from scratch.

Create Assets & Enablement Tools
Successful programs include go-to-market materials, training modules, co-branded marketing collateral, marketplace listings, and integration guides. You often help design or coordinate these assets.

Go-to-Market Planning
Helping partners make a strong launch—via product announcements, webinars, and content—can drive early momentum and align expectations.

Improve Product + Customer Experience
Strong partner managers bridge partners and internal teams—product, support, customer success—to build integrations, resolve gaps, or deliver better offerings.

Use PRM and Tech Tools
You’ll master tools like PRMs, partner portals, account mapping systems, and iPaaS connectors—along with tech staples like CRMs and task managers.

Timeline of a Partner Manager’s Day

Below is a timeline-style illustration of a partner manager’s typical workflow:

Career Progression + Compensation

Moving up from partner manager, career paths might include:

• Senior/Strategic Partner Manager
• Director/Head of Partnerships
• VP of Partnerships

Leadership roles add skills in executive communication, data-driven influence, hiring and managing teams, and establishing thought leadership—speaking at events, writing, networking.

Salaries (US, as of Fall 2024)

Note: Senior roles are less common but more lucrative. Market demand is high, but openings are limited—so strong performance and measurable success matter more than ever.

Where to Find Partner Manager Jobs

• Partnership Leaders community (offers job boards and Slack networking)
• LinkedIn (optimize your profile and engage in content)
• Industry meetups & associations
• Tech job boards: BuiltIn, Wellfound (formerly AngelList)

FAQ: What You’re Wondering

Q: Can I be hired without direct partnership experience?
A: Yes! Transferable skills like sales, account management, marketing, and excellent communication are all highly valued—especially if you have data-driven achievements to show.

Q: What tools do partner managers need to know?
A: Familiarity with PRM platforms, partner portals, CRMs, integration tools (like Zapier), and analytics dashboards is often required—learning on the job is common, too.

Q: How do I stand out as a candidate?
A: Come prepared with 1–2 case studies that show how you helped a partner program grow—e.g. partner-generated revenue increase or engagement metrics. Mention tools and tech you used. Propose a “big idea” for improvement (like launching a partner marketplace).

Your Next Step

Landing a partner manager role in 2025 means showcasing your ability to blend strategy, technology, and relationship-building—all backed by metrics. Offer concrete examples from your past and share forward-thinking ideas like co-launches or tools to scale.

Pro Tip: Prepare a “big idea” to share in interviews — e.g., “Let’s launch our partner marketplace on Day 60.” It shows initiative and business thinking.

Parting Thoughts

Partner management is a dynamic and rewarding field—especially in SaaS and tech. If you come with vision, metrics, and readiness to lead, this could be the next pivotal move in your career.