Strategic Partnerships & Business Development Lead

SoulCycle is looking for a commercially-driven leader to own partnerships as a revenue line for the business. The role oversees all strategic partnership and business development efforts, with a clear first priority for sponsorship dollars, monetization, and customer acquisition. The second priority is on brand heat and awareness as outcomes that great strategic partnerships can produce along the way.
The right candidate knows how to tell the Soul story and package it for a partner. The job includes significant storytelling, but the primary focus is on building and running a programmatic sales and business development portfolio (with pipeline, conversion, and renewals managed like a sales book rather than a series of one-offdeals). The Director, Strategic Partnerships will source, negotiate, and close new partnerships, and will own the commercial management of our existing partner relationships, including accountability for performance, growth, and renewal economics.
The Director, Strategic Partnerships will manage and develop talent on the team, will collaborate closely with other department leaders at SoulCycle, including Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Legal.
The right candidate will:
1. Build a programmatic partnerships portfolio to achieve revenue targets, and will manage the pipeline in a way that supports the vision for B2B growth at SoulCycle.
2. Own the commercial relationship with our most significant existing partners: performance against contract, growth opportunities, and renewal negotiations.
3. Be an internal champion for Partnerships, forging strong working relationships with internal stakeholders across all departments.
4. Serve as the face of SoulCycle in the market, from exploratory conversations through contracting and onboarding, bringing an established network that is additive to our existing partner base.
5. Manage, coach, and develop a direct report, helping elevate the standard of the team.
This role demands a results-oriented, low-ego, hard working leader who can execute and who has a proven track record of delivering revenue.
RESPONSIBILITIES
● Own the Partnerships revenue annual target. Build, manage, and report on a pipeline of active deals with clear targets for sponsorship dollars, monetization, and customer acquisition.
● Own strategy, relationship management & development, and negotiation of all partnerships, bringing in cross-functional SoulCycle partners and/or executives as needed to support discussions.
● Manage the commercial side of existing partnerships, including performance against contract terms, growth opportunities, and renewal.
● Identify and source new partnerships to create revenue streams for the company, including sponsorships and alternative monetization approaches.
● Build a partner network across key wellness, retail, and other lifestyle categories, striking opportunities that meet our target consumer where they are and punctuate our brand positioning to fuel awareness and acquisition.
● Manage deal negotiations end to end, partnering with Legal, Finance, Marketing and other internal teams to establish term sheets and deal parameters.
● Lead the execution of deals post-close, holding each deal to its KPIs and building strong cross-functional internal alignment and excitement around every opportunity.
● Manage and develop a direct report; set the operating rhythm and standards for the partnerships function.
● Set, measure, and exceed goals, plans, and KPIs for the partnership program at Soul.
6 to 10 years building and running sales, business development, or partnerships portfolios with direct revenue accountability and a record of hitting the number.
Experience structuring, negotiating, and renewing large, multi-year commercial contracts; comfortable owning the economics as well as the marketing and relationship management elements.
People management experience, including experience hiring, coaching, and developing direct reports to take on additional swaths of ownership.
Executive maturity: can run a negotiation, a partner business review, or a leadership update without a script, and holds their own with senior counterparts.
A strong storyteller who can package the SoulCycle brand for partners, grounded in a commercial case.
Analytically minded, with an ability to set KPIs, track performance against them, and report ROI.
Self motivated, a self starter who can run independently and adapt in a fast-paced, evolving business.
Familiarity and comfort with navigating fitness/wellness, music, entertainment, lifestyle, tech, and fashion/retail industries.
Pay Transparency: $145k - $160k

Employment type
Full-time

Work arrangement
No