Partner Manager, Franchise

About Gusto At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff — payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR — so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve. All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) — because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy. AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process. About the Role: Franchise is one of Gusto's fastest-growing partner channels, and we are looking for a Partner Manager to own it. You will recruit and sign franchisors, and manage the partnerships once they are signed. When a franchisor becomes a Gusto partner, the franchisees in its network can access Gusto's payroll, benefits, and HR platform on partner terms. Franchisors are not traditional channel partners. They protect their brand, support independent owner-operators, and operate within legal limits on how they can endorse vendors. A signed agreement does not guarantee franchisee adoption. Your job is to make Gusto easy for a franchisor to approve and recommend, and to give franchisees a clear reason to choose us. You will own the full partnership lifecycle for our managed partners (Silver through Platinum) and lead recruiting for our entry-level (Bronze) partners. You will work with a dedicated franchise Account Executive, the Mid-Market Sales team, Partner Marketing, Revenue Operations, and Legal. This role suits someone who enjoys building relationships with brand leaders, structuring agreements that work for both sides, and turning a growing partner portfolio into measurable customer growth. Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day: Recruit franchisor partners - Identify, qualify, and sign franchisors across emerging, growth-stage, and mature brands, with a focus on sectors such as health and wellness, children's businesses, and home services. - Run discovery on every new partner application and serve as the franchisor's main point of contact through onboarding. - Build outbound campaigns using prospect lists, partner referrals, franchise sales organizations, industry associations, and competitive displacement opportunities. Use AI and sales tools to research and reach decision-makers. - Represent Gusto at franchise industry events and trade shows, and follow up so those events turn into signed partners. Structure and manage partnerships - Place each new partner in the right program tier based on their expected franchisee growth and engagement. - Structure and negotiate partner agreements, working with Legal and Revenue Operations on terms such as offers, revenue share, and co-marketing commitments. - Own the full lifecycle for managed (Silver–Platinum) partners: onboarding, joint planning, performance reviews, and renewals. Recruit and onboard Bronze partners, who are supported mainly through our partner management platform. - Agree on rules of engagement with each partner that set how Gusto may reach their franchisees, so outreach is welcome and the brand relationship is protected. Drive franchisee adoption - Work with the franchise Account Executive and Mid-Market Sales on a shared list of target brands. Recruit the franchisor while sales works with that brand's franchisees. - Coordinate with Partner Marketing on co-branded assets, landing pages, webinars, and event outreach. - Work with franchisor headquarters teams, such as franchise support, onboarding, and training, to build franchisee awareness. - Explore integrations with the operating platforms franchisors use, together with our product and integrations teams. Manage performance and operations - Meet or exceed monthly and annual goals by forecasting accurately and managing a pipeline of partners from first conversation to signature and beyond. - Use Salesforce and our partner management tools to track pipeline, contacts, agreements, and results. Report on key partner metrics to leadership. - Run regular performance reviews and manage contract commitments with each partner. - Be a thought partner to your team and to cross-functional colleagues, and help improve how we run the franchise program. Here’s what we're looking for: - 5–7 years of relationship management, partnerships, business development, sales, or channel management experience. We prefer candidates with franchise industry experience, such as working with franchisors, franchisee associations, or franchise sales organizations. - Experience closing and structuring partnership or vendor agreements, including commercial terms such as revenue share or unit economics. - A track record of building a pipeline through outbound prospecting and managing it from first conversation to signed agreement. - Comfort with data. You can set goals, forecast, and report on performance. - Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills, including with senior executives. - Experience with Salesforce is a plus. Experience with Outreach, partner management platforms, or fintech, HR, or payroll is also a plus. - AI fluency: you use AI tools in your daily work to research and prioritize prospects, draft and personalize outreach, analyze partner performance, and speed up routine tasks, and you apply your own judgment to the final result. You can describe how you build, refine, and check the AI workflows you use. - You are a quick learner who collaborates well. You are self-directed and resourceful, and you thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment where you think strategically and execute tactically. - You can manage a high volume of work while staying responsive to partners and teammates. Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $120,410 - $150,000 for the Denver metro location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate location, experience, and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above. In addition to base cash compensation, this role is eligible for an annual bonus based on role and department, and may be eligible for quarterly incentive programs. At Gusto, we don't use titles the traditional way, as a signal of rank or hierarchy. Instead, our titles describe two things at once — your craft (what you do, e.g. Engineering, Design) and your scope of ownership (what you're accountable for) — which is why you'll see something like "Head of X" instead of a rank word like "Director" that tells you neither. Because of this, the title on this posting may look different from what you'd expect based on the scope and seniority of the role, and from how similar roles are typically titled elsewhere. If you have questions about how this role compares to your current title or level, your recruiter can help translate. Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees who are based in those locations will be expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week (or more depending on role). The same office expectations apply to all Symmetry roles, Gusto's subsidiary, whose physical office is in Scottsdale. Note: The San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas. When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable, and consistent internet connection is required. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees. Reliable, consistent presence: We expect regular and predictable attendance, whether you're working in-office, hybrid, or fully remote, so that you stay closely connected to your team, customers, and stakeholders in real time and ensure colleagues and customers receive the timely support and responsiveness they deserve. Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses, you will find a home at Gusto. Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Gusto considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Gusto is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. We want to see our candidates perform to the best of their ability. If you require a medical or religious accommodation at any time throughout your candidate journey, please fill out this form and a member of our team will get in touch with you. Gusto takes security and protection of your personal information very seriously. Please review our Fraudulent Activity Disclaimer. Personal information collected and processed as part of your Gusto application will be subject to Gusto's Applicant Privacy Notice.