Partner Director (Commercial Partnerships)

Work model: Remote-first (can be based anywhere in South Africa). Need to be able to legally work in SA to be considered.
Salary: R65 000 - R100 000
Contract: Up to 3-year fixed-term contract (with renewal)

Why youd want to work here..

• Mission-led work that tackles inequality through learning and career pathways
• Proper remote-first culture (designed for flexibility balance and great collaboration)
• Intentional in-person connection a few times a year (JHB / CPT) an annual team get-together
• High-trust environment with a strong focus on accountability learning and impact

About our client..
Our client is a remote-first social impact organisation connecting talented young people to high-value learning and career opportunities. Theyre looking for a Partner Director to own the strategic health growth and revenue performance of a full partner vertical including senior relationships team leadership and a combined revenue target.

What the job involves..

• Owning a combined revenue target across your vertical (your portfolio your teams)
• Forecasting pipeline management and proactively flagging revenue risk
• Owning the strategic health of the full partner ecosystem in your vertical (active dormant and prospective)
• Personally managing the most senior/strategic partner relationships and high-stakes conversations
• Leading major partnership proposals cross-sell/upsell and multi-year opportunities
• Collaborating across verticals where partners co-fund/co-operate on shared projects
• Line-managing and developing Senior Partner Managers / Partner Managers with commercial accountability
• Quality-assuring partner reporting to ensure accuracy and delivery reality

What you need to be considered..

• 10 years in strategic partnerships commercial leadership business development or similar
• A strong record of managing and growing a revenue-bearing portfolio at a senior level
• Experience leading and developing a commercially accountable team
• Excellent commercial acumen (targets forecasting deal structures)
• Confidence operating at ecosystem level (pattern-spotting across a portfolio)
• Strong written communication (partner/funder comms reporting leadership)
• Comfort navigating cross-functional dynamics (without direct authority over delivery teams)

Bonus points if you..

• Have experience with co-funded / blended-finance / multi-stakeholder partnership structures
• Have worked in non-profit education workforce development or social innovation contexts
• Have South African grant funding exposure (e.g. Jobs Fund/Boost NYDA SETAs IDC etc.) M&E frameworks and understanding of B-BBEE requirements