Senior Business Development Manager – I&E Brand Partnerships (all genders)

ABOUT THE ROLE & THE TEAM

Zalando’s newly formed Inspiration and Entertainment (I&E) venture is redefining how customers engage with content and commerce. We’re looking for a hands-on, strategic and entrepreneurial Business Development Manager – I&E Brand Partnerships to play a central role in building our partner ecosystem and shaping a new, content-first commerce experience.

This high-impact role sits at the intersection of brand collaboration, content innovation, and customer engagement. You’ll work on bold, strategic projects, collaborate across functions, and take full ownership of your workstream — from partner strategy to flawless delivery. As part of a fast-moving, cross-functional team, you’ll help evolve the future of entertainment-driven retail and co-create value for both our partners and customers.

INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN

At Zalando, our vision is to be inclusive by design. And this vision starts with our hiring - we do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, personal expression, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability status. You are welcome to leave out your picture, age, or marital status from your application. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit.

We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support you throughout the hiring process.

WHAT WE'D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)

1. Co-own and grow a portfolio of strategic brand partners, sourcing content assets, leading end-to-end relationships, and identifying opportunities for content collaboration, innovation, and performance optimization.
2. Develop and execute scalable content format strategies aligned with KPIs to capture the full marketing funnel and deliver partner value — unlocking future revenue potential for ZMS through monetization models, creator collaborations, and storytelling-driven activations that engage the upper funnel.
3. Contribute to I&E content experiments that test key hypotheses and accelerate content–market fit, working closely with cross-functional teams across Product, Engineering, and Data Science.
4. Create performance reports by leveraging data insights and brand partner feedback to continuously optimize success metrics around retention and user engagement, in close collaboration with the Data Science team.
5. Communicate the I&E strategy and content formats with clarity and purpose to ensure alignment, drive excitement, and enable execution across both internal and external partners.
6. Collaborate cross-functionally with ownership, working seamlessly with the Content Lab team (Originals & Creator), Product, Product Marketing, and Data Science to deliver impactful results.
7. Proactively drive workstreams forward — leading meetings, capturing notes, following up on action items, and ensuring accountability across stakeholders.

You bring 5+ years of experience in partner management, business development, brand marketing, content strategy, or social commerce—ideally with a media or platform angle.

You are a clear and proactive communicator, who can structure complex information in a way that’s actionable, digestible, and tailored to the audience.

You thrive in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment, and are confident aligning diverse stakeholders around a shared goal. You are equipped to handle a dynamic environment with uncertainties and changing priorities.

You approach challenges with a curious, solution-first mindset and are energized by turning ambiguity into action — focusing on execution instead of overthinking blocks.

You’re proficient in Excel (or Google Sheets) for progress tracking and Google Slides (or PowerPoint) for creating compelling, partner-facing presentations and internal decks.

You demonstrate a high standard of delivery around project management tasks: you follow up on feedback, close gaps others miss, and bring precision to everything you touch.

You’re self-motivated and accountable: you take ownership of your work, proactively offer support where needed, and drive results independently.

You understand the power of storytelling, social commerce, and short-form content, and know how to turn it into real business impact.

Previous experience with partnership management, branded content, or entertainment formats is a strong plus.

OUR OFFER

Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer.

• Employee shares program
• 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Lounge by Zalando, discounts from external partners
• 2 paid volunteering days a year
• Hybrid working model with up to 60% remote per week, actual practice is up to each team to best support their collaboration
• Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year
• 27 days of vacation a year to start for full-time employees
• Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)
• Family services, including counseling and support
• Health and wellbeing options (including Wellhub, formerly Gympass)
• Mental health support and coaching available
• Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review

Please note that all applications from this job page must be completed using the online form - we do not accept applications via e-mail. Once reviewed, our recruiters will contact applicants via an official Zalando email address (@zalando.de).

In some cases we also work with a selection of headhunters and agencies to fill specific roles. Please note that neither Zalando nor our recruiting partners will ask for any kind of payment to apply for a job or attend an interview.

If you have any questions about our recruitment process, please take a look at our FAQ page.