Yourway, Director, Strategic Partnerships & Business Development

Director, Strategic Partnerships & Business Development (U.S.) Full-Time | Remote / Field | Reports to VP of Sales (U.S.) | Exempt The Director, Strategic Partnerships & Business Development (U.S.) drives new revenue by building and closing partnerships with education companies and organizations that can embed, brand, distribute, or integrate Yourway Learning's AI-powered teaching and learning tools into their own products and services. This is a quota-carrying hunter role. You'll own the full partnership sales cycle, prospecting, discovery, solution validation, negotiation, and contract execution, then hand off cleanly to Client Success. Most of your pipeline should come from your own outbound effort (prospecting, executive networking, referrals), supplemented by company-generated leads. Ideal candidates have sold complex B2B, SaaS, embedded technology, or channel partnership deals and can run opportunities independently from first conversation to signed contract. Key Responsibilities Build and manage a self-generated pipeline of qualified strategic partnership opportunities through proactive prospecting and outreach. Run discovery to understand each partner's business model, customers, strategic priorities, technical environment, and build-vs-buy considerations. Qualify opportunities against clear criteria: a real customer problem, a decision path, a viable partnership model, revenue potential, and a next action. Develop and pitch partnership models (partner-branded experiences, embedded workflows, integrations, distribution deals) and lead demos and executive conversations that prove business value. Own proposals, negotiations, and contracting through signature; hit assigned quarterly and annual quota. Keep CRM records current (stakeholders, deal economics, technical dependencies, next steps, close dates) and provide accurate forecasts and pipeline updates. Partner with Product and Technology to validate feasibility before you sell it, and with Client Success to validate implementation before you sign it. Build relationships with senior partner stakeholders and feed competitive intelligence and market signals back to leadership. Qualifications Required 5+ years in B2B sales, strategic partnerships, or business development, ideally in SaaS, embedded technology, or channel sales. Track record of hitting quota and closing complex, multi-stakeholder deals. Experience running the full sales cycle independently, from self-sourced prospecting through signed contract. Strong business acumen: can quickly understand a partner's business model, customers, IP, and build-vs-buy logic. Excellent executive communication, presentation, and negotiation skills. Comfortable with CRM, pipeline management, and forecasting tools. Able to operate in a lean, fast-moving environment and coordinate across Product, Technology, Client Success, and leadership. Preferred Experience selling embedded, white-label, OEM, API, or platform partnership deals. Background in K-12 education, EdTech, curriculum, publishing, assessment, or education services. Existing relationships with education product companies, publishers, or EdTech companies. Experience commercializing proprietary content or IP through technology-enabled products. Bachelor's degree preferred, not required. Measures of Success Hits assigned quarterly and annual partnership quota. Builds and maintains a pipeline with healthy coverage against quota, mostly self-sourced. Forecasts accurately; deals move through the stages at a predictable pace with few surprises. Hands off signed deals to Client Success cleanly, with commercial terms and implementation expectations intact. Schedule & Travel Full-time; core hours 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern, Monday through Friday. Occasional evening and weekend work for customer events and conferences. 35-50% travel across the U.S., depending on partner and opportunity needs. What We Offer Competitive base salary Medical, dental, vision, and other insurance; 401(k); transit, medical spending, and dependent care benefits. $100/month phone reimbursement. Up to 15 days PTO plus company holidays. Collaborative, supportive team culture doing mission-driven work in K-12 education. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to an inclusive environment for all employees.