Head of Partnerships/Alliances

Payflows is the agentic finance platform built for modern enterprises. Backed by Balderton Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Headline (€25M Series A), we help finance teams automate accounts payable, procurement, and payments — replacing manual processes with AI-driven workflows that deliver 90%+ touchless invoice rates and dramatic cost savings. Our customers are fast-growing mid-market and enterprise companies across Europe, and private equity-backed businesses are increasingly a cornerstone of our ICP.

The Role

This is a founding role. You'll build Payflows' partnerships and alliances function from scratch, designing the model, identifying the right partners across PE, technology, and advisory ecosystems, and turning those relationships into a repeatable, measurable pipeline.

Partnership Pillars

• Private equity & sponsors — value creation teams, operating partners, and portfolio finance leads at EMEA mid-market funds
• Technology & ecosystem — ERPs, accounting platforms, payments providers, and complementary finance tooling
• Advisory & SI — finance transformation consultancies, Big Four practices, and implementation partners who shape the buying decision

You’ll sit at the intersection of partnerships, sales, and strategy. This is a high‑autonomy, high‑impact position that reports directly to the Head of GTM and works closely with the CEO and founding team. If you've built alliances functions at a high‑growth SaaS company, or you've spent years inside PE, the ERP ecosystem, or a finance transformation practice and want to be on the building side of the table, this is the role for you.

What You’ll Do

• Build the function from zero — define the partnership model, tier partners by fit across all three pillars, and develop the playbook for how Payflows engages with PE funds, technology partners, and SIs at every stage
• Own the relationship map — cultivate relationships with value creation teams and operating partners at target funds; with alliance, channel, and BD leaders at ERP and ecosystem partners; and with finance transformation leads at advisory firms
• Drive qualified pipeline — convert partner relationships into warm introductions, co‑sell motions, and referrals; track and report on partnership‑sourced revenue as a first‑class number
• Develop partnership collateral — work with GTM and marketing to build partner‑specific one‑pagers, ROI tools, integration narratives, and co‑branded materials that resonate with each audience
• Run the outreach motion — own outbound sequencing to new partners, attend LP/GP events, ERP and finance ecosystem conferences, and represent Payflows at industry forums
• Stand up co‑marketing and co‑selling — joint webinars, events, content, and field motions with anchor partners
• Collaborate on deal execution — stay involved through the sales cycle on partner‑sourced deals; bring context on portco dynamics, fund priorities, integration positioning, and stakeholder maps
• Feed intelligence back into the business — surface themes from partner conversations that inform product roadmap, integrations, packaging, and ICP strategy

Why Join

• Greenfield ownership — you're not inheriting someone else's playbook, you're writing it
• Direct access to leadership — small team, fast decisions, high visibility
• Strong backer network — Balderton, Ribbit, and Headline open doors; you'll have investor relationships to leverage from day one
• Meaningful equity — early‑stage, competitive package
• Category tailwind — agentic AI in finance is one of the most active investment themes in enterprise software.

Must-haves

• 5+ years in partnerships, alliances, business development, or value creation — at a B2B SaaS company building a partner ecosystem, at a PE fund (operating partner, value creation, portfolio ops), or at a technology/SI partner selling into finance buyers
• A genuine network across at least one of our three pillars (PE, ERP/fintech ecosystem, or finance advisory) in EMEA — particularly UK and European mid‑market — and the credibility to build the other two quickly
• Strong commercial instincts — you understand how partners evaluate vendor relationships, how CFOs make buying decisions, and what "joint value" actually means in practice
• Track record of sourcing pipeline through partners — you can point to specific deals, ARR, or relationships you've built and closed through
• Excellent communication — you can speak fluently to a CFO, an operating partner, an ERP alliance lead, and a founder in the same day
• Self‑starter mentality — you're comfortable with ambiguity and energised by building something new

Nice-to-haves

• Background in finance, fintech, or finance transformation (AP automation, P2P, ERP, payments)
• Experience standing up an alliances function at a high‑growth Series A/B SaaS company
• Existing relationships with NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, or major finance advisory practices