Partner Manager

Partner Manager

San Francisco, CA - Hybrid; Denver, CO - Hybrid; New York, NY - Hybrid; United States - Remote

At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff — payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR — so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve.

All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) — because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy.

AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process.

About the Role:

As a Partner Manager at Gusto, you will be responsible for driving the strategy and growth of a portfolio of Gusto Pro's largest and most strategic accounting firm partners. In this role, you will be responsible for maintaining and expanding current revenue and usage within these firms, as well as identifying, pitching, and facilitating growth opportunities. You should be comfortable building deep relationships at all levels of a partner organization, from staff accountants to managing partners, and adept at managing complex partner relationships and product configurations. Use AI-powered workflows as a core part of how you sell: running assigned tools daily, surfacing friction and inefficiencies as you find them, and collaborating with your team to influence what gets built or improved next. You will also work cross-functionally with senior members of Gusto's team to strengthen the partner relationship, coordinate joint efforts, and provide input as we evolve our Gusto Pro product roadmap and processes.

About the Team:

Gusto Pro is a game-changing, cloud-based platform built specifically for accounting firms. It empowers firms to streamline payroll, people operations, and advisory services for their clients, all within a single, integrated platform. Gusto Pro boasts powerful features like client dashboards, automated workflows, robust reporting, and seamless integrations with other accounting software, enabling firms to elevate their client service and skyrocket their practice growth. Learn more about Gusto Pro.

Here's what you'll do day-to-day:

• Take a portfolio-based approach to your book of business to identify areas of risk and opportunities for revenue growth within your assigned accounting firms.
• Build detailed territory and account plans to lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) within your large partner portfolio to identify opportunities for growth, including aligning the Gusto Pro Partner Program with the partners strategic growth objectives.
• Balance both new partner acquisition (in collaboration with dedicated Partner BDR) and development of active partners.
• Act as a single point of contact for partners on behalf of aligned cross-functional sales supporting roles.
• Coordinate outreach strategy and partner enablement with cross-functional supporting functions to grow cross-sell/up-sell product adoption.
• Lead frequent discussions (weekly status calls, upsell calls, QBRs) with partners to ensure they are leveraging the Gusto Pro platform to achieve successful business outcomes for their clients and their firm.
• Drive awareness and usage of new or updated Gusto Pro features and integrations to the partners in your book, showcasing how these advancements can benefit their clients.
• Own end-to-end execution of contract renewals and upsells, negotiating mutually beneficial terms and ensuring seamless transitions.
• Collaborate with product, design, and engineering teams to provide informed recommendations for Gusto Pro's product roadmap, based on partner feedback and market trends, to enhance the partner and client experience.
• Navigate and update internal and external stakeholders, inclusive of C-suite executives at Gusto, partners, and cross-functional teams.
• Communicate and report to leadership on sales activity, pipeline progress, and market trends.
• Travel to meet with prospective partners. This includes representing Gusto at Industry Events and Conferences.

Here's what we're looking for:

• 5+ years of experience as a Partner Manager, Channel Manager, or other Sales-related function.
• A consistent track record of exceeding sales quotas and building long-term client relationships. Including negotiating complex six-figure contracts.
• Deep understanding of the accounting firm landscape, including their business models, challenges, and technology needs.
• Strong ability to articulate contractual, technical, and financial value points to partners, internal senior leaders, and executive leaders.
• A strong drive to succeed, and comfortable pushing the pace of action with partners and internal teams.
• Proven, day-to-day experience integrating AI into how you work — across writing, research, prep, and summarization as a core part of your workflow, with a track record of giving clear, useful feedback that helps improve your tools and processes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities – you're a strategic thinker.
• Work collaboratively but autonomously: asking for what you need, but not expecting micromanagement.
• Experience with CRM and Sales Software (e.g., Salesforce, ZoomInfo, Tableau).

Our target on-target earnings (OTE) compensation for this role is $125,000/yr to $150,000/yr in Denver, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta & most remote locations, $155,000/yr to $182,000/yr for San Francisco & New York and $120,000 to $180,000 CAD for Toronto. This OTE is structured with a target 70% base pay and 30% commission pay with an uncapped commission structure. Final offer amounts and the exact base/commission split are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience, and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees who are based in those locations will be expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week (or more depending on role). The same office expectations apply to all Symmetry roles, Gusto's subsidiary, whose physical office is in Scottsdale.

Note: The San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas.

When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable, and consistent internet connection is required. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses, you will find a home at Gusto.

Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Gusto considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Gusto is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. We want to see our candidates perform to the best of their ability. If you require a medical or religious accommodation at any time throughout your candidate journey, please fill out this form and a member of our team will get in touch with you.

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