Head of Partnerships/Alliances

Payflows; Paris; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful equity

Job summary

Payflows, a founder-led finance platform, is building its partnerships function from scratch in Paris. This high-autonomy role reports to the Head of GTM and collaborates with the CEO to shape the ecosystem across PE, ERP technology, and advisory partners.

You'll define the model, tier partners, and drive a repeatable pipeline, co-selling with strategic alliances, and contributing to product and ICP strategy through partner insights.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in partnerships, alliances, business development, or value creation in a B2B SaaS environment.
• Genuine network across PE, ERP/fintech ecosystem, or finance advisory in EMEA, esp. UK and Europe.
• Strong commercial instincts and ability to articulate joint value for CFOs and operating partners.
• Track record of sourcing pipeline through partner relationships and closing deals.
• Excellent communication with CFOs, operating partners, ERP alliance leads, and founders.
• Self-starter with comfort in ambiguity and building something new.

Responsibilities

• Build the partnerships function from zero and define the model for PE, technology partners, and SIs.
• Own the relationship map with value creation teams, operating partners, ERP partners, and advisory firms.
• Drive a qualified pipeline through partner introductions, co-sell motions, and referrals.
• Develop partner collateral, ROI tools, and co-branded materials for different audiences.
• Lead outreach to new partners, attend industry events, and represent Payflows in forums.
• Establish co-marketing and co-selling programs with anchor partners.
• Collaborate on deal execution and provide context on fund priorities and integration positioning.
• Feed partner insights back into product roadmap and ICP strategy.

Skills

Partnerships

SaaS partnerships

Business development

PE network

ERP ecosystem

Job description

Payflows is the agentic finance platform built for modern enterprises. Backed by Balderton Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Headline (€25M Series A), we help finance teams automate accounts payable, procurement, and payments — replacing manual processes with AI-driven workflows that deliver 90%+ touchless invoice rates and dramatic cost savings. Our customers are fast-growing mid-market and enterprise companies across Europe, and private equity-backed businesses are increasingly a cornerstone of our ICP.

The Role

This is a founding role. You'll build Payflows' partnerships and alliances function from scratch, designing the model, identifying the right partners across PE, technology, and advisory ecosystems, and turning those relationships into a repeatable, measurable pipeline.

You'll own three partnership pillars:

• Private equity & sponsors — value creation teams, operating partners, and portfolio finance leads at EMEA mid-market funds

• Technology & ecosystem — ERPs, accounting platforms, payments providers, and complementary finance tooling

• Advisory & SI — finance transformation consultancies, Big Four practices, and implementation partners who shape the buying decision

You'll sit at the intersection of partnerships, sales, and strategy. This is a high-autonomy, high-impact position that reports directly to the Head of GTM and works closely with the CEO and founding team. If you've built alliances functions at a high-growth SaaS company, or you've spent years inside PE, the ERP ecosystem, or a finance transformation practice and want to be on the building side of the table, this is the role for you.

What You'll Do

• Build the function from zero — define the partnership model, tier partners by fit across all three pillars, and develop the playbook for how Payflows engages with PE funds, technology partners, and SIs at every stage

• Own the relationship map — cultivate relationships with value creation teams and operating partners at target funds; with alliance, channel, and BD leaders at ERP and ecosystem partners; and with finance transformation leads at advisory firms

• Drive qualified pipeline — convert partner relationships into warm introductions, co-sell motions, and referrals; track and report on partnership-sourced revenue as a first-class number

• Develop partnership collateral — work with GTM and marketing to build partner-specific one-pagers, ROI tools, integration narratives, and co-branded materials that resonate with each audience

• Run the outreach motion — own outbound sequencing to new partners, attend LP/GP events, ERP and finance ecosystem conferences, and represent Payflows at industry forums

• Stand up co-marketing and co-selling — joint webinars, events, content, and field motions with anchor partners

• Collaborate on deal execution — stay involved through the sales cycle on partner-sourced deals; bring context on portco dynamics, fund priorities, integration positioning, and stakeholder maps

• Feed intelligence back into the business — surface themes from partner conversations that inform product roadmap, integrations, packaging, and ICP strategy

Why Join

• Greenfield ownership — you're not inheriting someone else's playbook, you're writing it

• Direct access to leadership — small team, fast decisions, high visibility

• Strong backer network — Balderton, Ribbit, and Headline open doors; you'll have investor relationships to leverage from day one

• Meaningful equity — early-stage, competitive package

• Category tailwind — agentic AI in finance is one of the most active investment themes in enterprise software.

Requirements:

Must-haves

• 5+ years in partnerships, alliances, business development, or value creation — at a B2B SaaS company building a partner ecosystem, at a PE fund (operating partner, value creation, portfolio ops), or at a technology/SI partner selling into finance buyers

• A genuine network across at least one of our three pillars (PE, ERP/fintech ecosystem, or finance advisory) in EMEA — particularly UK and European mid-market — and the credibility to build the other two quickly

• Strong commercial instincts — you understand how partners evaluate vendor relationships, how CFOs make buying decisions, and what "joint value" actually means in practice

• Track record of sourcing pipeline through partners — you can point to specific deals, ARR, or relationships you've built and closed through

• Excellent communication — you can speak fluently to a CFO, an operating partner, an ERP alliance lead, and a founder in the same day

• Self-starter mentality — you're comfortable with ambiguity and energised by building something new

Nice-to-haves

• Background in finance, fintech, or finance transformation (AP automation, P2P, ERP, payments)

• Experience standing up an alliances function at a high-growth Series A/B SaaS company

• Existing relationships with NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, or major finance advisory practices