Global Partner Lead

Benchling; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

Healthcare

Parental leave

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Benchling seeks a Global Partner Lead to own the global strategy and success of a portfolio of GSI partnerships. This role combines strategic direction with hands-on relationship management to drive pipeline and revenue through top-tier partners.

The GPL collaborates with the Head of GTM Partnerships and regional leaders to translate global plans into actionable regional execution, overseeing partner onboarding, execution, and continuous improvement across markets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; MBA a plus.
• 10+ years of experience in partnerships, alliances, channel, or business development, including managing large, complex GSIs or global partners.
• Experience influencing cross-functional and partner-side stakeholders without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Owns global strategy and success of a named portfolio of GSI partnerships.
• Establishes, onboarding, and scales partnerships to meet joint goals.
• Builds executive-level relationships and aligns regional execution with global strategy.
• Drives co-selling, joint GTM, enablement, and pipeline generation with named partners.
• Translates global strategy into regional plans with RPLs and ensures consistent execution.
• Assesses new partnerships and expands the ecosystem as directed.

Skills

Executive presence

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Partnership strategy

C-suite engagement

Relationship building

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA

Job description

• The Global Partner Lead (GPL) owns the global strategy and success of a named portfolio of Global Systems Integrator (GSI) partnerships. This is a strategic and hands‑on role for a partnerships leader who can set direction at the executive level while staying close enough to the day‑to‑day relationship to drive real pipeline and revenue outcomes
• Each GPL is assigned a set of named GSI partners and is fully responsible and accountable for establishing, onboarding, and scaling those partnerships against goals set in collaboration with the Head of GTM Partnerships. GPLs also work closely with their Regional Partner Lead (RPL) counterparts to ensure the global strategy translates into effective regional execution
• Named GSI Partner Ownership (~80% of time)
• Serve as the global executive owner for a named portfolio of GSI partners — fully responsible and accountable for establishing, onboarding, and ensuring the success of each partnership
• Set global partner‑level strategy, joint business plans, goals, and expectations for each named partner, and track progress against those goals on a regular cadence
• Segment and prioritize named partners within the portfolio, establishing an investment framework that reflects each partner’s stage, strategic value, and growth potential
• Allocate GTM, technical, and executive resources across the named partner portfolio based on where they will have the highest impact
• Build and maintain executive‑level relationships with partner‑side leadership across sales, delivery, and alliances functions, engaging customer‑side executives as needed
• Adjust strategy and plans as needed based on partner performance and market feedback
• Partner with Regional Partner Lead(s) to translate global strategy into regional plans, ensuring alignment and consistent execution across regions
• Drive co‑selling, joint go‑to‑market, enablement, and pipeline‑generation programs with named partners
• Establish a strong operating cadence with named partners — business reviews, governance models, pipeline tracking, executive updates, and escalation management
• Enable partner organizations through training, readiness programs, certifications, and solution alignment to build and strengthen the company’s practice within each named GSI
• Support development of repeatable joint solution offerings, implementation motions, and industry‑specific use cases with partner delivery teams
• Represent the company in executive and customer‑facing engagements alongside partner stakeholders, including partner briefings, QBRs, joint customer pursuits, and relevant industry events
• Ecosystem Expansion (~20% of time)
• Assess and – where appropriate and as directed by the Head of GTM Partnerships – establish new partnerships with other strategic GTM partner types (e.g., hyperscalers, data/lake platforms, foundation model/AI labs, lab instrument providers)
• Feed market and competitive intelligence back into overall partner strategy
• Cross‑Functional Leadership
• Partner closely with internal teams — including Sales, Professional Services, Customer Success, Legal, Finance, Product, Engineering, and Marketing, and more as needed — to ensure partner strategy supports company‑wide GTM goals
• Build repeatable frameworks, playbooks, and enablement materials that regional teams can leverage

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity
• Robust healthcare benefits
• Family‑forming benefits
• Four months of fully paid parental leave
• Retirement benefits

• Strong understanding of how large consulting and transformation organizations operate globally — practice structures, incentive models, and delivery organizations
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; MBA a plus
• Executive presence, with the ability to build trust and influence senior stakeholders — including CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, CSOs, Managing Partners, and other senior business leaders — internally, at partner organizations, and with customers as needed
• Strong program‑management and cross‑functional collaboration skills
• Experience structuring and negotiating partnership agreements (e.g., joint business plans, MSAs)
• Track record of driving measurable partner‑sourced or partner‑influenced pipeline and revenue
• Experience in life sciences, biotech, or pharma required
• 10+ years of experience in partnerships, alliances, channel, or business development, including meaningful experience managing large, complex GSIs or similarly matrixed global partners
• Track record of influencing cross‑functional and partner‑side stakeholders without direct authority
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and building process where none exists yet
• Technical and product fluency, with the ability to engage credibly with technical, delivery, and architecture stakeholders without needing to be hands‑on technical
• Demonstrated ability to build and execute partner strategy at a global/enterprise scale