Sr. Director of ISV Business Development

Sage; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental & vision coverage

401(k) matching

32 days PTO

Parental leave (18 weeks)

Volunteer days

Tuition reimbursement

Wellness rewards program

Learning & development library

Job summary

Sage seeks a Senior Director of ISV Business Development to lead the ecosystem strategy and drive growth across partners worldwide. You will own solution alignment, contracting and GTM enablement, coordinating with Product, Legal, Finance and regional teams to ensure scalable, revenue-driven outcomes.

Your leadership will guide a four-person director-level team, establish annual partner targets, and oversee executive sponsorship, performance reviews and portfolio optimization across geographies,

Qualifications

• 15+ years in ISV business development or equivalent.
• Proven leadership of teams beyond individual contributors.
• Able to mentor, guide and align cross-functional programs across regions.

Responsibilities

• Own the partner voice in solution strategy and align with PM/PMM for BUILD/Partner/Buy decisions.
• Lead negotiation of global reseller, referral, OEM, white-label and co-sell agreements with scalable frameworks.
• Drive GTM activation lifecycle and enablement to ensure partners are commercially viable and launch-ready.
• Manage executive relationships, joint business planning, QBRs and governance with top ISV partners.

Skills

ISV partnerships

Strategy leadership

GTM execution

Contract negotiations

Cross-functional leadership

Job description

The Senior Director, ISV Business Development is the global craft leader for Sage’s ISV ecosystem. You will act as the single accountable owner for turning solution strategy into ecosystem-led, commercially-governed growth. Operating as the head of the ISV craft, the role holds unified accountability for solution-strategy alignment, commercial contracting, go-to-market (GTM) success support, executive relationship management, and partner performance across every business unit, franchise and region.

This role sits at the intersection of Product Management, Product Marketing, Growth, Enablement, Performance Marketing, Trading, Legal, Finance and Regional Revenue teams. It exists to ensure that the BUILD / Partner / Buy decision is made deliberately and consistently, that the resulting commercial relationships are contracted on scalable terms, and that partners are launched, supported and held to measurable annual targets – so that ecosystem investment is always tied directly to customer outcomes and revenue.

This is a Hybrid position based in-office 3 days per week.

Solution Strategy Alignment (BUILD / Partner / Buy)

• Own the partner voice in solution strategy – partner with Product Management and Product Marketing to bring clarity to the BUILD, Partner or Buy decision for each capability gap, ensuring the right capability reaches customers through the right commercial model.
• Steward the Solution Maps – maintain the partner component of Sage’s global solution maps, translating identified capability gaps into a prioritized ecosystem investment and recruitment plan.
• Guard the BUILD boundary – ensure that where Sage chooses to build, ISV extensibility, AI-gateway readiness and self-funding business-development principles are designed in, so partner strategy strengthens rather than duplicates the core roadmap.
• Governance – run the quarterly connect / review cadence that keeps Product, Growth, Marketing, Enablement, Sales and Commercial Partner teams aligned to a single, consistent solution strategy across geographies.

Commercial Contracting

• Chief commercial contracting authority for ISV – lead negotiation of global reseller, referral, OEM, white-label, marketplace, co-sell and strategic alliance agreements.
• Scalable frameworks – develop and institutionalize standard commercial frameworks, pricing structures, revenue-share and API-monetization models, and policy standards that apply consistently across all Sage products and regions.
• Cross-functional integrity – partner closely with Legal, Finance, Product and Operations to ensure commercial consistency, sound unit economics and end-to-end alignment to signed commitments.

GTM Success Support

• Launch readiness – drive the five-phase activation lifecycle (approval and scope, commercial and systems readiness, product and technical readiness, GTM enablement and launch, post-GA performance management) so every partnership is commercially viable, technically sound and operationally ready before launch.
• Enablement and handoff – ensure clean handoff to Commercial Operations, Enablement and field sellers (direct and channel), with playbooks, positioning and rules of engagement that let sellers support and position ISV solutions independently.
• Field execution support – work with regional revenue and growth teams so strategic partners receive the visibility, overlay capacity and commercial guidance needed to convert strategy into pipeline and attach.

Relationship Management

• Executive sponsorship – maintain trusted executive-level relationships and governance for Sage’s most strategic ISV partnerships, representing Sage as a senior partner in the market.
• Joint business planning – develop and execute joint business plans, and lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and executive steering committees with top ISV partners.
• Final escalation point – act as the ultimate escalation owner for strategic partner matters, resolving complex commercial, product, legal and GTM issues and protecting long-term mutual growth.

Partner Performance – Annual Target Setting & Performance Reporting

• Annual target setting – work with partners and regional revenue leaders to set annual ISV targets, ensuring ISV revenue is budgeted as an explicit subset of franchise revenue with assigned sales targets rather than left as unowned aspiration.
• Performance reporting – own the ISV scorecard and regular reporting to leadership – tracking ISV-sourced and ISV-influenced ARR, net revenue and margin contribution, attach rate, retention/expansion, activation and churn.
• Course correction – run monthly and quarterly performance reviews to track partners against target, and recommend investment, expansion or corrective action to keep the portfolio performing.

Qualifications

• Approximately 15+ years of relevant industry experience, particularly in ISV business development.
• Proven experience leading people, beyond individual contributor success.
• Leadership Approach: A “first among equals” leadership style, guiding four largely self-directed, director-level professionals.
• Ability to acts as a mentor, sounding board, and advisor rather than relying on detailed direction or hands‑on management.
• Leverages experience to provide guidance, anticipate challenges, and help the team navigate risks.

Perks? We have plenty.

• Competitive salaries that landed us top 5% of similar sized companies (according to Comparably)
• Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage
• 401(k) retirement match (100% matching up to 4%)
• 32 days paid time off (21 personal days, 10 national holidays, 1 floating holiday)
• 18 weeks paid parental leave for birth, adoption or surrogacy offered 1 year after start date
• 5 days paid yearly to volunteer (through Sage Foundation)
• $5,250 tuition reimbursement per calendar year starting 6 months after hire date
• Sage Wellness Rewards Program ($600 wellness credit and $360 fitness reimbursement annually)
• Library of on demand career development options and ongoing training offerings

Dig deeper about who we are:

• Who is Sage: https://www.sage.com/en-us/company/about-sage/
• Life at Sage: https://www.sage.com/en-us/company/careers/
• Our Values & Behaviors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vt5JXf-Gwno&feature=youtu.be
• How we make a difference: https://www.sage.com/en-us/company/sage-foundation/
• Sage Business Cloud - SaaS for Every Business: https://www.sage.com/en-us/products/

Global Partners Alliances & PS

United States

Atlanta

Hybrid

Working at Sage means you’re supporting millions of small and medium sized businesses globally with technology to work faster and smarter. We leverage the future of AI, meaning business owners spend less time doing routine tasks, like entering invoices and generating reports, and more time pursuing their ambitions.

Our colleagues are the best of the best. Because to achieve extraordinary outcomes, we need extraordinary teams. This means infusing Sage with people who knock down barriers, continuously innovate, and want to experience their potential.

Learn more about working at Sage: sage.com/en-us/company/careers/working-at-sage/

Watch a video about our culture: youtube.com/watch?v=h1-vs3zIpnc

We celebrate individuality and welcome you to join us if you embrace all backgrounds, identities, beliefs, and ways of working. If you need support applying, reach out at [e-mail] .

Learn more about DEI at Sage: sage.com/en-us/company/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/

Sr. Director of ISV Business Development

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

Sage is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities.

In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions at Sage will be based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. Sage does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.