Sr. Media and Entertainment Alliances Director

About Backblaze

Backblaze is the object storage leader in the open cloud movement, fueling customer success with cloud storage built purposefully to unlock budgets, unburden administrators, and unleash innovators. Together with our partners, we’re helping customers break free from the restrictive, overpriced legacy solutions that hold them back, and blaze forward with the full power of the open cloud in their hands.

Founded in 2007, we scaled the business with less than $3 million in outside funding until 2021, when we did a traditional IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Today, Backblaze generates over $100m in revenue and is the leading specialized storage cloud - managing over three billion gigabytes of data storage for 500K+ customers in 175+ countries, including businesses, developers, IT professionals, and individuals.

But while there is a lot to celebrate in our past, there is almost as much opportunity ahead of us.  We are seeking a Sr. Director, M&E Alliances.  Your responsibilities will include building go-to-market partnerships, owning C-level relationships, and driving revenue growth through the identification of relevant partners, creatively addressing gaps in the value chain, facilitating product integration or enhancement discussions and implementing go to market strategies enabling joint sales.

You have a proven track record of influencing senior business and technical leaders in this domain, delivering growth-oriented results in a business development or channel role, a business background that enables you to interact effectively at the C-level/VP/Studio Director level.  You think strategically, communicate persuasively, and create compelling value propositions for partners.  You have a passion for emerging technologies and the ambition to shape the future to benefit partners.  You have familiarity with core industry vernacular, business processes, and industry value chains to help partners maximize growth potential to meet customers' needs.  Above all, you have an entrepreneurial mindset to deliver results for your partners and Backblaze.

What You’ll Do: 

• Develop and execute Media & Entertainment (M&E) partnership strategies that align with company goals.
• Manage and nurture relationships with existing M&E partners.
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure successful implementation of partnerships.
• Monitor and analyze the performance of partnerships.
• Provide regular updates to senior leadership on partnership activities and outcomes.
• Identify opportunities for new revenue streams through partnerships.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of the industry and market trends.
• Work cross-functionally with marketing, sales, product, and other departments.
• Create and deliver presentations to potential partners and stakeholders.
• Develop and implement processes for partnership management.
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with partnerships.
• Foster a culture of collaboration and innovation within the partnership team.
• Represent the company at industry events and conferences.
• Provide training and support to internal teams on partnership-related activities.
• Continuously seek opportunities to improve partnership strategies and processes.

The Right Fit:

• Media & Entertainment industry background and experience; knowledge of key workflows,  technologies and ecosystems.
• Understanding of the cloud storage market suitable to ideate new strategic partnerships that can address M&E customer pains and offer win/win partnership outcomes.
• Proven track record of managing complex M&E infrastructure partnerships and alliances.
• Bachelor's degree.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in strategic partnerships or business development.
• Excellent negotiation and contract management skills.
• Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to think strategically and execute tactically.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Deep understanding of the M&E industry technology landscape and the relevant cloud storage requirements.
• Ability to articulate the business imperatives, strategies and business value of M&E companies across the value chain.

Bonus Points For:

• Relevant technical acumen at the architecture, infrastructure or software development levels.

Backblaze Perks:

• Healthcare for family, including dental and vision
• Competitive compensation and 401K 
• RSU grants for full-time employees
• ESPP program 
• Flexible vacation policy
• Maternity & paternity leave
• MacBook Pro to use for work plus a generous stipend to personalize your workstation
• Childcare bonus (human children only)
• Fertility treatment and support
• Learning & development program
• Commuter benefits
• Culture that supports a healthy work-life balance

The OTE range for this position is $245,000 to $327,000.

The split for this role is 70% base salary and 30% commission pay, which will vary based on sales attainment.

To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share On Target Earnings (OTE) ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard OTE ranges, which include base salary and variable compensation (commission), based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar-stage growth companies.  Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate location, skills, depth of work experience, and relevant licenses/credentials, and may vary from the amounts listed below.

At Backblaze, we value being fair and good to our customers, partners, and employees. That’s  why diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of our values. We are committed to fostering  a workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging regardless of race, ethnicity,  nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, socio-economic status, ability, veteran  status, and education. We believe that our dedication to cultivating a diverse workspace not  only allows us to better serve our customers in over 175 countries, but further reinforces our  commitment to doing the right thing. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

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