Partner Development Manager

Impact; Santa Barbara (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance

RSUs with 3-year vesting

Free Coursera subscription

Flexible Working

Parental leave 26 weeks primary / 13周

Job summary

impact.com is seeking a dynamic leader to own two strategic publisher initiatives and manage a large partner relationship. You will combine external relationship management with internal coordination to ensure migration success and program growth on our platform.

You will collaborate with product, technical teams, and partners to solve problems, improve program operations, and drive adoption and revenue across a major publisher platform.

Qualifications

• Affiliate / Publisher knowledge and industry experience with publishers, networks, and monetization models.
• Strong communication with publishers, partners, and internal teams at all levels.
• Influential, able to persuade and gain credibility with external partners and internal stakeholders.
• Data-driven: measure program effectiveness and drive improvements.
• Prioritize activities to deliver best results for publishers, partners, and the business.

Responsibilities

• Support a major publisher migration with clear communication, defined processes, and follow-up.
• Be the primary contact for migrating publishers and address questions about migration and platform use.
• Ensure contracts/relationships transfer successfully; track progress and escalate blockers.
• Collaborate with technical teams on implementations and integrations for publishers.
• Monitor satisfaction and preserve revenue during migration and transition.
• Coordinate with onboarding, customer success, and technical support for smooth transitions.
• Own the day-to-day relationship with a large strategic partner and align on roadmap.
• Identify, qualify, and onboard new brands with the program; present it as growth channel.
• Monitor program health, adoption, engagement, and results; adjust as needed.
• Collaborate with product, technical, and partner teams to resolve issues and improve operations.
• Build and maintain executive-level relationships to ensure ongoing investment.

Skills

Affiliate knowledge

Strong communicator

Influential

Data-driven

Prioritization

Agile

Detail-oriented

Self-motivated

Team player

Learning mindset

Relationship builder

Job description

About impact.com
impact.com is the world’s leading commerce partnership marketing platform, transforming the way businesses grow by enabling them to discover, manage, and scale partnerships across the entire customer journey. From affiliates and influencers, to content publishers, brand ambassadors, and customer advocates, impact.com empowers brands to drive trusted, performance-based growth through authentic relationships. Its award-winning products - Performance (affiliate), Creator (influencer), and Advocate (customer referral) - unify every type of partner into one integrated platform. As consumers increasingly rely on recommendations from people and communities they trust, impact.com helps brands show up where it matters most. Today, over 5,000 global brands - including Walmart, Uber, Shopify, Lenovo, and Fanatics - rely on impact.com to power more than 350,000 partnerships that deliver measurable business results.

Your Role at impact.com:

You'll own two strategic publisher initiatives at impact.com. First, you'll support a major publisher migration, ensuring that as partners transition to impact.com's platform, you provide clarity, process, and confidence in the transition, with no revenue or relationship disruptions. Second, you'll be the primary relationship owner with a large strategic publisher platform partner, managing the day-to-day partnership, recruiting brands onto a new publisher program, and ensuring the program runs smoothly on our platform. You'll combine external relationship management, internal coordination, and tactical problem-solving to ensure both initiatives succeed and scale.

What You'll Do:

Publisher Migration: Support & Continuity

• Support a major publisher migration in waves as partners transition to impact.com—ensure each wave has clear communication, defined process, and active followup
• Be the key contact for migrating publishers during their transition, answering questions about the migration process and how impact.com's platform works compared to their current setup
• Ensure every contract and relationship that moves over transfers successfully; track progress, identify blockers early, and elevate to technical or management teams when needed
• Work with technical teams on any technical implementations or integrations submitted by publishers to ensure they're properly handled and the publisher is supported through setup
• Monitor advertiser and publisher satisfaction throughout the migration; proactively address concerns and ensure that revenue is preserved and relationships stay intact
• Coordinate with onboarding, customer success, and technical support teams to ensure publishers feel supported and the transition is as smooth as possible

