Senior Manager, Business Development & Partnerships - AI & Agentic Solutions

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s largest work marketplace, connecting businesses with highly skilled professionals worldwide. From entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 enterprises, companies trust Upwork’s platform to access expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive meaningful business outcomes.

Upwork’s AI-powered platform has facilitated over $20 billion in economic opportunity for professionals worldwide. With professionals spanning 10,000+ skills, including AI and machine learning, software development, sales and marketing, customer support, finance and accounting, and more, Upwork empowers businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and build agile teams.

Position Overview

We are looking for a Senior Manager, Business Development & Partnerships - AI & Agentic Solutions to make a founder-level impact as a strategic individual contributor driving the vision and execution of Upwork’s AI partner ecosystem. This is a pivotal role in shaping how we drive growth through innovative partnerships, particularly in partner product development and distribution channels. You will play a key role in building Upwork’s AI and agent-focused partnership strategy, with a focus on human-in-the-loop systems, agent-based tools, and next-gen talent models informed by AI that expand how businesses engage with independent professionals. You will work cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Design, Marketing, Legal, and Finance teams to bring Upwork’s solutions to more businesses by building strategic relationships with third-party platforms and industry-leading partners.

Success in this role requires a strong background in discovery, partnership strategy, cross-functional execution, and driving partner success. The ideal candidate is highly skilled at navigating diverse partnership models—particularly those that integrate AI tools with marketplaces—and has a proven track record of closing impactful deals. You will contribute meaningfully to Upwork’s long-term growth strategy and play a critical role in launching new distribution and revenue channels through strategic relationships across the evolving AI ecosystem and key industry verticals.

Responsibilities

• AI Ecosystem Strategy: Contribute to the design and execution of Upwork’s AI partner ecosystem strategy, including identifying and prioritizing high-value partnerships with AI-native startups, LLM platforms, and infrastructure providers.
• Partnership Execution & Pipeline Management: Drive end-to-end deal flow—from discovery and value proposition development to negotiation and contract execution—while maintaining a qualified pipeline that meets or exceeds strategic performance goals.
• Market & Trend Intelligence: Stay ahead of AI and agentic infrastructure trends to uncover emerging opportunities that inform both partnership strategy and product innovation.
• Relational Leadership: Build and nurture trusted partnerships with key external stakeholders, serving as the primary point of contact and championing long-term success across the partner lifecycle.
• Product Alignment & Feedback Loops: Collaborate closely with Product and Engineering to create feedback loops, ensuring partnership opportunities align with platform capabilities and roadmap priorities.
• Operational Excellence: Develop internal documentation and processes to scale partnership execution and measurement efficiently across teams.
• Reporting & Communication: Own a regular reporting cadence with product and executive leaders to share progress, insights, and blockers on prioritized projects.

What it takes to catch our eye

• Deal Structuring & Activation: Strong discovery and sales background with demonstrated success driving partnerships across varied models (e.g., integrations, embedded tooling, co-development), and a customer-zero mindset to validate and improve partner experiences from the ground up.
• Storytelling & Positioning: Strong communicator who can translate...