Director, Business Development and Partnerships

WHAT WE NEED We are looking for a foundational leader to shape how Hazelcast goes to market through partners. At a pivotal stage of our growth, you will define and execute our global ecosystem strategy—identifying the right partners, designing effective routes to market, and building the initial partnerships that materially expand our pipeline and strategic reach. This is a hands-on leadership role for an experienced business development professional who thrives on creating structure from scratch and translating high-level strategy into measurable commercial impact. You are comfortable operating at both strategic and execution level, whilst also engaging CEOs, structuring complex OEM deals, and rolling up your sleeves to ensure early success while laying the foundation for a scalable, long-term partner motion. WHAT YOU’LL DO Strategy Development: Design Hazelcast’s global partner strategy from the ground up, defining partner archetypes (GSI, Regional SI, OEM, Cloud, VAR) and use-case-specific GTM motions (e.g., BFSI, payments, real-time analytics). Executive Alignment: Develop and present clear, data-backed recommendations for approval to the CEO and executive team, whilst defining success metrics, economic models, and investment tradeoffs for the partnerships function Partner Acquisition: Personally source, negotiate, and close foundational partnerships with Strategic GSIs, consulting partners, and key technology alliances. Deal Formation: Own early-stage partner economics, including margin structures, referral/resale models, and joint solution packaging. GTM Execution: Build and execute joint GTM plans, including target account mapping, joint solution narratives, and field enablement for both Hazelcast Sales Directors and partner sellers. Revenue Impact: Accountable for Partner-sourced pipeline, Partner-influenced ACV, Time-to-first-deal per partner and act as a deal quarterback on strategic partner-led opportunities Internal Collaboration: Work cross-functionally with Sales leadership on rules of engagement, and with Product, Engineering, and Marketing (partner messaging, co-marketing, events) to execute the partner-driven roadmap and strategy. Team Building: Once the motion is proven, you will hire, build, and scale the global partnerships team. WHAT YOU HAVE Experience: 10–15+ years in Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, or Alliances within the enterprise software space. The "Build" Mindset: A demonstrated track record of creating (not just inheriting) partner strategies and programs. Complex Deal Savvy: Proven ability to source, negotiate, and close complex, multi-party enterprise deals and OEM distribution opportunities. Technical Fluency: Experience with complex, infrastructure-level technologies (distributed systems, data streaming, or in-memory computing) is strongly preferred. Commercial Judgment: Strong instincts for designing economic models that drive partner motivation while protecting company margins. Executive Presence: Comfortable operating at the CEO and Board level, with the ability to present data-backed recommendations. Global Perspective: Experience operating in global markets with high cultural fluency. BENEFITS Unlimited PTO Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance HSA/FSA Basic & Supplemental Life & AD&D insurance Short & Long-term Disability Insurance 401k EAP (Employee Assistance Program)