Director of Digital Partnerships

Career Guide
Leads the strategy and execution of partnerships with digital platforms, vendors, and publishers to drive revenue and product reach. Identifies, negotiates, and manages deals, oversees partner performance, and aligns product, marketing, and sales to deliver joint outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define partnership strategy and target ecosystem (platforms, channels, alliances)
  • Source, evaluate, and negotiate partnership deals and co-marketing agreements
  • Structure contracts (MSA/SOW), pricing, and incentive models with Legal/Finance
  • Own partner pipeline and forecast in CRM; report on KPIs and ROI
  • Lead partner onboarding, enablement, and joint go-to-market plans
  • Collaborate with Product/Marketing/Sales on integrations and co-selling motions
  • Monitor performance, optimize agreements, and manage renewals/escalations

Career Progression

Can Lead To
Senior Director of Partnerships
Vice President of Partnerships/Business Development
Head of Alliances & Channels
General Manager (GM), Partnerships/BD
Transition Opportunities
Corporate Development (M&A) Director
Product Partnerships Lead
Channel Sales Director
Strategy & Operations Director

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills
Alliance lifecycle management and partner program designContract negotiation specifics (MSA/SOW, data/privacy clauses)Digital media/retail media ecosystem fluencyTechnical partnership enablement (APIs, integrations)Partnership performance modeling and ROI attribution
Development SuggestionsTake ASAP CA-AM and IAB digital media courses; run a small co-marketing or integration pilot with a vendor, build an ROI model/dashboard, and practice term-sheet drafting using public templates.

Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range
Entry Level$130,000-$160,000
Mid Level$160,000-$200,000
Senior Level$200,000-$260,000
Growth Trend
growing

Companies Hiring

Major Employers
GoogleAmazonAdobe
Industry Sectors
TechnologyMedia & EntertainmentAdvertising & MarketingRetail & E-commerce

Recommended Next Steps

1
Earn ASAP CA-AM; create a partner strategy, scorecard, and 12-month GTM plan for a target platform.
2
Stand up a Salesforce (or similar) partner pipeline with defined stages; report KPIs and practice redlining using open contract templates.
3
Conduct 8–10 informational interviews with partnership leaders; join ASAP or Partnership Leaders and present a case study of a pilot deal.