Founding Partnerships Lead (UK)

Dust

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Dust is seeking a Founding Partnerships to build our partner ecosystem in the UK from scratch. This is a business development role at its core: your job is to identify, engage, and activate the partners who will become a meaningful source of pipeline and revenue for Dust in the UK market.
We've proven the partner motion in France (€1.5M+ ARR in under a year, strong SI and reseller traction). Now we need someone to figure out what works in the UK, where the landscape, buyer expectations, and partner ecosystem are fundamentally different.
This is a 0-to-1 role. There is no existing UK partner program, no playbook, no team. You'll be the first person on the ground, responsible for building relationships, closing early partnership agreements, and proving that partners can generate real pipeline for Dust. You'll work cross-functionally with Sales, Field Marketing, Growth, Community, the France Partnerships team, and the Executive Team to make this happen.
All types of partnerships are in scope: resellers, system integrators, consultancies, agencies, tech alliances, affiliates, community partners, and anything else that drives results. We care about what works, not what fits a predefined category.
This role has a path to leadership. As you prove out partner-market fit and demonstrate impact, there will be opportunity to build and lead a UK partnerships team. We're looking for someone who can start as a hands-on builder with the ambition to grow into a team leader.

Requirements

• 5+ years in partnerships, business development, or channel sales in B2B SaaS. Experience in fintech, developer tools, productivity platforms, or AI/ML is a strong plus
• Proven 0-to-1 builder. You've built partner programs or BD motions from scratch, not just managed existing ones. You know what it takes to go from a blank page to real pipeline
• Track record of driving revenue through partners. Specific examples where partnerships you built directly drove measurable pipeline, customer acquisition, or closed revenue
• Experience working with B2B SaaS and/or Fintech ecosystems in the UK. You understand the landscape: who the key SIs, consultancies, agencies, and ecosystem players are
• Cross-functional operating experience. You've worked effectively across Sales, Marketing, Product, and leadership teams in a fast-moving environment
• Entrepreneurial and scrappy. You thrive in ambiguity, create structure from scratch, and move fast with limited resources. You're comfortable being a team of one before you're a team of many
• Familiarity with the AI/ML landscape and enterprise AI deployment is strongly preferred
• Business development instinct. You naturally think about how to turn a relationship into a pipeline source. You're not just a relationship manager; you're a dealmaker
• Strategic thinker. You can zoom out to design a program with long-term vision while executing tactical partnerships today
• Exceptional relationship builder. You build trust quickly with partners, internal stakeholders, and executives across cultures and time zones
• Data-driven. You use metrics to prioritize, make decisions based on evidence, and can clearly report on impact
• Strong communicator. Excellent written and verbal skills, comfortable presenting to executives, partners, and cross-functional teams

Nice To Haves

• Existing network in the UK B2B SaaS and Fintech ecosystem (SIs, agencies, consultancies, investment funds, community leaders)
• Background in AI, developer-first, or API-first companies
• Prior experience hiring or mentoring partnerships team members
• Understanding of the competitive landscape

Responsibilities

• Build Dust's UK partner ecosystem from zero. Identify, qualify, and recruit the partners best positioned to reach B2B SaaS and Fintech buyers in the UK, across any partner type
• Drive partners to pipeline. This isn't about signing logos. Your success is measured by partners generating qualified opportunities, co-selling with Dust AEs, and closing deals. Own the full journey from first conversation to first partner-sourced deal
• Develop and test partnership models that work for the UK market. Leverage what exists from France (program tiers, enablement, Wesype as distributor) but be willing to reinvent where the market demands it
• Create activation playbooks that take partners from signed agreement to actively selling. Build the training, enablement, and co-selling infrastructure needed to make partners effective
• Own UK partnership pipeline and revenue targets, with latitude to experiment with creative deal structures, incentive models, and go-to-market approaches
• Work hand-in-hand with UK Sales (AEs and BDRs) to ensure partners are pipeline accelerators. Build deal routing, co-selling motions, and account mapping that the sales team actually uses
• Collaborate with Field Marketing (Events, Content, Community) to build joint events, co-branded content, and community activations that serve both partner development and demand generation
• Stay tightly connected with the France Partnerships team to share learnings, adapt proven playbooks, and maintain consistency where it matters
• Partner with Growth Marketing to turn partner activity into scalable demand: co-hosted webinars, joint case studies, partner-led content, and event-driven pipeline
• Coordinate with Product and Engineering on integration priorities, partner feedback, and joint solution development where relevant

Benefits

• Competitive OTE compensation + significant equity package at a Sequoia-backed startup
• Health benefits for you and your dependents
• New MacBook Pro or Linux machine, monitor, keyboard, etc.
• Opportunity to travel to Paris HQ regularly
• Regular team events and off-sites

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed