Partnerships Director (Channels) – UK & Emerging Markets

Our Purpose

At Xero, we’re here to help you supercharge your business. We do this by automating routine tasks, surfacing actionable insights and connecting businesses with the right data, advisors and apps. When that happens, we’re not only making life better for small business, we’ll be building a stronger economy that can change the world.

How you’ll make an impact

As Partnerships Director (Channels) for the UK and Xero’s Emerging Markets (including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East), you will be a strong deal-maker who thrives in closing complex deals. Your primary mission will be to originate, negotiate, and close high-impact distribution partnerships that accelerate Xero's customer acquisition strategy. Reporting to the GM, Partnerships (UK & Emerging Markets), you'll also play a critical role in elevating the deal-making capabilities and strategic acumen of the UK and Emerging Markets partnerships team, and have a well rounded BD/partnerships skill set (including across product partnerships and ecosystems).

What you’ll do

• Deal-Driven Strategy & Execution: Partner closely with cross-functional leaders to identify, build, and operationalise new distribution channels that directly contribute to Xero's customer acquisition goals. You'll be instrumental in defining and delivering on the quarterly and annual OKRs that reflect these growth objectives.
• High-Impact Strategic Partnerships: Cultivate and leverage senior-level relationships with new and existing strategic partners to originate and execute deals that drive significant customer acquisition. This requires a strong ability to understand partner needs and align them with Xero's strategic imperatives.
• Partnership Advocacy: Act as a passionate internal and external champion for strategic partnerships across the UK and Xero’s Emerging Markets. You'll represent Xero at key events, evangelising the value of our partnerships and continually seeking new deal opportunities.
• Operational Excellence: Consistently deliver against aggressive strategic and financial objectives tied to your deals and channels. You'll proactively identify and mitigate risks associated with your partnerships, ensuring all activities comply with relevant regulatory obligations to protect Xero's interests and maximise deal success.

Success looks like

• Strategic Deal Alignment: You consistently forge strong alignment with cross-functional leaders across the company, ensuring your pipeline and deal objectives are directly integrated with Xero's overarching strategic priorities for customer acquisition and market expansion.
• Robust Deal Pipeline Generation: You expertly identify, qualify, and cultivate a robust pipeline of high-potential channel partnership opportunities across key categories.
• Delivered Deal Impact & ROI: You consistently develop, execute, and operationalize key partnerships that demonstrably deliver significant impact for Xero and our partners, securing favorable economics and directly achieving key regional and company OKRs related to customer acquisition and growth.
• Values-Driven Deal Execution: You consistently embody and amplify Xero's Values, fostering trust and long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.

What you’ll bring with you

• Demonstrated success in a deal-centric role. This includes a clear track record of identifying, negotiating, and closing complex, high-value partnerships that drive measurable revenue growth and customer acquisition.
• Deep understanding of technology, with extensive experience within the SaaS industry. You possess a sharp commercial acumen, enabling you to identify opportunities and structure compelling deals.
• A solid track record of addressing complex partner needs and market gaps through the creation and execution of innovative partnership solutions. You're adept at uncovering win-win scenarios that not only benefit Xero but also drive substantial value for our partners.
• Experience within consulting, strategy and/or operations also favourable.
• Possess a strong sense of ownership and thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, consistently pushing for tangible deal outcomes and adapting quickly to evolving market conditions and Xero's strategic priorities.
• Possesses a strong strategic mindset, including business and product strategy. Expertise in assessing the commercial viability of deals through sophisticated modeling (e.g., ROI, LTV, payback period, NPV), cost/benefit analysis, and understanding the growth objectives they enable.
• Have a strong focus on market and competitive intelligence – Able to proactively identify and analyse emerging market trends, competitive landscapes, and partner ecosystems to uncover untapped deal opportunities and inform Xero's partnership strategy.
• Demonstrate strong executive influence to drive deal momentum and secure buy-in from key stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient in structuring and negotiating complex commercial agreements and contracts to maximize value for Xero.

Why Xero?

Offering very generous paid leave to use however you’d like (plus statutory holidays!), dedicated paid leave to care for your physical and mental wellbeing as well as an Employee Assistance Program to access mental health care for you and your family, private medical insurance, gym passes, employee resource groups, 26 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers, an Employee Share Plan, beautiful offices, flexible working, and many other benefits that reflect our human value, you’ll do the best work of your life at Xero.

Research has shown that women and underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single competency or experience . If you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be just the right person for this role and Xero. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at time of application and throughout the interview process.