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Director, Business Development & Strategic Partnerships

Redwood City, CA

We are seeking a Director of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships to build and scale high‑impact partnerships that expand the reach of our seasonal décor brand. This role will focus on developing repeatable, revenue‑generating partnerships with national retailers, hotel groups, restaurant chains, and experiential photography destinations (e.g., immersive or seasonal photo experiences).

This is a hands‑on, self‑starter role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, can open doors at the enterprise level, and enjoys building programs that scale—not one‑off deals. You will own the full partnership lifecycle, from strategy and outreach to deal execution and long‑term optimization.

This role will directly shape how our brand shows up in the world—bringing our seasonal décor to life through physical spaces, experiences, and national partnerships. You’ll have the opportunity to build a partnerships engine from the ground up and make a visible impact on the company’s growth.

This full-time position reports to the B2B General Manager and is expected to work in a hybrid model, which currently includes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in-office.

What you’ll do:

  • Develop and execute a partnership strategy aligned with company growth goals across retail, hospitality, food & beverage, and experiential venues
  • Identify, pitch, and close national and multi‑location partnerships that drive brand awareness, incremental revenue, and customer acquisition
  • Design scalable and repeatable partnership models (e.g., seasonal programs, licensing, co‑branded installations, revenue share frameworks)
  • Own partnerships end‑to‑end: prospecting, negotiations, contracting, launch, performance tracking, and renewal
  • Build strong executive‑level relationships with partners, acting as the primary point of contact
  • Collaborate cross‑functionally with marketing, merchandising, creative, operations, and legal to ensure seamless execution
  • Create playbooks, templates, and processes to enable faster deal velocity and consistent outcomes
  • Track performance metrics and ROI; continuously refine partnership offerings based on data and learnings
  • Stay ahead of trends in seasonal décor, experiential retail, hospitality, and brand collaborations
  • Leads team with accountability for business outcomes, promoting solution-sharing and inspiring the broader team/function with a vision aligned with organizational values 

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Success in this role will be measured by clear, outcomes-driven metrics, including:

  • Revenue Impact: Partnership-driven revenue contribution (annual and seasonal), including repeat and renewal revenue
  • Pipeline Development: Number and quality of enterprise-level partnership opportunities created and advanced
  • Closed Partnerships: Number of signed national or multi-location partnerships (retail, hospitality, restaurant, experiential
  • Scalability: Percentage of partnerships launched using repeatable frameworks vs. one-off custom deals
  • Time to Launch: Speed from signed agreement to live execution of partnership programs
  • Partner Retention & Expansion: Renewal rates and expansion of existing partnerships into additional locations, seasons, or formats
  • Brand Reach: Incremental brand impressions, foot traffic, or customer acquisition driven by partnerships
  • Operational Excellence: On-time, on-budget launches with strong cross-functional alignment

What you bring to the table:

  • 15+ years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, or commercial strategy, ideally with consumer brands, retail, hospitality, or experiences
  • Proven track record of building and scaling partnerships with enterprise or multi‑location partners
  • Experience creating structured, repeatable partnership programs, not just bespoke deals
  • Strong negotiation skills with comfort owning complex, multi‑stakeholder agreements
  • Entrepreneurial mindset—you’re a self‑starter who can build from a blank slate
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills; comfortable pitching to senior executives
  • Strategic thinker with the ability to execute tactically and drive deals to completion
  • Highly organized with strong project management and prioritization skills
  • Demonstrated AI literacy, enabling effective understanding, interaction, and critical evaluation of AI technologies and applications across diverse business functions

Nice to Have:

  • Experience partnering with national retailers, hotel chains, restaurant groups, or experiential venues
  • Background in seasonal, décor, lifestyle, or consumer‑facing brands
  • Familiarity with licensing, revenue share, or co‑marketing agreements
  • Experience working in high‑growth or founder‑led organizations

Travel: Ability to travel for partner meetings, trade shows and off-sites as required.

About Us: Balsam Brands is a global, omnichannel retailer with roots in holiday and home décor. We strive for excellence in everything we do and present a unique opportunity for those seeking to have a meaningful impact in a people-first company that values relationship building, authenticity, and doing the right thing. We have steadily growing teams in Boise, the Bay Area, Dublin, the Philippines, Canada, and Mexico.  

The company's mission is to create joy together. We empower our team and partners to love what they do, provide products and experiences that inspire meaningful moments with family and friends, and give back to our families and communities in impactful ways. When you join Balsam Brands, you'll find a culture of caring people doing challenging work and building a welcoming workplace.

At Balsam Brands, we strive to offer a competitive compensation and benefits package. For permanent, full-time team members, our current package includes:

  • Competitive compensation, including a cash-based incentive plan; salary is reviewed yearly and may be adjusted as part of the normal compensation review process
  • Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage, with 100% of monthly premiums covered for team members, and 85%+ employer-paid premiums for other coverage tiers that include dependents
  • Up to $2,000 annual funding toward HSA accounts
  • Medical, transit, dependent care FSA
  • Infertility coverage offered on all medical plans
  • Generous parental leave program and flexible return options
  • Company-paid life and AD&D insurance
  • Company-paid short and long-term disability insurance
  • 401(k) with dollar-for-dollar company match up to $4,000 per calendar year
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and other mental health and wellness perks
  • Paid holidays, annual shutdown week, PTO, and volunteer time-off (VTO) packages
  • Paid 5-week sabbatical leave after 10 years of employment
  • Annual continuous learning benefit up to $1,000 per person, per fiscal year
  • Up to $300 flexible reimbursement to support setup of new team member's work-from-home environment
  • Generous team member merchandise discount
  • Valuable extras: identity theft protection, subsidized parking, monthly wellness, pet insurance, accident & critical illness insurance

The base pay range for this position is: $170,000 to $212,000. Please note that placement within the posted salary range is based on several factors, including geographic location, experience, skills, alignment with role requirements and other job-related factors. It is uncommon for offers to be made at the top of the range, as this typically reflects a candidate who exceeds all role requirements and brings significant, directly applicable experience. We benchmark our pay ranges against current external data sources and regularly review compensation for our team members. Balsam Brands is committed to providing our team members with an internally fair, externally competitive, and fiscally prudent total compensation package administered in a simple and consistent manner.

At Balsam Brands, we strive to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive team to fulfill our purpose to create joy together. Balsam Brands is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We encourage people from all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experiences to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy or caregiver status, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application and interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

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Office locations are in

Redwood City, CA

Boise, ID

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