Founding Partnerships Lead at Kobo

New York, New York, United States

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Not SpecifiedCompensation

Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level

Full TimeJob Type

UnknownVisa

HR TechIndustries

Requirements

4+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, or platform strategy, ideally in a B2B SaaS company
Experience with enterprise/complex partnerships, ideally with major vendors (Salesforce, Workday, Microsoft, etc.)
Proven experience managing complex partnerships with enterprise vendors (bonus: HRTech/RecTech ecosystem)
Strong operator mindset: structured, independent, and action-oriented
Technical literacy — comfortable talking APIs and integration workflows
Excellent communication skills and stakeholder management (internal + external)
Based in NYC (or willing to relocate)
Available for frequent travel to key events (0.5–1x/month)

Responsibilities

Initiate and drive end-to-end partnership cycles with key vendors like Workday, SAP, and Dayforce
Build strong relationships across the ecosystem, representing Kombo at conferences and partner meetings
Help unlock sandbox access, technical support, and faster API access for new and existing integrations
Shape our vendor-facing narrative and collaborate with marketing to position Kombo as the go-to integration partner
Collaborate cross-functionally with Product and Engineering to launch tightly integrated product lines (e.g., assessments, job boards)
Lay the foundation for a long-term partnerships function at Kombo and hire the first team members over time
Own the playbook for partner-led expansion opportunities

Skills

Partnerships

Vendor Management

Business Development

HR Tech

API Integrations

Workday

SAP

Dayforce

Cross-functional Collaboration

Strategic Negotiations

Kobo

Provides eReaders and digital reading apps

About Kobo

Rakuten Kobo Inc., a leading player in digital reading technology, provides a sophisticated ecosystem for seamless access to ebooks across various devices through its range of eReaders and Kobo App. This company is ideal for individuals passionate about transforming and enhancing the global reading experience, offering a highly collaborative environment that supports over 30 million users worldwide. Employees can thrive on opportunities to interact with cutting-edge technology while contributing to an expansive digital library that enriches both the accessibility and enjoyment of reading.

Toronto, CanadaHeadquarters

2009Year Founded

$395.9MTotal Funding

ACQUISITIONCompany Stage

Consumer Software, EducationIndustries

201-500Employees