Growth Partnerships Manager, Startups (12 Month Fixed Term Contract)

Canva•San Francisco, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design. This is a hybrid role in San Francisco, requiring commuting to the office 1-2 times a week. The Growth Partnerships team is a new pillar within Canva’s GTM Partnerships organization, focused on driving Monthly Active Users (MAU) and revenue growth. They operate across four verticals: Startup Ecosystem, Banks & Fintechs, Telcos, and OEMs, aiming to connect with consumers, founders, and small businesses at critical decision-making points. This role is on the ground floor of a growing team with significant momentum and opportunities for further development. The position owns a broad portfolio within the Partnerships organization, managing a startup program and actively engaging in deal-making across Banks & Fintechs, Telcos, and OEMs. The role requires a generalist who can lead a program in the morning and close a deal in the afternoon, with the ability to build processes where they don't yet exist.

Requirements

5+ years in partnerships, business development, growth, or ecosystem roles within a startup or consumer/B2B tech environment.
Deep understanding of the startup ecosystem — experience working with VCs, accelerators, startup communities, and other ecosystem partners.
Proven deal ownership: sourced opportunities, built partnership strategy and business case, negotiated terms, and driven distribution or strategic deals through close.
Strong cross-functional operator who can bring Product, Marketing, Legal, Finance, and other teams together to move partnerships forward and make decisions.
Able to build and run programs at scale: set clear goals, establish operating cadence, measure results, and manage a broad portfolio.
Comfortable building from 0→1: scrappy, self-directed, and able to move quickly without perfect information, established processes, or direct guidance.

Nice To Haves

Founder experience.
Experience working at a VC or accelerator.
Experience building a startup/ecosystem program from scratch.
Experience closing consumer/SMB distribution partnerships.

Responsibilities

Run Canva for Startups end to end across the startup ecosystem, working with accelerators and VCs.
Own the program mechanics that get startups from sign-up to activation fast, including tiered offers, coupon administration, startup verification, cohort onboarding and partner-specific experiences.
Track program performance across the startup lifecycle, from portfolio penetration and offer redemption through to activation and conversion, using the data to decide where we invest next.
Be a visible ambassador for Canva in the startup ecosystem, hosting founder events and workshops, showing up at demo days and accelerator cohorts, and building relationships with VC and Accelerator teams.
Source, structure, negotiate, and launch distribution partnerships across Banks & Fintechs, Telcos and OEMs, balancing near-term revenue with longer-term distribution opportunities.
Own channel outcomes with clear targets, tracking and an operating cadence tied to MAU and revenue.
Ship partner launches by working cross-functionally with Product, Marketing, Legal, Finance, Growth and Strategy teams.