Affiliates & Partnerships Manager / Lead

Affiliates & Partnerships Manager / Lead

Welcome to KatKin

For uncompromising cat parents who want the best, KatKin goes all-in for cat health. We're pioneering a new category of fresh cat food: 100% human-quality meat, made daily in Suffolk, fresh to your fridge.

Where the competition cuts corners, catfishes customers and puts profits over health, we put nutrition and cat wellbeing first. No shortcuts. No secret recipes. We're cutting the fluff, thinking fresh, growing rapidly and fighting for industry-wide change. And longer cat lives.

What's the Problem?

Cats are carnivores. They were born to get their nutrition from a 100% meat diet. Not leftover animal bits, pulverised into oblivion, heat-blasted at extreme temperatures, mixed with grains, fillers, preservatives and a long list of unmentionables. All hidden behind pretty packaging. We've been misled by mainstream and even perceived "premium" cat food. And most cat parents are unaware. We're on a mission to educate the world on the powers of fresh food for cat health. Social media and community is our most visible platform. Grab the loudspeaker. Let's shake things up.

Why You'll Love It Here

We're a fast-paced scale-up making serious waves and bursting with energy. You'll be surrounded by big creative thinkers and brand minds, a world-first team of cat scientists and nutritionists, business brains who've been there before, and a whole team of hardcore cat parents. All on a mission to make 100% fresh real healthy food the new standard in cat care.

The Challenge

• We've built strong growth channels — and now we want to unlock a new, scalable engine: affiliates, inserts and partnerships.
• We have the foundations in place (affiliate platforms, agency relationships, insert partners and some strong one-off campaigns) — but there's no roadmap, no playbook, and huge untapped potential. This role is the person who builds that.

Who You Are

You're obsessed with finding win-win partnerships, and you're equally obsessed with performance.

You can spot a high-potential partner quickly. You know how to pitch, close, activate, and optimise. You're commercially sharp, relationship-led, and allergic to "partnerships theatre" (big announcements, zero results).

You:

• Love turning relationships into measurable growth.
• Have strong opinions, weak attachment, and you move fast.
• Know the difference between "nice brand collab" and "incremental revenue channel".
• Can negotiate firmly while staying genuinely warm and human.
• Want ownership, not layers of approval.

What You'll Do

Own Affiliates performance end-to-end

• Build and own KatKin's affiliate strategy across key partner types (publishers, creators, deal sites, loyalty, content, closed user groups and communities).
• Take ownership of our existing affiliate platform setup (including AWin) and relationships with current agencies — and make them work harder.
• Create and evolve the commercial structure: commissions, incentives, tiering, bonuses, exclusives.
• Drive partner acquisition: outreach, pitching, onboarding and activation.
• Maintain high-quality partner standards (no spammy cashback-only growth, no brand dilution).

Own and grow the Inserts channel

• Take ownership of our existing insert programme — print ads placed inside other D2C brands' packaging and publications.
• Manage the relationship with our media-planning agency and sign off on media plans.
• Evaluate performance, identify gaps, and push the channel forward. There's real growth potential here that's barely been touched.
• Test new offers, formats and placements to improve trial acquisition and conversion.

Build partnerships that actually move the needle

• Source, negotiate and launch partnerships with brands, platforms, communities and services cat parents already trust — from pet care and vet brands to closed user groups and loyalty platforms.
• Own the partnership lifecycle: ideation → proposal → terms → launch plan → execution → review.
• Work cross-functionally with marketing stakeholders to deliver best-in-class activations, partnering closely with Digital product and engaging directly with senior leaders in the business.
• Build a pipeline of high-impact opportunities (and kill the ones that won't deliver).
• Explore newer partnership types: CRM/email swaps, breeder networks, pet charity partnerships, and high-reach brand collaborations.

Lead (depending on level)

If you're joining at Lead level, you'll also:

• Set the operating rhythm for affiliates, inserts + partnerships (cadence, playbooks, QA, documentation).
• Build relationships with senior external stakeholders and represent KatKin commercially.
• Help hire, mentor and develop the function over time (and/or manage agency/network partners).
• Be the partnerships owner in cross-functional planning: growth strategy, promo calendar, brand moments, product launches.

Your Experience

We don't care where you learned your craft. We care that you can build growth through partnerships.

You could be our superstar if you have:

• Hands-on experience in affiliates and/or partnerships in a fast-paced environment (DTC/ecom/subscription is a big plus).
• Strong commercial instincts: you understand margin, incentives, and how to make partnerships profitable.
• Confidence sourcing and closing partners — you can pitch clearly and negotiate effectively.
• A track record of building a channel (not just managing one).
• Excellent organisational skills: you can manage multiple partners, launches and moving parts without dropping standards.
• Strong analytical ability — you can diagnose what's working and act decisively.

Bonus (not essential):

• Experience with affiliate platforms/networks (e.g. Awin, Impact, CJ, Partnerize, Rakuten).
• Experience with influencer/creator partnerships that are performance-driven (not just awareness).
• Experience with print/insert media or offline partnership channels.
• Experience building partnerships in regulated/compliance-sensitive environments.
• Experience managing others or leading agency relationships.

A Very Nice-to-Have

A cat.

A wonderful, glorious cat.

One you'd love to cast in the work.

What We Offer

• Salary: £45,000–£70,000 depending on experience and level
• Competitive benefits package
• A MacBook
• Up to 1 day WFH every week
• Work from anywhere up to 2 weeks per year
• 50% discount on KatKin fresh meals
• All the refreshments you can drink, fresh fruit, cats + dogs in the office