Company Overview
Balsam Brands is a global, omnichannel retailer with roots in holiday and home décor. We strive for excellence in everything we do and present a unique opportunity for those seeking to have a meaningful impact in a people-first company that values relationship building, authenticity, and doing the right thing. We have steadily growing teams in Boise, the Bay Area, Dublin, the Philippines, Canada, and Mexico. The company's mission is to create joy together. We empower our team and partners to love what they do, provide products and experiences that inspire meaningful moments with family and friends, and give back to our families and communities in impactful ways. Our flagship brand is Balsam Hill (balsamhill.com).
Job Title
Director, Business Development & Strategic Partnerships
We are seeking a Director of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships to build and scale high-impact partnerships that expand the reach of our seasonal décor brand. This role will focus on developing repeatable, revenue-generating partnerships with national retailers, hotel groups, restaurant chains, and experiential photography destinations (e.g., immersive or seasonal photo experiences).
Remote Location
Remote - US: New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; or Los Angeles, CA
Note: This role can also work locally in our Redwood City, CA office location. Our local teams work in a hybrid model, currently including Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in-office. Some flexibility with this role's regular work schedule will be required to ensure sufficient overlap with functional and cross-functional team members globally.
Job Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a partnership strategy aligned with company growth goals across retail, hospitality, food & beverage, and experiential venues
- Identify, pitch, and close national and multi-location partnerships that drive brand awareness, incremental revenue, and customer acquisition
- Design scalable and repeatable partnership models (e.g., seasonal programs, licensing, co-branded installations, revenue share frameworks)
- Own partnerships end-to-end: prospecting, negotiations, contracting, launch, performance tracking, and renewal
- Build strong executive-level relationships with partners, acting as the primary point of contact
- Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, merchandising, creative, operations, and legal to ensure seamless execution
- Create playbooks, templates, and processes to enable faster deal velocity and consistent outcomes
- Track performance metrics and ROI; continuously refine partnership offerings based on data and learnings
- Stay ahead of trends in seasonal décor, experiential retail, hospitality, and brand collaborations
- Lead team with accountability for business outcomes, promoting solution-sharing and inspiring the broader team/function with a vision aligned with organizational values
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Revenue Impact: Partnership-driven revenue contribution (annual and seasonal), including repeat and renewal revenue
- Pipeline Development: Number and quality of enterprise-level partnership opportunities created and advanced
- Closed Partnerships: Number of signed national or multi-location partnerships (retail, hospitality, restaurant, experiential)
- Scalability: Percentage of partnerships launched using repeatable frameworks vs. one-off custom deals
- Time to Launch: Speed from signed agreement to live execution of partnership programs
- Partner Retention & Expansion: Renewal rates and expansion of existing partnerships into additional locations, seasons, or formats
- Brand Reach: Incremental brand impressions, foot traffic, or customer acquisition driven by partnerships
- Operational Excellence: On-time, on-budget launches with strong cross-functional alignment
Requirements
- 15+ years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, or commercial strategy, ideally with consumer brands, retail, hospitality, or experiences
- Proven track record of building and scaling partnerships with enterprise or multi-location partners
- Experience creating structured, repeatable partnership programs, not just bespoke deals
- Strong negotiation skills with comfort owning complex, multi-stakeholder agreements
- Entrepreneurial mindset—you're a self-starter who can build from a blank slate
- Excellent communication and presentation skills; comfortable pitching to senior executives
- Strategic thinker with the ability to execute tactically and drive deals to completion
- Highly organized with strong project management and prioritization skills
- Demonstrated AI literacy, enabling effective understanding, interaction, and critical evaluation of AI technologies and applications across diverse business functions
Preferred Qualifications (Nice to Have)
- Experience partnering with national retailers, hotel chains, restaurant groups, or experiential venues
- Background in seasonal, décor, lifestyle, or consumer-facing brands
- Familiarity with licensing, revenue share, or co-marketing agreements
- Experience working in high-growth or founder-led organizations
Travel Requirements
At Balsam Brands, we believe that time spent together, in-person, collaborating and building relationships is important to who we are. For our newest remote Brandits, we will arrange travel to one of our local offices within your first three months of employment so you can meet and train with your new team in-person. You may also get to travel an additional 1–2 times a year for events such as team retreats, offsites, or learning and development opportunities. Also required to have the ability to travel for partner meetings, trade shows and off-sites as required.
Compensation & Benefits
Base Pay Range: $170,000 to $212,000 annually (based on experience, skills, and geographic location)
- Competitive compensation, including a cash-based incentive plan; salary is reviewed yearly
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage (100% of monthly premiums covered for team members)
- Up to $2,000 annual funding toward HSA accounts
- Medical, transit, dependent care FSA
- Infertility coverage offered on all medical plans
- Generous parental leave program and flexible return options
- Company-paid life and AD&D insurance
- Company-paid short and long-term disability insurance
- 401(k) with dollar-for-dollar company match up to $4,000 per calendar year
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and other mental health and wellness perks
- Paid holidays, annual shutdown week, PTO, and volunteer time-off (VTO) packages
- Paid 5-week sabbatical leave after 10 years of employment
- Annual continuous learning benefit up to $1,000 per person, per fiscal year
- Up to $300 flexible reimbursement to support setup of new team member's work-from-home environment
- Generous team member merchandise discount
- Valuables extras: identity theft protection, subsidized parking, monthly wellness, pet insurance, accident & critical illness insurance
How to Apply
To apply for this position, please submit your application through our career portal. You'll be asked to provide:
- First and Last Name
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Resume/CV (PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, or RTF formats)
- Cover Letter (optional)
- Authorization to work in the job's location
Note: Balsam Brands is committed to providing our team members with an internally fair, externally competitive, and fiscally prudent total compensation package administered in a simple and consistent manner.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Balsam Brands is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We encourage people from all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experiences to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy or caregiver status, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application and interview process.