Director of Partnerships

About the role

Work at the forefront of insurance innovation and help shape the industry’s future with our forward-thinking partners. We're hiring our first Director of Partnerships to be a foundational member of our go-to-market team. You'll build our partnerships function from the ground up, define our partner strategy, identify and close strategic partnership deals, and create scalable processes for partner enablement and co-selling as we scale from seed to Series A and beyond.

You'll own the identification, negotiation, and management of strategic partnerships that drive distribution, product innovation, and market expansion. You'll work directly with our Head of Sales and founding team, with high visibility and direct impact on company strategy. This role is ideal for someone with deep P&C insurance ecosystem knowledge (distribution, technology platforms, industry organizations) who understands how partnerships drive growth in insurance tech, or a proven partnerships leader from enterprise SaaS ready to become an expert in the insurance technology landscape.

Responsibilities

• Core Responsibilities
• Build the partnerships function from scratch, defining strategy, framework, and processes for evaluating, prioritizing, and closing partnership opportunities
• Own partner-sourced revenue targets with goal of 20-30% of new ARR from partnerships within 12 months
• Identify and close 5-10 strategic partnerships across distribution channels (brokerages, MGAs, platforms), technology integrations (AMS/policy admin systems), and industry organizations to drive new customer acquisition and revenue growth
• Negotiate complex partnership agreements including revenue share models, co-selling arrangements, technology integrations, and strategic alliances
• Create partner enablement programs including training materials, sales collateral, demo environments, and certification programs to drive partner success
• Manage strategic partner relationships with quarterly business reviews, joint account planning, and executive engagement to maximize partnership value
• Drive co-marketing initiatives with partners including joint webinars, case studies, event sponsorships, and content collaboration
• Track and report partnership metrics including partner-sourced pipeline, closed revenue, partner engagement, and ROI by partnership type
• Strategic & Cross-Functional Represent Qumis as a partnership leader at tier-1 industry conferences, partner advisory councils, and ecosystem events
• Partner with Product and Engineering to prioritize integration roadmap, API capabilities, and partnership technology requirements
• Collaborate with Marketing to create co-branded materials, joint campaigns, partner spotlights, and ecosystem positioning
• Work closely with Sales to enable partner co-selling, joint account planning, and deal attribution
• Align with Customer Success to ensure visibility into customer health metrics and outcomes for partner-referred accounts, strengthening partner relationships through shared success
• Develop partnership playbooks including partner tiering framework, ideal partner profiles, partnership agreement templates, and enablement materials
• Leverage AI-native tools to research partners, automate outreach, and scale relationship building
• Create scalable partner onboarding and enablement processes that can support 20+ active partnerships
• Test and iterate on partnership models, compensation structures, and co-selling motions to maximize ROI
• Stay current on insurance ecosystem trends, Insurtech partnerships, API/integration standards, and partnership best practices

Qualifications

• Required Qualifications
• 12+ years of experience in either:
• P&C insurance with deep ecosystem knowledge (distribution platforms, broker networks, technology vendors), OR
• Enterprise B2B SaaS partnerships/business development with $1M+ partner-sourced revenue responsibility
• Proven track record of building partnerships function from scratch or scaling from 0-3 partnerships to 10+ partnerships
• Strong negotiation skills with experience structuring complex partnership agreements, revenue share models, and go-to-market arrangements
• Relationship builder who excels at building trust with C-suite executives and fostering long-term strategic partnerships
• Strategic thinker with ability to identify high-value partnership opportunities and articulate clear ROI and business cases
• Cross-functional collaborator skilled at aligning internal stakeholders (Sales, Product, Marketing, Engineering) around partnership priorities
• Entrepreneurial mindset with comfort in ambiguity, bias for action, and ability to build processes from zero

• Preferred Qualifications
• Deep knowledge of insurance distribution including brokerage models, MGA structures, wholesale distribution, and Insurtech platforms
• Existing relationships within insurance ecosystem including brokerages, technology vendors, industry associations, and Insurtech investors
• Prior experience at high-growth startup (seed to Series B) building partnerships function or scaling partnerships from 5 to 25+
• Technical fluency with APIs, integrations, and ability to discuss technical partnership requirements with Engineering teams
• Experience with AI/ML partnerships and understanding of how to position AI capabilities to non-technical partnership stakeholders
• Track record with multiple industry associations

Who You Are

• Move fast and iterate without needing perfect information, you test partnership hypotheses quickly and learn from results
• Own outcomes, not activities, you're metrics-driven and focus on partner-sourced revenue and partnership ROI
• Embrace feedback and are committed to continuous improvement of partnership strategy and execution
• Think like a founder and connect your work to company outcomes, no task is too small if it drives partnerships forward
• Build trust effortlessly with partners as a strategic advisor, not just a vendor relationship
• Balance multiple partnership tracks simultaneously without losing sight of strategic priorities