Partnerships Lead

Aussie Founders Club; Brisbane; Hybrid; AUD 131,000 - 187,000; Part time

Job summary

Aussie Founders Club is seeking a part-time contractor to join our rapidly growing founder community in Australia. You will help turn engagement into sustainable partnerships, starting with one day per week and ongoing flexibility.

Your role includes building sponsor relationships, shaping ideas with the founders, and ensuring value and ROI for partners while protecting the community trust.

Qualifications

• Experience in partnerships, sponsorships, or startup BD.
• Community or event management background is a plus.
• Comfortable outreach and building relationships with brands and founders.

Responsibilities

• Build and manage a sponsor pipeline for Aussie Founders Club.
• Reach out to aligned brands and start conversations around partnerships.
• Co-create sponsorship ideas and help monetise events and community initiatives.

Skills

Partnerships

Business Development

Job description

Part-Time | Contractor | 1 Day Per Week to Start

Aussie Founders Club is building the home for ambitious startup founders in Australia.

We run 20+ events per year.
Our Slack community is growing fast, with 200+ new members in the last two months alone.
Our newsletter reaches 3,000+ founders and operators, with exceptional 50–70% open rates.
Our events are high quality. Our brand is trusted. Our community is genuinely engaged.

We’ve built something real.

Now we’re ready to build the partnerships engine properly.

The Opportunity

This role might suit you if:

• You’re building something of your own
• You care deeply about startups and the ecosystem
• You’re creating a portfolio career
• You want meaningful, flexible work that also pays the bills
• You’re learning how commercial ecosystems actually work

This is not a corporate job.

It’s a chance to sit inside a fast-growing founder community and help turn engagement into thoughtful, aligned partnerships.

What You’ll Be Stepping Into

You’re not starting from scratch.

We already have:

• A 3,000+ subscriber newsletter with standout open rates
• A rapidly growing Slack community
• 20+ in-person events per year
• Structured sponsorship formats already live
• FounderFest and other major activations
• A Partner Directory program
• Huge potential for co-created programs and content

There are so many levers to pull.

The Role

You’ll take ownership of partnerships and help turn what we’ve built into a sustainable commercial engine.

You will:

• Build and manage a sponsor pipeline
• Reach out to aligned brands and open conversations
• Shape partnership ideas with the founder
• Close smaller sponsorship deals
• Co-create larger partnerships together
• Monetise events in a way that feels aligned
• Activate partners within Slack, newsletter, and events
• Ensure sponsors get real value and ROI
• Protect the trust of the community

You’re not just placing logos.
You’re building relationships that serve founders.

Who This Suits

• Someone with partnerships, startup BD, community, or event experience
• Someone commercially curious and confident
• Someone comfortable doing outreach
• Someone energised by the startup ecosystem
• Someone who wants ownership without full-time commitment

This will not suit someone who needs layers, heavy structure, or corporate polish.

It will suit someone who sees potential and wants to build something meaningful around their other pursuits.

Structure & Compensation

• Contractor role
• 1 day per week to start
• Up to $80 per hour depending on experience
• Open to flexible models including performance or revenue-share structures

As partnerships grow, this role can grow.

Growth Path

If you build the engine well and revenue grows, this can expand beyond one day per week and evolve into a larger partnerships leadership role.