VP, Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystem

Napster
Napster

Sales & Business Development

Europe · Africa · Middle East

Posted on Oct 6, 2026
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VP, Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystem

Team: Partnerships & Ecosystem

Reports to: SVP, Partnerships & Ecosystem

Direct reports: Partnership Managers and Partnership Leads

Location: Remote-first, East Coast U.S. or Europe

Experience: 15–20 years

Hiring priority: Immediate

About Napster:

Founded on the principle of democratizing access, first to music in 1999, now to expertise in the AI era, Napster has consistently remained at the forefront of technological shifts that empower users. Today, the company builds embodied, multimodal AI agents that engage employees and customers where they already work: through video presence, voice, and text. Designed to work alongside people rather than replace them, Napster’s agents carry institutional knowledge into every interaction, elevating the user’s experience and improving business outcomes. For more information, visit napster.com.

About the Role

Napster is looking for a hands-on partner sales and alliance leader to build and grow our strategic partnership and technology ecosystem globally.

This is a sales leadership role with accountability for recruiting the right partners, developing alliances end to end, building qualified partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, and converting opportunities into closed deals and revenue.

Working closely with the SVP, Partnerships & Ecosystem, you will help shape strategy, bring your own commercial ideas, and establish vertical-specific go-to-market plays. You will directly manage Partnership Managers and Partnership Leads, owning the team’s day-to-day execution, commercial performance, and revenue forecasting.

You must understand how hyperscalers, global system integrators, technology partners, marketplaces, and channel partners work together to generate and close business. Success requires proactive recruitment, active stakeholder development, disciplined processes, and consistent delivery.

Key Responsibilities

  • Own the full alliance lifecycle: Identify, recruit, negotiate, onboard, activate, and grow strategic partners. Build joint business plans with clear commitments, owners, milestones, and revenue targets.
  • Develop stakeholders actively: Build relationships across executive sponsors, product teams, partner organizations, and field sellers. Expand engagement into new teams, regions, and commercial opportunities.
  • Own partner sales performance: Deliver against pipeline and revenue targets across partner-sourced and partner-influenced business.
  • Build and convert pipeline: Drive account mapping, opportunity creation, qualification, joint account plans, and deal progression through to close.
  • Lead priority deals personally: Work alongside Partnership Leads and partners on customer pursuits, commercial negotiations, and close plans.
  • Lead the team day to day: Set commercial targets, coach execution, prioritize resources, remove blockers, and hold the team accountable for results.
  • Own forecasting and operating discipline: Run regular pipeline, deal, forecast, and partner business reviews. Maintain accurate attribution, realistic close dates, clear next steps, and reliable forecasts.
  • Shape strategy with the SVP: Recommend partners, initiatives, and investments that create customer access, accelerate deals, and generate revenue.
  • Build vertical partner sales plays: Define target accounts, customer needs, joint propositions, and routes to market. Build repeatable programs that accelerate product GTM and sales.
  • Drive coordinated co-sell: Open doors for channel directors, the channel team, and channel partners to collaborate with technology partners, hyperscaler sellers, and GSIs.
  • Accelerate recruitment and activation: Establish a structured, fast-moving process from partner qualification to activation, first qualified opportunity, and first closed deal.
  • Lead marketplace strategy and execution: Align teams around a shared marketplace plan. Build processes for offer readiness, private offers, partner participation, approvals, procurement, and transaction reporting.
  • Connect indirect sales motions: Clarify partner economics, customer ownership, deal registration, attribution, and handoffs across direct, channel, and marketplace routes.

How You Will Work

Partner closely with Sales, Channels, Product, Finance, Legal, Partner Operations, Technical Partner Management, Commercial Enablement, Partner Marketing, and Ecosystem Growth.

Establish clear ownership and coordinated execution across partner recruitment, joint solutions, customer pursuits, and marketplace transactions. Bring teams together to resolve blockers and move opportunities from qualification to signed business.

What We Are Looking For

  • 15–20 years of experience in partner sales, strategic partnerships, alliances, ecosystems, or commercial leadership.
  • Proven direct people management experience, including hiring, coaching, and managing teams against commercial targets.
  • A track record of recruiting, building, and growing strategic alliances end to end, with active stakeholder management and measurable commercial results.
  • Demonstrated ownership of revenue targets, partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, and conversion into closed business.
  • Strong enterprise sales skills, including qualification, account planning, negotiation, and closing.
  • Deep understanding of hyperscaler, GSI, and technology partner ecosystems, with practical experience driving co-sell.
  • Hands-on experience building marketplace GTM strategies and operational processes, including private offers and partner-led transactions.
  • Strong understanding of indirect sales dynamics, partner economics, and how direct, channel, and marketplace routes work together.
  • Experience aligning commercial, technical, finance, and legal teams around a shared marketplace operating model.
  • Experience building vertical GTM plays and connecting channel partners with technology ecosystems to create customer opportunities.
  • Independent thinking, strong commercial judgment, and a process-driven approach to execution, CRM discipline, and forecasting.
  • Experience in AI, enterprise software, cloud, or platform businesses.
  • Strong Microsoft and Azure Marketplace experience preferred with focus on co-sell
  • Practical use of AI tools to improve sales planning, analysis, and team productivity.

What Success Looks Like

  • Recruitment of technology partnerships in a cohesive but fast paced and laser focused aligned with our strategy and planning whilst supporting and building out the partner strategy for intake of partnerships focused on Technology partners, platform partners, hyperscalers, OEMs
  • A solid, accurate, and growing partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline that converts into closed deals and revenue.
  • Delivery against partner sales targets, supported by reliable forecasts and clear attribution.
  • The right partners recruited, activated, and continuously developed into productive alliances.
  • Strong stakeholder relationships that open new teams, markets, and customer opportunities.
  • A coordinated ecosystem that gives our channel team and channel partners access to technology partners and joint pursuits.
  • Faster progression from recruitment to activation, first opportunity, and first closed deal.
  • Marketplace processes that support partner sales and help opportunities close.
  • A high-performing team with clear commercial ownership, disciplined follow-through, and laser-focused execution.

Our Culture:

  • Impact: Play a crucial role in our growth journey.
  • Culture: Join a vibrant team valuing creativity and collaboration.
  • Growth: Thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
  • Reward: Enjoy competitive compensation, equity opportunities, and comprehensive benefits.
  • Ready to shape our future? Apply now and be part of something extraordinary!

We’re looking for more forward-thinking, collaborative people to be part of our innovation journey and mission to push the boundaries of technology. If you’re ready to help us achieve this vision, we’d love to hear from you! At Napster Corp, we're looking for people who are invigorated by our values and driven to change the world, not those who simply check off boxes.

Napster Corp embraces a diversity of backgrounds and experiences and provides equal opportunity for all applicants and employees. We strive to build a company that reflects a global audience.

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