Principal, Partnership Management – Strategic Partners Europe

Join a team built on grit, boldness, and the belief that great ideas can come from anywhere. As part of Staffbase, you will help organizations solve one of the hardest problems in the modern workplace: reaching every employee with the right information, wherever and however they work.
 
The Principal, Partnership Management, reports to the Sales Director, Europe, and owns the commercial success, strategy, and execution of Staffbase's European partner ecosystem. This is a high-impact, outcome-driven, quota-carrying position that requires deep commercial acumen, a strong understanding of SaaS ecosystem dynamics, and a proven track record of co-selling into large and mid-market accounts. You will build and scale high-yielding partnerships across Europe – prioritizing DACH, expanding in France, and establishing new footprints in other strategic markets – to drive partner-sourced and partner-influenced ARR, working directly with Staffbase sales teams and external partner leadership to open new doors and accelerate revenue growth.

What you’ll be doing

• Own the European partnership revenue target, driving measurable ARR contribution through partner-sourced and partner-influenced deals, and develop joint alliance business plans with key stakeholders across DACH and priority growth markets
• Partner directly with European sales leadership and Account Executives to build joint territory plans, execute referral and reseller co-selling strategies, and close complex deals
• Actively lead in-person partner meetings, joint executive briefings, and customer-facing alignment sessions to maintain top-of-mind mindshare with key partners
• Drive Quarterly Business Reviews and governance against agreed goals, including pipeline reviews, revenue and renewals performance, and executive communications on partnership status and results
• Design and execute a target ecosystem strategy across DACH and key European growth markets, prioritizing high-value System Integrators, Consultancies, and Tech Alliances
• Leverage partner networks to position Staffbase to new buying personas beyond traditional Corporate Communications, including Chief HR Officers, CIOs/IT leadership, and Internal Experience Directors
• Conduct strategic market assessments for France and broader European markets, delivering clear, ROI-backed expansion recommendations to leadership
• Structure, negotiate, and finalize high-margin partner agreements, joint business plans, and commercial frameworks
• Own the financial rigor of the European partner ecosystem, continuously evaluating partner yield, pipeline velocity, and return on partner investments
• Establish clear metrics and tiering models to scale top-performing partners while trimming or repositioning underperforming relationships
• Serve as the commercial voice of European partners internally, providing feedback to Product, Marketing, and Revenue Operations to optimize partner enablement
• Collaborate with Customer Success and Professional Services to create referral workflows for partner services, expanding deal sizes and implementation efficiency
•  Act as the primary escalation point for key partner accounts, taking total operational and commercial accountability for resolving issues
•  Within your partner portfolio, establish Staffbase as the premier “top of mind” employee experience partner, demonstrated by a measurable joint pipeline with each focus partner

What you need to be successful

• Several years of experience in partner management, strategic alliances, or channel/direct sales in B2B SaaS, with a direct, measurable impact on revenue growth in European markets
• Deep experience navigating mid-market and large-account sales cycles, buying centres, and co-selling frameworks
• Strong fluency in SaaS metrics, revenue share structures, margin economics, and joint business modelling
• Deep understanding of the European enterprise software ecosystem, particularly across DACH - specific experience in France or the Nordics/Benelux region is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to reposition software solutions to multi-departmental buyers, including IT, HR, and Executive Communications
• Experience of co-selling directly with partner reps and Staffbase Account Executives; a field-first mindset
• Fluent German and English (C2 level); able to conduct executive-level business conversations in both languages
• Fluency in a third language such as French, Spanish or Italian is a strong plus
• Demonstrated ability to intelligently recruit, develop, and tier capable, committed, and scalable partners
• Strategic thinker, able to blend technology and business strategy to develop compelling plans for new partner initiatives
• Capable of building and maintaining strong relationships with a diverse set of internal and partner constituencies, including senior-level executives, legal, finance, and marketing
• Ability to negotiate skilfully in complex, high-stakes commercial agreements
• High energy, enthusiasm, and passion for building category-defining partnerships

What you'll get

• Competitive Compensation - we offer attractive salary packages including LTIP (unit-based Long Term Incentive Plan)
• Flexibility - we offer flexible working time models and the option of hybrid work, and support this with a yearly flex work allowance of €1560
• Recharge - with 31 vacation days annually (incl. one floating holiday), plus pro rata fully paid Fridays off during August
• Support - we offer offering a company pension scheme
• Volunteers Day - you’ll get one day off per year for supporting a social project

We know strong candidates come in different shapes. If you've worked as a Partner Manager or in a similar partnership role and don't check every box, we'd still love to hear from you.