Partnership Development Manager - Central Midwest

Eligible Hiring Locations: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

Who We Are

At Phorest, we're passionate about helping businesses in the hair, beauty, wellness, and medspa industries thrive.

Founded in 2002, we've grown from a simple text reminder tool into a global, product-led SaaS company supporting over 155,000 professionals worldwide. Today, our technology helps businesses manage everything from appointments and payments to marketing, client relationships, and business growth.

But we're much more than a software company. We're a team of people who genuinely care about the success of the businesses we serve. We believe that when our customers grow, we grow with them, and that philosophy is at the heart of everything we do.

We're also proud to be a Certified B Corporation, with 25% of our business owned by our employees. We value collaboration, creativity, ownership, and making a meaningful impact.

As we continue to expand across North America, we're looking for ambitious, relationship-driven people who share our passion for the industry and want to be part of our journey.

The Opportunity

We're looking for a Partnership Development Manager to help accelerate Phorest's growth across the premium salon market in the Central Midwest.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in growing our market presence, building strategic industry partnerships, and creating new opportunities to introduce Phorest to ambitious salon businesses.

You'll join an experienced, collaborative, and highly motivated sales team, where your ideas, creativity, and ability to build meaningful relationships will directly contribute to our growth.

This role is about much more than generating leads. It's about becoming a trusted partner within the hair and beauty industry, developing a strong network of advocates, and creating partnerships that drive meaningful business opportunities.

You'll have the autonomy to develop your territory, build relationships with influential industry partners, and bring fresh ideas to how we grow our presence in the market.

If you're commercially driven, thrive on connecting with people, and enjoy getting out into the field to turn great relationships into real business opportunities, we'd love to hear from you.

Your territory will cover: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.

Location: This is a remote, field-based position. Candidates must be based in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Iowa. Regular travel throughout the broader Central Midwest territory will be required.

What You'll Be Doing

Build Partnerships That Make an Impact

• Identify, develop, and nurture strategic relationships with leading hair and beauty brands, distributors, business coaches, education providers, industry influencers, and other key partners.

• Become a trusted point of contact for partners, helping them understand the value Phorest can bring to the salons they work with.

• Build strong referral networks that generate qualified leads, new business opportunities, and a healthy sales pipeline.

• Work closely with partner representatives to identify creative ways to engage prospective salons, from warm introductions to joint visits and ride-alongs.

Drive Growth Across Your Territory

• Take ownership of partnership development activities across the Central Midwest, identifying opportunities to grow Phorest's market presence within the premium salon industry.

• Identify and pursue opportunities for industry events, strategic collaborations, and campaigns that generate awareness, engagement, and new business.

• Represent Phorest at conferences, trade shows, partner events, and in-person meetings, building relationships and championing our brand.

• Stay informed about industry trends, competitor activity, and emerging opportunities to strengthen our position in the market.

Bring Partnerships to Life

• Collaborate with our North American Sales and Marketing teams to plan and execute partnership initiatives, events, and campaigns.

• Support our US brand partnerships by driving salon engagement, awareness, and adoption of partnership programs.

• Spend time in the field alongside brand representatives, visiting salons, facilitating introductions, and identifying opportunities to demonstrate the value of Phorest.

• Identify suitable salons for partnership pilots and initiatives, helping them understand the benefits and opportunities available through our partnerships.

Own the Details and Deliver Results

• Ensure partner referrals are accurately captured, tracked, and managed through established processes and CRM systems.

• Equip referral partners with the tools, information, and resources they need to generate quality opportunities.

• Manage and reconcile monthly referral partner payments accurately and efficiently.

• Track partnership activity and performance, using insights to strengthen relationships and identify opportunities for continued growth.

What We're Looking For

Ideally, you'll bring:

• 3+ years of sales experience, preferably within a fast-paced SaaS or technology environment.

• Experience in the hair and beauty industry is a plus, particularly if you've built relationships with salon brands, distributors, or other industry networks.

• A proven ability to build rapport, establish trust, and develop long-term business relationships.

• A proactive, results-oriented mindset, with the confidence to identify opportunities and turn conversations into commercial results.

• Strong communication, influencing, negotiation, and objection-handling skills.

• A growth mindset, with the curiosity and creativity to explore new approaches and continuously improve.

• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple partnerships and priorities.

• Experience using CRM platforms such as Salesforce is a plus.

• A genuine enthusiasm for the hair and beauty industry and a passion for helping businesses succeed.

• Willingness and ability to travel regularly throughout the territory, attend industry events and conferences, and work directly with partners and their teams.

Benefits

Phorest currently offers a range of fully employer-paid benefits including Medical, Dental, Life, AD&D, Short Term Disability, an EAP, and wellness perks.

Employees also have access to optional extras, such as a 401(k) and a range of upgraded insurance options.

Career development is important to us. We even have our own in-house Learning and Development/Business coach and many online resources including LinkedIn learning.

We like to have fun, build camaraderie through regular social events.

Phorest also encourages Employee Resource Groups, you will have the opportunity to join or champion a club, society, or group.

Phorest is an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity at our company and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalized folks tend to only apply when they check every box. So if you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch. We'd love to have a chat and see if you could be a great fit.