Director, Strategic Partnerships

nooks; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Nooks is building the agent workspace for intelligent outbound and is seeking a Head of Strategic Partnerships to craft a partnerships motion from scratch. You will define strategy, sign the first agreements, and drive early partnerships live while building and leading a team to scale this growth channel.

The role focuses on resellers, agencies, SIs, hyperscalers, and platform partnerships with Google, AWS, Salesforce, and more, translating partnerships into measurable pipeline and revenue.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or channel sales at a SaaS, AI, or technology company.
• Zero-to-one experience building a partnerships function from scratch at a high-growth company.
• Commercially-minded and revenue-focused with a track record of generating pipeline and closed deals.

Responsibilities

• Build our partnerships function from zero to one: define strategy and stand up initial deals.
• Source, structure, and close partnership agreements that generate pipeline with referrals, resellers, SIs, consultancies, and platform partners.
• Activate your network to engage the right decision-makers quickly.
• Design the commercial model and GTM motion for each partnership type in collaboration with Sales, Marketing, and Legal.
• Collaborate with Sales and Marketing leadership on events and campaigns to build pipeline.
• Own the full lifecycle of partnerships from opportunity to launch and ongoing management.
• Lead and grow the partnerships team as the function scales.

Skills

Strategic partnerships

Business development

Channel sales

SaaS

AI/tech industry knowledge

Networking

Job description

About Nooks.ai:

Nooks is an applied AI lab building the Agent Workspace for GTM. We design AI agents that operate across the full sales action set, from account strategy to prospect research and outreach. Building 0→1 has never been easier, but selling at the speed of the market remains the last frontier for AI. Our mission is to 10x every seller by automating the busywork so they can focus on what humans do best: closing deals.

Today, over 1,500 customers run on Nooks, including Notion, HubSpot, Cursor, and Rippling. We’ve raised $70M+ from top VCs like Kleiner Perkins, which made its first sales-tech investment in over a decade with us. Since then, we’ve tripled ARR each year for 3 years running and grown a high-caliber team turning the art of sales into a scalable science.

About the role

Nooks is building the agent workspace for intelligent outbound - AI agents and reps working side by side to build more pipeline, faster. As we scale, partnerships will be one of our highest-leverage growth channels, and we're looking for a Head of Strategic Partnerships to build that motion from scratch.

This is a zero-to-one role. We have a clear mandate: build a partnerships motion that generates pipeline for Nooks. You'll set the strategy, sign the first agreements, and get the earliest partnerships live yourself, then build and lead the team that scales it.

You'll work across a wide partner landscape - resellers, sales consultancies and agencies, and global SIs from boutique shops up through big four. This is a commercially-minded, lead generation focused role. Partnerships here need to translate into pipeline, not just brand association. You'll also work closely with our Head of Field on events and enterprise marketing initiatives that build pipeline indirectly, since partnerships and field are tightly linked.

What you'll do

• Build our partnerships function from zero to one: define the strategy, prioritize which partner types matter first (resellers, agencies, SIs, hyperscalers or platforms), and stand up the first deals personally

• Source, structure, and close partnership agreements that generate pipeline — referral and reseller relationships, co-sell motions with SIs and consultancies (from boutique shops to Accenture-scale), and platform partnerships with players like Google, AWS, and Salesforce

• Activate your existing network to move quickly. You should be able to get in front of the right person at a firm.

• Design the commercial model and go-to-market motion for each partnership type, working closely with Sales, Marketing, and Legal to structure deals that work for both sides

• Partner closely with our Sales and Marketing leadership on events and marketing initiatives that build pipeline indirectly, alongside the pipeline you source directly through partners

• Own the full lifecycle of a partnership. You’ll spot the opportunity, build the business case, negotiate and close, then launch and manage the relationship to drive measurable results

• Build and lead the partnerships team as the function scales. This role starts as an individual builder and grows into a people leader

About you

• 8+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or channel sales at a SaaS, AI, or technology company

• Zero-to-one experience. You've built a partnerships function or program from scratch at a high-growth company, without an existing playbook to follow

• A track record of promotion at a previous company, a signal you were a core builder rather than a maintainer

• Commercially-minded and revenue-focused that thinks in terms of pipeline and closed deals, not just brand relationships

• A strong existing network across resellers, sales consultancies, agencies, technical partners (Databricks, Microsoft, Google, AWS, Snowflake, etc.) and SI partners (McKinsey, BCG, Slalom, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture, etc)

• Comfortable operating with ambiguity, setting your own scope, and moving fast in a startup environment

• Location: San Francisco preferred but open to remote for the right person

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Nooks is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce. We believe in providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Nooks does not discriminate in hiring, promotion, compensation, or any other employment practices, and we are committed to ensuring a workplace that is free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. We encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply and join our team.