Founding Strategic Partnerships, Cloud & Alliances

The mandate: Build Retell's partner ecosystem from zero. Own a portfolio spanning cloud hyperscalers, CCaaS and CRM platforms, and consultancies, SIs, and BPOs — and carry quarterly targets on what it produces.

This is a quota-carrying partnerships seat, not a relationship-management one. The JD is explicit about the outcomes: activated partnerships, partner-sourced SQLs, co-sold pipeline, and closed-won repeatable revenue, measured quarterly. Recruiters should not pitch this as strategic alliances work — it's channel revenue with a build phase in front of it.

Reports directly to company leadership. Works with GTM, Product, and Engineering.

Career path is stated in the JD: strong performers expand into broader strategic partnerships and GTM leadership. That matters for a candidate weighing a founding IC seat against a director title elsewhere.

What You'll Own

Portfolio and targets

• Cloud hyperscalers, CCaaS and CRM platforms, consultancies, SIs, BPOs
• Quarterly targets: activated partnerships, partner-sourced SQLs, co-sold pipeline, closed-won repeatable revenue

Cloud hyperscaler motion

• Launch and grow marketplace listings and private offers
• Build co-sell programs that compensate partner AEs to sell Retell
• Manage PDM relationships, drive joint outbound with partner AEs
• Field presentations, partner conferences, kickoffs

CCaaS and strategic partner motion

• Joint offerings with CCaaS and CRM platforms, SIs, consultancies, BPOs
• Establish co-sell, resale, referral, and implementation models
• Enable partner teams, map shared accounts, support joint pursuits through deployment

Partner activation

• Vet, sign, and activate strategic partners
• Build enablement: training paths, certification, GTM plays, shared marketing assets
• Joint pursuit support on live deals

Co-marketing and ecosystem presence

• Joint launches, blog posts, demos, industry conferences, partner events, roundtables

Cross-functional

• Legal, Sales, FDEs, Product, Engineering, Marketing

Requirements

Hard gates:

• 5+ years in strategic or channel partnerships at a high-growth SaaS company
• Built partner programs from zero. Stated explicitly — someone who ran an established program hasn't done this.
• Launched a marketplace, co-sell, resale, or implementation motion successfully. Specific and verifiable.
• Deep experience with at least one of: cloud hyperscalers, CCaaS or CRM platforms, consultancies, SIs, or BPOs
• Strong executive presence and ability to influence senior stakeholders
• Frequent travel. Stated as a requirement, not a nice-to-have.
• Redwood City

Profile:

• 6–10 years total, given the 5+ floor and the founding scope
• Commercially minded — energized by pipeline, not just relationships
• Comfortable in ambiguity with high ownership
• Balances strategy with hands-on execution
• Enjoys networking and representing the company externally

Strong bonuses:

• AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure marketplace and co-sell experience specifically. Named first in the JD's portfolio list, and the hardest skill to fake. Someone who has actually shipped a marketplace listing, structured private offers, and worked a PDM relationship is the bullseye.
• CCaaS partnerships — Five9, Genesys, NICE, Talkdesk, Twilio, LivePerson. Retell's most natural channel.
• BPO partnerships — Everise, TaskUs, Concentrix, Teleperformance, Alorica, iQor. Retell already has BPO PMF; a partner leader with those relationships accelerates enormously.
• SI and consultancy channel — Accenture, Deloitte, Slalom, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant
• CRM ecosystem — Salesforce AppExchange, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics
• Has personally closed partner-sourced revenue, not just signed agreements

Location and visa:

• Redwood City, frequent travel
• Sponsorship: H-1B, TN, L-1, E-3, F-1 (OPT/CPT), and O-1

Anti-partners

• Partner managers who inherited a program. Most common near-miss. They'll interview well and have built nothing.
• Alliance managers whose job was relationship maintenance with no revenue number
• BD generalists with no channel-specific motion experience
• Anyone who's signed partnerships that never activated — ask what revenue came out
• Enterprise AEs with no partner motion, however strong their numbers
• Candidates who won't travel frequently
• Big-company partner managers with one named account and a support team
• Remote requirements

Who Will Thrive Here

Someone who has stood up a marketplace listing from nothing, gotten a hyperscaler's field team to actually co-sell, and can point to the revenue that came out the other side. They're comfortable being the only partnerships person in the building and equally comfortable in a room with an AWS PDM or a Concentrix SVP. They want to build a channel for a product that already sells rather than evangelize something unproven — and at $80M ARR with zero channel, that's precisely what's on offer.