Description
Director of Partnerships (US-Based)
Transform K-12 Education Workforce Strategy Across North America
Location: United States (Remote with regular travel)
Company: PeopleBench
Reports to: CEO
Package: $100-120,000 base + commissions (OTE ~$185,000)
About the Opportunity
Are you a relationship-builder with deep roots in K-12 education? Do you thrive at the intersection of strategic partnerships, customer success, and mission-driven impact?
PeopleBench is seeking an exceptional Director of Partnerships to lead our US expansion and build our Customer Success & Partnerships function from the ground up. This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of workforce strategy in American schools while joining a purpose-driven HRTech scale-up at an inflection point of growth.
Who We Are
PeopleBench is reimagining what it means to lead a K-12 workforce. Founded in Australia in 2019, we're bringing evidence-informed workforce strategy solutions to address the urgent challenges facing US schools: teacher shortages, staff wellbeing crises, and the absence of data-driven workforce planning.
Our mission is simple but profound: democratize access to evidence-informed workforce strategy so schools become amazing places to work—and therefore, amazing places to learn.
We're successful because of our awesome team: experts in Organizational Psychology, K-12Education, Research, Data & Analytics, and Technology Development who are passionately committed to building better school workforces.
Requirements
The Role
As our Director of Partnerships, you'll be the central node in our partnership ecosystem—the relationship architect who ensures every customer becomes a raving fan. You'll wear multiple hats: strategic partner, customer advocate, brand evangelist, and operational leader.
Your Impact
Process & Project Management:
- Establish and lead our US Customer Success & Partnerships function
- Coordinate internal teams and external service delivery partners to exceed client satisfaction, retention, and expansion targets
- Set the forward agenda for customer success across North America in partnership with our CEO and Chief Experience Officer
- Continuously improve support processes while building our brand and team culture
Relationship Management:
- Own strategic relationships with school district decision-makers, superintendents, and HR leaders
- Pre-empt customer needs and proactively expand connections at district and building levels
- Drive account management processes to create network effects that fuel organic growth
- Maintain our reputation to "surprise and delight" while identifying expansion revenue opportunities
Brand & Business Development:
- Serve as a PeopleBench thought leader at industry forums and in written communications
- Generate new leads and enable the attainment of US sales targets
- Spotlight customer success stories and PeopleBench's impact to drive lead generation
- Build comprehensive knowledge of emergent K-12 workforce trends across North America
Team Contribution:
- Cultivate productive relationships across our international team
- Channel customer feedback to inform product development and roadmapping
- Help build a global culture rooted in curiosity, tenacity, and integrity
- Commit to ongoing professional development as both technician and senior leader
What You Bring
Essential Experience
- Experience advising K-12 school and district leaders on workforce issues
- Strong existing relationships with K-12 School District decision-makers, superintendents, and Heads of People/HR
- Demonstrated track record in customer success, account management, or customer relationship management
- Program and project management is your super-power - you've most likely spent some time in a top tier consulting firm and you are SUPER comfortable whipping up a spreadsheet, powerpoint, kanban or waterfall - you're even better at helping others travel with you on the implementation journey
- Outstanding stakeholder management skills with the ability to develop deep customer and partner relationships
Critical Capabilities
- Executive-level communication: Outstanding written, verbal, and presentation skills—comfortable presenting to Boards, Executive Teams, and large audiences
- Customer service excellence: Commitment to rapid response times, high-quality engagements, and customer advocacy
- Process & systems orientation: Proficiency (or ability to quickly gain proficiency) with CRM and sales enablement tools like HubSpot
- Strategic thinking: Ability to broker solutions by bringing the right people together at the right time
- Entrepreneurial mindset: Comfort with the flexibility, self-direction, and creative problem-solving required in a scale-up environment
Nice to Have
- Subject matter expertise in workforce strategy, organizational development, resilience, or school culture
- Experience working in international or cross-functional organizations
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree (BA/BS)
- Authorization to work in the United States
- Ability and willingness to travel interstate and regionally on a regular basis - you love travel
- Ability to align your work pattern with Australian Head Office hours - on the East Coast this will mean you're comfortable and happy with working until 6pm ET most days with some flexibility to work until 9pm on occasion. On days when you have late meetings you can have late starts - we're all about flexibility - on both sides of the Pacific Ocean!
What We Offer
Competitive Compensation & Benefits:
- Salary commensurate with experience - up to $120K base + commission (OTE ~$185K)
- Medical coverage
- Retirement benefits
Professional Growth:
- Tremendous agency and responsibility to shape our North American expansion
- Regular professional development conversations
- Exposure to top-tier international consulting expertise
Culture & Connection:
- Collaborative work environment with values-driven colleagues
- Weekly online catch-ups and regular face-to-face gatherings during US visits
- Opportunity to make meaningful impact in K-12 education across North America and beyond
The Scale-Up Advantage:
- Join at a pivotal moment with established product-market fit in Australia and the US
- Shape strategy and build systems as we scale
- Work with passionate, purpose-driven professionals committed to making schools better
Travel & Networking
This role requires regular interstate and regional travel, with occasional international travel. Business development activities will determine specific demands—we're looking for someone as excited as we are about seeing the world's schools thrive.
Why This Role Matters
Teacher shortages and staff wellbeing challenges threaten education delivery across America. Schools need new, evidence-informed approaches to building better workforces. As our Director of Partnerships, you'll be at the forefront of this transformation—helping districts move from crisis management to strategic workforce planning.
This isn't just a job; it's an opportunity to democratize access to solutions that make schools amazing places to work and learn—everywhere.
Ready to Make an Impact?
If you're a relationship-driven professional with deep K-12 networks, a passion for education, and the entrepreneurial spirit to build something meaningful, we want to hear from you.
Apply now to join Team PeopleBench and help us build better school workforces across North America.
PeopleBench is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.