Strategic Publisher Partnership: Relationship & Growth

• Serve as impact.com's primary point of contact with a large strategic publisher platform partner—own the day-to-day relationship, align on roadmap priorities, and ensure smooth operational execution
• Work with the partner to identify, qualify, and onboard new brands onto the program; help explain how the program works and position it as a growth channel for their businesses
• Monitor the program's health and performance—track adoption, engagement, and results; identify what's working and what needs adjustment to optimize
• Work internally with product, technical teams, and partners to solve problems, address bottlenecks, and improve how the program operates on our platform
• Build and maintain relationships with key partner stakeholders to ensure alignment, advocacy, and continued investment in the partnership

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build strong working relationships with internal teams: Customer Growth, Support/Customer Solutions, Product, Onboarding, and Technical Services
• Communicate regularly with management about migration progress, partner relationship health, publisher/advertiser satisfaction, and any emerging issues
• Coordinate between external partners and internal teams to resolve issues quickly and keep both initiatives moving forward
• Share feedback and insights from publishers and partners with product and leadership to inform roadmap decisions and program improvements

What You Bring:

Required:

• Affiliate / Publisher Knowledge: Experience in the performance marketing industry with an in-depth understanding of affiliate platforms, publisher types, and how publishers make money. Understanding of different payment models is important
• Strong Communicator: Able to communicate effectively with publishers, partners, and internal team members at all levels
• Influential: Be persuasive and command respect through your expertise and knowledge of our products and business
• Data-Driven: Able to accurately measure program effectiveness and use data to improve processes and publisher success
• Prioritization: Prioritize effectively based on activities that will deliver the best results for publishers, partners, and the business
• Agile: Able to adapt quickly to changes in the program, platform, or business needs
• Detail-Oriented: Pay attention to details in publisher data, contracts, migration tracking, and account management
• Self-Motivated & Team Player: Work independently while collaborating well with cross-functional teams and external partners
• Passion for Learning: Willingness to learn new platforms, tools, and business models
• Relationship Builder: Comfortable establishing trust and credibility with high-value external partners and internal stakeholders

Nice to Have:

• Background in publisher development, channel partnerships, or business development
• Experience managing publisher or partner accounts at scale
• Experience with platform migrations or transitions
• SaaS or affiliate network experience, specifically impact.com
• Understanding of digital marketing or creator economy trends
• Project management or program coordination experience

Salary Range: $100,000-$120,000 per year, plus a 25% Variable Commission Plan, and a generous stock (RSU) award.

*This is the pay range the Company believes is equitable for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

Benefits and Perks:

At impact.com, we believe that when you’re happy and fulfilled, you do your best work. That’s why we’ve built a benefits package that supports your well-being, growth, and work-life balance.

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Office-only catered lunch every Thursday, a healthy snack bar, and great coffee to keep you fueled
• Flexible spending accounts and 401(k)
• Flexible Working: Our Responsible PTO policy means you can take the time off you need to rest and recharge. We're committed to a positive work-life balance and provide a flexible environment that allows you to be happy and fulfilled in both your career and your personal life.
• Health and Wellness: Your well-being is a priority. Our mental health and wellness benefit includes up to 12 fully covered therapy/coaching sessions per year, with additional dependent coverage. We also offer a monthly gym reimbursement policy to support your physical health.
• A Stake in Our Growth: We offer Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) as part of our total compensation, giving you a stake in the company's growth with a 3-year vesting schedule, pending Board approval.
• Investing in Your Growth: We’re committed to your continuous learning. Take advantage of our free Coursera subscription and our PXA courses.
• Parental Support: We offer a generous parental leave policy, 26 weeks of fully paid leave for the primary caregiver and 13 weeks fully paid leave for the secondary caregiver.
• Technology Financial Support: We provide a technology stipend to help you set up your home office and a monthly allowance to cover your internet expenses.

impact.com is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace. All employees and applicants for employment shall be given fair treatment and equal employment opportunity regardless of their race, ethnicity or ancestry, color or caste, religion or belief, age, sex (including gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy/maternity), national origin, weight, neurodivergence, disability, marital and civil partnership status, caregiving status, veteran status, genetic information, political affiliation, or other prohibited non-merit factors.