Manager, Ecosystem Partnerships & Business Development

About the Role

We are looking for a Manager, Ecosystem Partnerships & Initiatives, to shape how we identify, structure, and scale our most important partner relationships across our Digital Commerce Platform. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, go-to-market, deals, product, and business operations, and will be a key thought partner to the Enterprise and GM leadership teams.

You will own the operating system for the partnerships org: defining partner categories and partnership strategy; building frameworks for when to partner, build, or buy; driving cross-functional alignment (Product, Sales, Finance, Legal, Ops); and ensuring our deals are structured for long-term value and operational success. You will also own and drive the rhythm of the business, bringing structure and rigor to the lean, high-impact product partnerships team. This is a high-visibility, high-ownership role suited for someone who is equally comfortable building models in Excel/Sheets, creating exec-ready narratives, and working shoulder-to-shoulder with partner managers to land and scale complex deals.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a multi-year strategy and roadmap for our partner ecosystem across our Digital Commerce Platform (e.g., online ordering, loyalty, data and reporting, guest engagement, and other emerging products).
• Work through ecosystem design, sourcing, deal strategy, negotiation, contracting, and ongoing management in Business Development / Partner Management roles.
• Turn a set of standalone products into a connected ecosystem, where partner integrations, distribution channels, and go-to-market motions reinforce each other instead of competing.
• Ensure partnerships deliver tangible value for independent restaurants and their guests, not just on paper.
• Bring structure to partnerships by developing deal templates and guardrails (e.g., revenue share bands, MDF/marketing commitments, data-sharing rules, exclusivity / tiering structures).
• Drive internal deal review committees with cross-functional stakeholders (Product, Legal, Finance, Sales, Ops) to ensure alignment prior to signing.
• Leverage AI-powered insights, data-driven signals, and emerging tools to shape strategy, inform decision-making, identify opportunities, and drive growth across complex, enterprise-level engagements.
• Integrate AI and data-enabled analysis into day-to-day workflows to improve prioritization, execution, and business impact.
• Partner cross-functionally to translate evolving platform and AI capabilities into clear, tangible value for partners and the business.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, management consulting, platform strategy, S&O, or similar roles. Restaurant tech experience is a plus.
• Ability to take an ambiguous partner landscape, impose structure, and turn it into a clear portfolio strategy and execution plan.
• Track record of sourcing, negotiating, and closing partnership agreements, and structuring commercial terms (revenue share, licensing, MDF, exclusivity) that hold up as the relationship scales.
• Experience operating across a multi-product portfolio and knowing where partnerships create real leverage versus where they add complexity without payoff.
• Comfort being the connective tissue between Product, S&O, Legal, and Finance, driving alignment without needing authority.
• Use data to make the case for where to invest — building pipeline views, ROI models, and partner scorecards that inform prioritization.
• Experience leveraging data, AI-informed insights, and emerging AI tools to drive strategic decisions, enhance productivity, and improve outcomes in complex business environments.
• Strong ability to interpret AI-generated insights, synthesize them into clear, actionable recommendations and executive-level narratives, and influence stakeholders.
• Baseline fluency in AI concepts, with a willingness to continuously learn and adopt new technologies as AI capabilities become increasingly embedded in workflows, products, and customer interactions.
• Bachelor’s degree; an MBA or other advanced degree is preferred.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package including a 401(k) plan with employer matching.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Wellness benefits and commuter benefits match.
• Paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws (e.g., Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act).
• 11 paid holidays.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Disability and basic life insurance.
• Family-forming assistance and a mental health program.

Pay

The national base pay range for this position within the United States, including Illinois and Colorado, is $142,800—$210,000 USD. In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants.

Schedule

• For salaried roles: flexible paid time off/vacation, plus 80 hours of paid sick time per year.
• For hourly roles: vacation accrued at about 1 hour for every 25.97 hours worked (e.g., about 6.7 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 3.4 hours/month if working 20 hours/week), and paid sick time accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (e.g., about 5.8 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 2.9 hours/month if working 20 hours/week).