Director of Partnerships

Zipliens is a leading lien resolution company that specializes in streamlining the lien process for personal injury law firms. We are looking for proactive, results-driven individuals to join our dynamic team.

Zipliens' Director of Partnerships builds and leads our partnerships function at the strategic level. You will carry a number towards which you will originate and close priority relationships with business-level partners, including management services organizations (MSOs), multi-office and national firms, legal-tech and case management platforms, and industry associations, and you will operationalize the referral and channel programs that bring qualified opportunities into the pipeline without a cold outbound motion.

The most successful persona for this role not only brings the required experience and outcomes, but is also highly personable and can go from relationship building and networking to negotiating at the executive table. You will own who partners with Zipliens, on what terms, and why, and you will work as a high-performing individual contributor inside the sales organization: building your own pipeline, running complex deals from first conversation to signed agreement, and holding yourself to the same forecasting and CRM discipline as any quota-carrying seller.

You will report to the VP of Sales once that role is filled; in the interim, you will report to the Chief Customer Officer. You will partner closely with Sales Development, Account Executives, Customer Success, Marketing, Product, Legal, and Finance to make sure partner relationships turn into pipeline, signed agreements, and retained revenue.

Requirements

Responsibilities:

Strategic Partnerships & Enterprise Alliances

• Partnership Strategy: Define the partnership strategy and target partner map across our Single Event and Mass Tort segments and new verticals as they arise. Decide where partnerships create reach, product value, or revenue that direct sales cannot.
• Strategic Entity Relationships & Deal Structuring: Originate, negotiate, and close relationships with business-level partners such as MSOs, multi-office and national firms, legal-tech and case management platforms, and industry associations. Engage at the executive and ownership level, not only with day-to-day contacts. Lead negotiation of partnership, referral, vendor, and integration agreements, including commercial terms, referral economics, exclusivity, and service expectations, working with Legal and Finance on structure and risk.
• Executive Sponsorship: Act as the executive sponsor for Zipliens' top partners. Run joint business planning and recurring business reviews with partner leadership, and hold both sides to commitments.
• Co-Development: Work with Product to identify integrations, co-sell motions, and co-marketing opportunities that deepen partner value and make Zipliens harder to replace.

Referral & Channel Program

• Program Ownership: Own the strategy, growth, and health of Zipliens' referral and channel partner network, including referring attorneys, firms, and professional associations. Design the program structure: partner tiers, agreements, incentives, and rules of engagement.
• Partner Recruitment: Identify and recruit new referral and channel sources aligned with our Single Event and Mass Tort segments, and additional business verticals as they arise.
• Partner Retention: Maintain and grow existing relationships, ensuring partners stay engaged and see clear value in referring business to Zipliens.

Sales Execution & Pipeline

• Quota & Forecast: Carry a revenue target for partner-sourced and partner-influenced business, and forecast it accurately as part of the broader sales forecast.
• Pipeline Building: Build and work your own pipeline in HubSpot, from partner target research and outreach through qualification, with clear stage definitions, next steps, and close dates on every opportunity.
• Deal Execution: Run discovery, qualification, and multi-stakeholder deal cycles for partner-led and strategic opportunities. Partner with Account Executives on joint calls and hand off signed relationships cleanly to Customer Success.
• Sales Enablement: Equip Sales Development and Account Executives with partner plays, talk tracks, and co-sell materials, and run training sessions so partner-sourced leads are worked well.

Partner Enablement & Program Operations

• Attribution & Tracking: Track partner and referral-sourced pipeline in HubSpot with clear attribution, and report on partner program health and ROI. You will play a part in defining those KPIs.
• Partner Enablement: Build the materials and processes partners need to refer business effectively, such as simple referral paths, co-branded materials, and training and enablement sessions.
• Budget Ownership: Propose and manage the partnerships budget, directing spend to the activities, engagements, and events that drive the most ROI for Zipliens.

Cross-Functional Alignment

• Pipeline Routing: Partner with Sales Development and Account Executives to make sure partner-sourced leads are routed cleanly and worked promptly. Pipeline progress should be transparent, and communication in both directions must be proactive and productive.
• Marketing Collaboration: Partner with the Director of Marketing on co-branded partner content, joint events, and conference sponsorship strategy focused on partner development.
• Customer Success: Work with Customer Success on onboarding and retention of partner-introduced clients, and bring partner and client feedback back into the partnership plan.
• Reporting: Report partnership pipeline, revenue, program health, and the partnership plan and investment cases to the VP of Sales and CCO, and to the executive team as needed.

Industry Presence & Market Intelligence

• Executive Presence: Represent Zipliens at conferences and industry events with a focus on deepening strategic relationships. Host or speak at partner and peer gatherings where it builds credibility.
• Market Fluency: Stay current on the referral, vendor, MSO, and legal-tech landscape across Single Event and Mass Tort, and bring new channel and alliance opportunities to leadership.

Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in partnerships, strategic alliances, channel sales, or enterprise business development, ideally in B2B services, legal tech, or the personal injury legal ecosystem.
• Track record of originating, negotiating, and closing strategic partnerships with enterprise or multi-entity organizations, and structuring those agreements with support from Legal.
• Demonstrated experience building or scaling a referral or partner program from an early stage, with measurable revenue outcomes.
• Proven quota-carrying sales performance: consistent attainment, experience running complex multi-stakeholder deal cycles, and forecasting accuracy.
• Strong sales process and CRM discipline, with hands-on HubSpot experience preferred, for pipeline tracking and partner attribution.
• Strong relationship-builder with executive presence, credible with attorneys, law firm leadership, MSO and vendor executives, and internal leaders alike. The personal injury community is like a small town, and reputation is everything.
• Ability to build structure in ambiguous environments and operate with autonomy, while collaborating across Sales, Customer Success, Marketing, Product, and Legal.
• Experience coaching or enabling teammates; people leadership experience is a plus.
• Willingness to travel for partner relationship building and industry events (up to 40%+).

Benefits

• Private Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Company HSA contributions for HDHP participants
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Health & Dependent Care)
• Company-Paid Short-Term Disability Coverage
• Voluntary Long-Term Disability, Life, AD&D, and Supplemental Coverage Options
• 401(k) Plan with Company Match
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick Time & Select Holidays)
• Paid Parental Leave

Pay Disclosure: The total base salary range for this role is $147,00 - $199,000 annually, with opportunity for a discretionary bonus. Final compensation will be determined based on skills and experience.

Work Authorization: Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer-sponsored visa support now or in the future.