VP, Strategic & Affinity Partnerships

Position Summary

The Vice President, Strategic & Affinity Partnerships will lead the transformation and scaling of BNI’s Partner Program into a disciplined growth engine that drives new affinity chapter formation and sustained membership growth across the United States.

Job Responsibilities

• Partner Program Transformation & Strategy
  - Lead the redesign of BNI’s Partner Program into a scalable, segmented, and performance-driven growth channel.
  - Define partnership models including enterprise, affinity, and channel, with clear value propositions and success metrics.
  - Establish core infrastructure including processes, tools, and KPIs to measure effectiveness and ROI.
  - Drive continuous improvement through data insights, market trends, and performance analysis.

• Strategic Partnership & Enterprise Development
  - Identify, cultivate, and secure enterprise-level partnerships within FIRM industries and other distributed sales organizations.
  - Lead consultative engagements with senior executives and negotiate long-term, high-value agreements.
  - Build and manage a partnership pipeline with clear forecasting and measurable outcomes.

• Affinity Partnership Strategy
  - Design and execute affinity-based strategies aligned to priority industries and ideal member profiles.
  - Leverage partner networks to drive targeted chapter expansion and membership growth.
  - Ensure focused investment in priority industries through tailored partnership approaches.

• Revenue & Growth Accountability
  - Drive partnerships that contribute directly to chapter formation and membership growth.
  - Develop joint initiatives and activation plans that deliver measurable results.

• Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
  - Lead and develop a high-performing partnerships team with strong business development capabilities.
  - Partner with franchise and corporate leaders to align partnership efforts with regional growth strategies.
  - Collaborate with marketing, sales, and leadership to ensure alignment with go-to-market priorities.

• Sales & Relationship Management
  - Represent BNI externally and build credibility with senior stakeholders and industry leaders.
  - Relationship Management: Developing and nurturing long-term partnerships with top-tier clients, often acting as the main point of contact for corporate-level, multi-location, or enterprise customers.
  - Oversee the full partnership lifecycle from sourcing through activation and ongoing optimization.

Competencies

• Strategic Thinking

• Relationship Building

• Leading Leaders

• Transformation

• Teamwork

• Performance Management

• Cross-cultural Leadership

• Change Management

Qualifications

• Required:

  • 12+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, enterprise sales, business development, or channel leadership.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field (MBA preferred) or equivalent experience.
  • Proven track record of building and scaling partnership programs that drive measurable growth outcomes.
  • Strong experience or network within one or more FIRM industries including financial services, insurance, real estate, or mortgage.
  • Demonstrated success leading consultative, enterprise-level sales engagements with senior executive stakeholders.
  • Experience developing go-to-market strategies or partnership-driven growth channels.
  • Strong financial acumen and ability to connect partnership strategy to business performance.
  • Experience leading and building high-performing teams.
  • Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
  • Ability to travel domestically with occasional international travel.

• Preferred:

  • Experience transforming or building a partnership program from the ground up.
  • Experience in franchised or distributed business models.
  • Familiarity with membership-based or professional networking organizations.
  • Experience aligning partnerships to growth or go-to-market strategies.
  • Exposure to international markets or global expansion.
  • Experience with partner enablement or affinity-based growth strategies.