Accelerator Partnerships Lead

Rho•San Francisco, CA

18h•$145,000 - $184,000•Onsite

About The Position

Rho is seeking an Accelerator Partnerships Lead to own relationships with programs that define startup culture in their market. The goal is to make Rho the default financial platform for startups from day one. This role requires building trusted relationships within the ecosystem, not just running a standard partnerships playbook. Success will be measured by founders in these programs choosing Rho before Demo Day. The company is hiring for this role in New York City and San Francisco.

Requirements

Embedded in the startup ecosystem in your target market, with knowledge of accelerators, programs, operators, and MDs.
Direct, existing relationships inside top programs in your geo, with real credibility with program leaders.
2–4 years of experience in VC partnerships, channel partnerships, or founder-facing GTM roles at a high-growth startup or venture-backed company, or founder experience.
Ability to add value before asking for anything and differentiate between being a vendor and a resource.
Experience building or operating programs, events, workshops, or office hours that founders found valuable.
Ability to balance long-term relationship depth with short-term pipeline accountability.
Fluent in early-stage startup finance, fundraising dynamics, and the operational realities of early-stage companies.
Motivation by outsized, compounding impact and a desire to own a market category.

Responsibilities

Own the primary relationship with Managing Directors, Group Partners, and program leads at the highest-signal accelerators in your market.
Build trusted relationships at the staff level (partners, associates, community teams) to gain visibility into cohort dynamics and emerging needs.
Develop deep relationships across the broader VC community, including family offices, sector-specific funds, and university programs.
Represent Rho at industry events, demo days, partner dinners, and community gatherings.
Drive Rho adoption within each cohort from first conversation through activation, meeting clear conversion targets and maintaining a structured follow-up cadence.
Build and run founder-facing programming such as office hours, workshops, fireside chats, and roundtables that deliver genuine value.
Partner with Sales on warm handoffs for high-ACV opportunities emerging from the accelerator ecosystem.
Collaborate with Marketing to create scalable pipelines that move founders from initial impression to activated client and referral partner.
Build and own the accelerator partnerships playbook for your market, including first contact, multi-cohort expansion, and renewal, with clear KPIs.
Map and prioritize the accelerator landscape in your market, focusing on cohort quality and alignment with Rho's Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
Evaluate new programs for inclusion and manage the portfolio intentionally.
Feed founder insights from cohorts back to Product and Marketing to inform roadmap decisions and targeted campaigns.
Partner with the VC Partnerships team to align accelerator strategy with LP and GP relationship development.
Collaborate with Marketing on co-branded activations, founder panels, field events, and founder-facing content.
Contribute to CRM hygiene and pipeline tracking for accelerator-sourced deals.