Head of Accountant Partner Program

Gusto•Chicago, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The accounting industry is at an inflection point. AI is fundamentally reshaping how firms operate, advisory services are displacing compliance-only engagements, and the platforms that win accountant loyalty in the next two years will define the category for the decade after. Gusto's Accountant Partner Program is one of the most strategically important levers in the business, and we need a senior leader to own its full arc — from strategy and program design through enablement and team development. As the Head of, Accountant Partner Program, you will own the strategic direction, operational architecture, and multi-year investment thesis for Gusto's Accountant Partner Program. In addition to your IC ownership of program strategy, you will directly manage two enablement ICs: a Channel Partner Enablement Manager and a Senior Enablement Manager, Accountants. Together this team owns how accounting firm partners and channel partners are activated, onboarded, and trained. You will set the overarching enablement strategy and develop both individuals as the team scales. This role reports directly to the Head of Indirect GTM and operates with wide latitude over objectives, approaches, and program design across the Accountant Partner Program.

Requirements

15+ years of experience in partner programs, channel strategy, customer/partner support, or business development with a demonstrated track record of building category-defining programs at scale — ideally with meaningful exposure to the accounting or professional services industry.
Proven experience as a principal architect of partner program infrastructure — you've designed and owned rev-share structures, tiered benefits, partner incentives, program governance, and multi-year investment theses. You've set the strategy, not just executed within it.
People management experience — you've managed and developed ICs in partner enablement, channel, or GTM functions. You know how to set direction, clear blockers, and grow people while staying close to the work yourself.
Enablement fluency — you have a working command of what great partner enablement looks like for partners: onboarding design, CPE programming, certification tracks, and activation at scale. You don't need to be the practitioner, but you need to be a credible leader of practitioners.
Recognized external expert and thought leader in the accountant channel or partner program space — you've represented companies publicly, shaped industry POV, and built credibility with partners, vendors, and industry bodies as a peer-level voice.
External partnership depth — you've negotiated complex vendor and platform contracts, managed high-stakes third-party relationships, and operationalized partnerships from concept through scale.
Operational rigor — you've consolidated fragmented program operations across complex organizations and built the systems and processes that let programs run at scale without breaking.
Executive-level financial acumen — you've owned program P&Ls, built multi-year investment models, and presented capital allocation recommendations to senior leadership with full accountability for outcomes.
AI fluency and strategic foresight — you understand how AI is reshaping the accounting industry and partner ecosystems, actively use AI tools in your own work, and can credibly set Gusto's POV on where this goes.
Cross-functional leadership at senior levels — you've shaped strategy with exec stakeholders, driven outcomes across product, sales, finance, and operations, and built formal networks with key decision makers inside and outside the company.

Responsibilities

Set the Accountant Partner Program strategy and multi-year investment thesis — defining where Gusto should place bets across program components, how capital should be allocated, and what the accountant channel looks like at 10x scale.
Serve as one of Gusto’s external voice in the accountant partnership space — representing the company at industry events, shaping Gusto's public POV on the future of accounting firm partnerships, and building Gusto's reputation as the standard of excellence in the partner program community.
Lead market research and competitive intelligence — maintaining a continuous view of how competitors and the broader industry are evolving, and translating that into strategic recommendations that shape program design and capital allocation.
Collaborate with Partner Marketing on program brand and external positioning — identifying and executing on awards, thought leadership, speaking opportunities, and industry partnerships that establish Gusto as the program of choice for accounting firms.
Build and own external partner relationships for program benefits — sourcing, negotiating, and operationalizing vendor and platform partnerships (e.g., AI tooling, firm consultants) that deliver tangible, differentiated value to accountant partners.
Own the end-to-end operationalization of the program internally — consolidating fragmented program components (support, incentives, rev-share, orchestration, AI agents) into a cohesive, AI-leveraged operating model with clear ownership and accountability across functions.
Own program financial management and ROI — determining how investment is deployed, monitoring performance by tier (CAC:LTV, activation rates, GNARR contribution), and presenting the return story to executive leadership.
Lead and develop two enablement ICs — managing the Partner Enablement Manager for Channel and the Senior Enablement Manager for Accountants (responsible for partner onboarding and training). Set the overarching enablement strategy and ensure the team ships with quality and at scale.
Identify and drive resolution of gaps across adjacent program areas — proactively surfacing where challenges in support, tooling, or partner experience are creating friction and driving cross-functional resolution.
Collaborate with Partner Operations on the partner program tech stack — shaping the architecture of how Gusto manages, orchestrates, and scales accountant partner relationships at volume, including agentic enablement capabilities.