Head of Partnerships San Francisco preferred · →

Forward Future; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Forward Future, a rapidly growing AI media company based in San Francisco, is seeking a Head of Partnerships to drive the next phase of growth. You will build advertiser and partner relationships, identify opportunities, develop campaigns, close deals, and transform one-off advertisers into long-term partners across newsletters, YouTube integrations, and cross-platform sponsorships.

You will own the end-to-end sales process, collaborate with the founders and content team, and shape the

Qualifications

• 3–7+ years in media, advertising, sponsorship, SaaS, or partnership sales.
• Experience owning a full sales cycle and closing deals.
• Comfort selling deals in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• Ability to build relationships rather than follow a fixed script.
• Excellent communication with founders, CMOs, marketing leads, and agencies.
• Strong pipeline management and follow-up discipline.

Responsibilities

• Own the full sales cycle from prospecting to signed contract, including discovery calls, proposals, media plans, pricing, and renewals.
• Develop relationships with advertisers and partners across AI and technology ecosystems.
• Sell across Forward Future products: newsletters, YouTube, custom content, events, and cross-platform partnerships.
• Grow existing accounts into longer-term, recurring partnerships.
• Maintain a disciplined pipeline and reliable forecast to drive revenue.
• Provide market feedback to help shape commercial strategy.

Skills

Partnership sales

Media advertising

SaaS

Job description

Forward Future · San Francisco preferred

Forward Future is one of the fastest-growing AI media companies.

Across our properties — The Future Today, our daily newsletter; The Future Live, our weekly show; Forward Future on YouTube; and ForwardFuture.com — we reach millions of people every month who want to understand what's happening in AI and how to put it to work.

In a world flooded with hype, we break down what's real, what's fluff, and what actually matters. Our job is to make the future legible.

We work with companies like Google, Perplexity, Microsoft, Cursor, and Intel to help them reach an audience of professionals, builders, executives, and early adopters shaping how AI gets used.

We're looking for a Head of Partnerships to help us grow that side of the business.

The Role

This is a full-cycle sales role.

You’ll be responsible for building relationships with advertisers and partners, identifying opportunities, developing campaigns, closing deals, and helping turn one-off advertisers into long-term Forward Future partners.

You’ll sell across our portfolio, including newsletter sponsorships, YouTube integrations, custom content, events, and larger cross-platform partnerships.

This isn't a high-volume transactional sales job.

Our best partnerships come from understanding what a company is trying to accomplish and building something that genuinely works for them and for our audience.

You’ll work directly with Forward Future's founders and content team and have significant ownership over how we build our commercial business.

What You’ll Do

• Own the sales cycle — Manage opportunities from first conversation through signed contract, including prospecting and developing new advertiser relationships, qualifying inbound opportunities, running discovery calls, building proposals and media plans, negotiating pricing and terms, closing new business, and managing renewals and expanding existing accounts.


• Build relationships with the AI ecosystem — Develop relationships with marketing leaders, founders, agencies, and growth teams across AI, technology, SaaS, and adjacent industries. You should become someone our partners trust — not just someone who reaches out when inventory needs to be sold.


• Sell ideas, not just inventory — Understand a partner's goals and recommend the right combination of Forward Future products to achieve them. Sometimes that will be a newsletter placement. Sometimes it will be a YouTube integration. Sometimes it will be a larger campaign spanning multiple channels. The goal is to build partnerships that perform, not simply fill available slots.


• Grow existing accounts — Some of our biggest opportunities will come from companies already working with us. You’ll identify ways to turn successful campaigns into larger, recurring relationships and develop a strong book of repeat business.


• Own your pipeline — Maintain a disciplined pipeline and reliable forecast. You’ll be expected to know what is likely to close, when it is likely to close, what is blocking a deal, and where the next opportunities are coming from. We care about results, but we also care about building a predictable sales engine.


• Bring the market back to the company — You’ll be one of the people talking most frequently with companies trying to reach the AI market. We want those conversations to influence what we build. You’ll help us understand what advertisers want, where budgets are moving, what products are resonating, and where Forward Future has opportunities to create new commercial offerings.

What We’re Looking For

You’re probably a strong fit if you:

• Have 3–7+ years of experience in media, advertising, sponsorship, SaaS, or partnership sales


• Have experience owning a full sales cycle and consistently closing business


• Are comfortable selling deals in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars


• Know how to build relationships rather than simply run a sales script


• Can communicate clearly with founders, CMOs, marketing leaders, and agencies


• Are highly organized and disciplined about follow-up and pipeline management


• Can write a strong proposal without needing someone else to turn your thinking into a deck


• Are comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment with a small team


• Take ownership and don't need a heavily prescribed playbook to make progress


• Experience selling media, newsletters, creator partnerships, podcasts, YouTube, or integrated sponsorships is a major plus — so is an existing network across AI and technology

What Matters More Than Your Resume

• You can sell — You know how to move a conversation from interest to commitment. You ask good questions, understand what actually matters to the buyer, and know when and how to ask for the business.


• You have good judgment — Not every dollar of revenue is good revenue. You understand the difference between a partnership that strengthens the Forward Future brand and one that damages audience trust.


• You understand the product — You don't need to be an AI researcher, but you should be genuinely interested in AI and technology. You should be able to understand what our advertisers are building, why it matters, and how to communicate that intelligently.


• You move quickly — AI changes by the day and our business moves quickly with it. You're responsive, decisive, and comfortable working without layers of process.


• You care about the customer after the deal closes — A signed contract isn't the finish line. The best salespeople create customers who want to buy again. You’ll work closely with the rest of the team to make sure campaigns are executed well and partners see value from working with us.

Why Forward Future

You’ll be joining a small, ambitious team building one of the defining media brands around AI. This is a role for someone who wants responsibility, autonomy, and the opportunity to build.

You’ll have:

• A highly engaged audience in one of the fastest-growing markets in the world


• A product advertisers already want to be associated with


• Direct access to the founders


• Significant ownership over the commercial strategy


• The ability to help build the sales organization rather than inherit a rigid one


• Meaningful upside as Forward Future continues to grow

Location

We believe there is significant value in working together in person, particularly on a small team moving quickly.

Compensation

Competitive base salary + commission.

Exact compensation will depend on experience.