Manager, Strategic Partnerships (Bar Association Program)

Smokeball - Legal Software•Chicago, IL

8h•Hybrid

About The Position

Smokeball is seeking a partnerships leader to scale and manage its Bar Association Partnership Program. This role will involve managing multiple programs and relationships across state and local bar associations, leading a small team, owning partnership performance and operations, and expanding the company's work with bar partners nationwide. The ideal candidate will bring creativity and a structured growth approach to strengthen strategic partnerships with bar associations.

Requirements

5+ years' experience running LegalTech bar association programs, or experience working at a U.S. Bar Association managing relationships with legal technology vendors
Deep understanding of the legal technology and Legal AI space
Strong familiarity with commercial contracts and contract negotiation.
Proven ability to run a scaling partnerships team or a history of building and scaling partnerships programs
Experience managing or mentoring team members

Nice To Haves

JD or legal experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

Work with the Partnerships team to develop and evolve partner program strategy and areas of focus.
Lead the strategic partnerships team, helping scale and support bar association partners and team members.
Lead negotiations and creation of terms with key partners, reviewing and approving contracts, redlines, and setting commercial terms.
Identify new growth opportunities across existing and prospective partners, and create and present proposals to bar associations, boards, and internal leadership.
Oversee end-to-end operations of the bar partnership program, including building scalable processes, managing budgets, and ensuring effective use and implementation of tools to drive performance.
Establish and track KPIs, revenue targets, and program performance.
Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, product, sales and leadership teams to embed Smokeball’s bar partnerships program and initiatives into the organization.