Head of Strategic Partnerships

Serko is a cutting-edge tech platform in global business travel & expense technology. When you join Serko, you become part of a team of passionate travellers and technologists bringing people together, using the world's leading business travel marketplace. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer, we embrace the richness of diversity, showing up authentically to create a positive impact.

Requirements

This role is key to driving the success of Serko's strategic partnerships by creating new customer value, attracting new business, and leveraging partner influence to win new Serko customers while retaining existing clients. Reporting to the VP of GetThere, the role will focus on achieving the business objectives for assigned partnerships, directly impacting the growth of Serko's and our partner's business in the NORAM market. Success will be measured by the ability to deliver on the expected business outcomes from each partnership and ensure long-term growth and mutual success.

• Drive and manage engagement between Serko and key partners, ensuring alignment of strategies and initiatives to achieve business outcomes and maximize partnership potential.

• Establish and execute the strategic vision for key partnerships in alignment with Serko's business objectives, identifying new partnership opportunities to drive innovation and growth.

• Collaborate with senior leadership to understand core business needs, aligning them with partnership solutions and ensuring that partnership strategies support long-term company goals.

• Create shared partner objectives for revenue growth, aligning them with Serko's growth strategies, measuring progress, and guiding both parties toward successful outcomes.

• Define, track, and manage key performance indicators (KPIs) and performance metrics to ensure partnerships are delivering on agreed-upon business outcomes and driving mutual value.

• Oversee reporting processes to assess partnership performance, proactively identifying areas for improvement and course-correcting as necessary to maximize the opportunity.

• Collaborate with internal teams (e.g., product, marketing, finance, operations) to ensure seamless execution of partnership agreements, maximizing the value derived from the partnership.

• Manage ongoing contractual obligations, amendments, and renewals in collaboration with the commercial, legal, and finance teams, ensuring that terms evolve to reflect growing business needs.

• Build and nurture deep, trust-based relationships with key partners to ensure continuous collaboration, mutual benefit, and long-term sustainability.
• Develop and implement training or enablement programs for partners, enhancing their ability to sell, support, and drive adoption of Serko's solutions.

• Stay attuned to changes in the market and partner ecosystem, adjusting strategies proactively to address emerging trends, customer demands, and competitive threats.

• Take the lead in negotiations with partners to ensure mutually beneficial agreements, focusing on performance-based metrics and incentives that drive sustained growth.

• Developing and executing strategies that align with Serko's business goals, leveraging strong analytical skills and a data-driven approach to drive impactful decisions and outcomes
• Building and nurturing trust-based relationships at all organizational levels, using exceptional negotiation and communication skills to foster long-term, high-value partnerships.
• Leading collaboration across internal teams, ensuring alignment and seamless execution of initiatives that drive both internal and partner success.
• Applying deep knowledge of corporate managed travel and travel software to understand market dynamics and leverage industry trends for growth and business development.
• Demonstrating leadership with a goal-oriented, entrepreneurial mindset, confidently navigating challenges, and guiding teams and partners towards shared objectives with a challenger mindset.
• Cultivating strong, lasting relationships from contract negotiations to operational execution, ensuring that partnerships deliver long-term success and mutual value.
• Using data collection, analysis, and actionable insights to inform senior stakeholders and drive strategic decision-making, ultimately fostering sustainable growth opportunities.
• Adapting to evolving market conditions and overcoming challenges, maintaining focus on long-term objectives, and delivering consistent, high-impact results.
• Driving measurable outcomes and success in key partnerships, contributing to Serko's growth and profitability through focused leadership and performance management.
• Thinking creatively to drive innovation within partnerships, solving complex challenges, and identifying new opportunities that enhance overall partnership success.
• Ensuring that every partnership is aligned with partner and customer needs, delivering superior value and long-term success throughout the partnership lifecycle.

Benefits

At Serko we aim to create a place where people can come and do their best work. Offering competitive benefits that support you as an individual.

Some of the benefits we offer at Serko are:

• A competitive base salary and discretionary incentive plan based on individual and company performance
• Focus on development: Access to a learning & development platform, committed budget and opportunity for you to own your own career pathways.