VP of Publisher Partnerships

Stacker•New York, NY

1d•$190,000 - $230,000•Remote

About The Position

Stacker is seeking an entrepreneurial VP of Publisher Partnerships to lead and grow its publisher ecosystem. This senior leadership role, reporting to the SVP of Product & Distribution, will focus on the growth, health, and long-term strategic direction of a network of over 3,000 publishers and news outlets. The VP will set a multi-year roadmap for the ecosystem, anticipating future trends in publishing across various segments including local and national newsrooms, media groups, creator ecosystems, and AI-shaped distribution surfaces. Key responsibilities include designing and executing strategy, building the operational framework, and leading a team to expand Stacker's partner base while ensuring partners derive measurable value. Stacker itself is revolutionizing earned media by helping brands connect with audiences through a network of publishers, offering a scalable distribution solution that contrasts with traditional PR and paid syndication. The company is bootstrapped, fast-growing, remote-first, and values ownership, integrity, and collaboration.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, or publisher strategy.
Proven track record of building and scaling partner ecosystems (ideally publishers, platforms, marketplaces, or two-sided networks).
Experience managing and developing teams.
Strong understanding of publisher business models and workflows.
Experience negotiating partnership terms and navigating legal/compliance reviews (e.g., MSAs, data/privacy, content usage, and platform policies).
Strong business judgment and comfort operating as both a leader and an individual contributor when needed.
Analytical, data-informed approach to prioritization and ecosystem health.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confidence presenting to senior stakeholders.
Creative dealmaker: Believes the best partnerships are the ones that benefit both sides—and is discerning about where to invest time because of optimizing for true, durable impact.
High emotional intelligence: Empathizes with journalists and the publishing industry, and knows there are no one-size-fits-all approaches to partner management.
Bias for action: Believes the best results come from testing early, learning fast, and adapting quickly.

Responsibilities

Serve as the executive owner of the growth, health, and strategic direction of Stacker’s publisher ecosystem.
Lead a comprehensive review of the function - evaluating and strengthening its strategy, structure, team, processes, positioning, and performance.
Define the future of distribution by expanding Stacker’s strategy into emerging channels like email newsletters, creator platforms, AI search integrations, and new partner ecosystems.
Lead the strategy - and individually contribute to - identifying, recruiting, and activating new publisher partners.
Develop a disciplined business development process, including target segmentation, outreach, pipeline management, relationship development, and activation.
Source, qualify, and close new publisher partnerships—from prospecting and discovery through negotiation, onboarding coordination, and long-term expansion.
Own the publisher playbook: refine and optimize our strategy for engaging, onboarding, and nurturing media partners—ensuring our content meets their editorial needs and earns continued trust.
Develop and execute a publisher go-to-market plan across key segments (local/regional, digital-native, broadcast, nonprofit newsrooms, and multi-property media groups).
Build relationships with senior executives, editorial leaders, audience leaders, product executives, and other decision-makers across the publishing industry.
Represent Stacker at relevant conferences, industry events, and partner forums.
Improve the messaging, materials, and value proposition used to recruit publishers.
Lead a team toward growth: manage the team focused on helping publishing partners achieve their content and business goals through their use of Stacker.
Set the strategy and operating cadence for partner success, including onboarding, activation, integrations/CMS enablement, and ongoing partner communications.
Define and track ecosystem health metrics.
Create and maintain scalable playbooks for partner onboarding and success.