Partner Manager, Franchise
About the Role:
Franchise is one of Gusto's fastest-growing partner channels, and we are looking for a Partner Manager to own it. You will recruit and sign franchisors, and manage the partnerships once they are signed. When a franchisor becomes a Gusto partner, the franchisees in its network can access Gusto's payroll, benefits, and HR platform on partner terms. Franchisors are not traditional channel partners. They protect their brand, support independent owner-operators, and operate within legal limits on how they can endorse vendors. A signed agreement does not guarantee franchisee adoption. Your job is to make Gusto easy for a franchisor to approve and recommend, and to give franchisees a clear reason to choose us. You will own the full partnership lifecycle for our managed partners (Silver through Platinum) and lead recruiting for our entry-level (Bronze) partners. You will work with a dedicated franchise Account Executive, the Mid-Market Sales team, Partner Marketing, Revenue Operations, and Legal. This role suits someone who enjoys building relationships with brand leaders, structuring agreements that work for both sides, and turning a growing partner portfolio into measurable customer growth.
Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:
Recruit franchisor partners
Identify, qualify, and sign franchisors across emerging, growth-stage, and mature brands, with a focus on sectors such as health and wellness, children's businesses, and home services.
Run discovery on every new partner application and serve as the franchisor's main point of contact through onboarding.
Build outbound campaigns using prospect lists, partner referrals, franchise sales organizations, industry associations, and competitive displacement opportunities. Use AI and sales tools to research and reach decision-makers.
Represent Gusto at franchise industry events and trade shows, and follow up so those events turn into signed partners.
Structure and manage partnerships
Place each new partner in the right program tier based on their expected franchisee growth and engagement.
Structure and negotiate partner agreements, working with Legal and Revenue Operations on terms such as offers, revenue share, and co-marketing commitments.
Own the full lifecycle for managed (Silver–Platinum) partners: onboarding, joint planning, performance reviews, and renewals. Recruit and onboard Bronze partners, who are supported mainly through our partner management platform.
Agree on rules of engagement with each partner that set how Gusto may reach their franchisees, so outreach is welcome and the brand relationship is protected.
Drive franchisee adoption
Work with the franchise Account Executive and Mid-Market Sales on a shared list of target brands. Recruit the franchisor while sales works with that brand's franchisees.
Coordinate with Partner Marketing on co-branded assets, landing pages, webinars, and event outreach.
Work with franchisor headquarters teams, such as franchise support, onboarding, and training, to build franchisee awareness.
Explore integrations with the operating platforms franchisors use, together with our product and integrations teams.
Manage performance and operations
Meet or exceed monthly and annual goals by forecasting accurately and managing a pipeline of partners from first conversation to signature and beyond.
Use Salesforce and our partner management tools to track pipeline, contacts, agreements, and results. Report on key partner metrics to leadership.
Run regular performance reviews and manage contract commitments with each partner.
Be a thought partner to your team and to cross-functional colleagues, and help improve how we run the franchise program.
Here’s what we're looking for:
5–7 years of relationship management, partnerships, business development, sales, or channel management experience. We prefer candidates with franchise industry experience, such as working with franchisors, franchisee associations, or franchise sales organizations.
Experience closing and structuring partnership or vendor agreements, including commercial terms such as revenue share or unit economics.
A track record of building a pipeline through outbound prospecting and managing it from first conversation to signed agreement.
Comfort with data. You can set goals, forecast, and report on performance.
Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills, including with senior executives.
Experience with Salesforce is a plus. Experience with Outreach, partner management platforms, or fintech, HR, or payroll is also a plus.
AI fluency: you use AI tools in your daily work to research and prioritize prospects, draft and personalize outreach, analyze partner performance, and speed up routine tasks, and you apply your own judgment to the final result. You can describe how you build, refine, and check the AI workflows you use.
You are a quick learner who collaborates well. You are self-directed and resourceful, and you thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment where you think strategically and execute tactically.
You can manage a high volume of work while staying responsive to partners and teammates.
Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $120,410 - $150,000 for the Denver metro location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate location, experience, and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above. In addition to base cash compensation, this role is eligible for an annual bonus based on role and department, and may be eligible for quarterly incentive programs.