Head of Partnerships

Job Description

Job Description

About Starbridge

We're building the front door for how businesses partner with government in America.

Public agencies spend roughly a trillion dollars a year with private companies, and nearly all of it still moves through infrastructure that hasn't changed in decades. Starbridge is building the full operating system for that relationship: the data, the signals, the workflows, and the rails that let a company find a public buyer, win the work, and get paid.

We monitor 320,000+ public sector entities around the clock. 500+ customers have joined us since our launch in March. We've raised $50M from top investors including Craft and Michael Seibel of Y Combinator.

We're building the next layer of growth beyond direct sales: a partner ecosystem.

We've validated that there's real demand for it. Today, referrals from agencies already generate substantial ARR with no dedicated owner and no formal program. We believe there is a much bigger opportunity with different personas. Leadership is aligned and ready to invest in a person who owns this end-to-end, from proving out the size of the opportunity to building the program that scales it.

This is a build-from-zero role. There is no existing partnerships function, no partner ops, and no program infrastructure. You'll start by answering one question: how big is the real referral partner universe for Starbridge, and where is it? Then you'll build the function needed to capture it. Compensation includes a quota component, so this role is accountable to revenue as well as activity.

Phase 1: Prove the partner universe (0 to 1)

The first few weeks are about finding the real universe, not building infrastructure prematurely. You will:

• Start inside the base: Mine the existing customer base, CRM data, call recordings, and sellers to identify which agencies, consultants, and firms are already showing up around our 500+ customers.

• Define the IPP: Build the Ideal Partner Profile from real, observed examples rather than firmographic guesses. Starbridge's partner universe is wider than traditional public-sector consultancies. It includes Clay/RevOps/GTM-engineering and outbound agencies that happen to serve GovTech and EdTech clients, investors, conference and event businesses that hold MDF budgets, independent operators and advisors in govcon/govtech/edtech, and media, data-sharing, and PR partners.

• Land the first anchor referral partners: Prioritize influence over size. The goal is strong, founder-level engagement with a handful of the right partners.

• Define and create incentives for our IPP: These can range from thought leadership and data content to networking and PR opportunities.

Phase 2: Build the program

Once the universe and the economics are proven, you'll build the infrastructure to scale it, including:

• Partner enablement, certification, and a partner directory/tiering structure.

• Partner activation: making it easy for partners to routinely refer strong pipeline.

• Seller activation: making it easy and incentivized for the Starbridge sales team to work with partners.

• A repeatable recruitment and onboarding motion across every IPP category, not only agencies.

• Reporting and forecasting for partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and revenue.

What you bring:

• Proven 0→1 builder: A track record building a partnerships, channel, or alliances function from zero to one, beyond running an existing program.

• Quota-driven mindset: Comfortable being measured on partner-sourced pipeline and revenue, not only program activity.

• Strong at market mapping: Able to identify a non-obvious partner universe through research, customer/CRM data, and direct outreach rather than relying on existing lists or inbound.

• Founder-mode relationship skills: A genuine relationship-builder who can earn founder-level trust with a small agency or independent operator as easily as with a larger firm.

• Comfortable in office 5 days a week: Willing and able to be in the Starbridge NYC office for in-person collaboration.

• 3+ years of experience in partnerships.

• Existing relationships or credibility in the agency, GovCon, GovTech, or EdTech ecosystem.

• Experience with adjacent partner types beyond agencies: VC/PE networks, conference/MDF businesses, media or data-sharing partnerships, or PR partnerships.

• Experience standing up partner tiers, certification programs, or partner enablement content.

We move fast — really fast. Getting back to someone today beats tomorrow, and our interview process reflects that mindset. Please keep us posted on your timeline so we can move quickly and speed things up where needed. All interviews are conducted via Google Meet and onsite in our NYC office.

• Build Bridges to Help Customers Win - We pride ourselves on being obsessively customer-centric.

• Shooting Star Speed - We move with extreme speed. We value momentum, decisiveness, and the ability to accelerate when it matters.

• Fun Is a Feature - We intentionally design Starbridge to be an energizing place to do hard work. Joy, humor, and camaraderie make great teams faster, sharper, and more resilient.

• In the Arena - We believe the best ideas come from living close to the work, feeling the friction, hearing the nuance, and experiencing the details firsthand.

• Competitive salary + early-stage equity

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance

• Company-provided lunch in the office every day

• Gym stipend

• Pre-tax commuter benefits

• Unlimited PTO

• Regular offsites (NYC + global locations)

Compensation Range: $180K - $250K