Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager

Introduction

TheZebra.com meets customers right where their search for car and home insurance begins: online. We provide easy-to-use tools and services, plus friendly, licensed agents who offer advice and guidance at any point along the way. The Zebra has helped customers compare over 74 million quotes since 2012. At its heart, both insurance and tech industry veterans collaborate together to simplify insurance shopping for customers. In today's digital world, The Zebra's customer-centered approach offers people the choices they want and simplicity they need.

The Zebra was recently named Austin Business Journal's 2026 Best Place to Work. Our motto is "All Stripes Welcome." Building the best product, the best teams, and the best company comes from inviting a diverse array of voices, backgrounds, and perspectives to contribute, making everyone feel welcome. Our Zeebs are passionate about learning, growing, and working together to tackle exciting problems.

We're seeking a Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager to identify, negotiate, implement, and grow high-impact partnerships that drive mutual value for The Zebra and our external partners.

This role requires cross-functional collaboration across internal teams and senior leadership to align partnership strategies with broader business goals. The ideal candidate has a strong background in strategic partnerships and a proven ability to structure and manage complex, high-value deals.

Location

Our company headquarters are in Austin, TX, but our employees work remotely across the US. For folks who live around Austin, we offer the option to join us in our office or opt for a hybrid setup. Whether you prefer the structure of an office, the convenience of remote work, or a mix of both, we support what works best for you!

Please note: at this time we are not able to hire in Massachusetts & California.

The Role

Our Strategic Partnerships team is growing, and we're looking for a Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager to help us continue the growth. Reporting to the Manager of Strategic Partnerships, you'll be responsible for developing and growing new partnerships within our SMB segment.

This is a hands-on partnerships role. You’ll be responsible for an inbound pipeline of partnership inquiries as well as developing fresh strategic partnership opportunities with other SMBs. In this role you will identify which opportunities add the right strategic value, negotiate terms with the external partners, support implementation, and manage the partnership through its ramp to a stable scale.

Doing this well requires internal and external cross-functional collaboration with Product, Legal, Finance, Marketing, and others, as well as occasional executive alignment check-ins.

What You'll Do

You will drive our best-in-class strategic partnerships function with SMB partners, leveraging our industry-leading capabilities. Even more importantly, you will collaborate cross-functionally at The Zebra to develop and iterate a process for fluidly identifying, qualifying, and implementing partnerships of all types.

• Source, build, negotiate and maintain strategic relationships with partners to drive high-quality user traffic to The Zebra

• Develop and maintain mastery in positioning the benefits of The Zebra’s product offerings to potential partners

• Create and implement a prospecting strategy for growing our strategic partner pipeline

• Create and iterate on a process to properly include the right functional teams (product, engineering, marketing, etc.) in partnership discussions and implementation

• Vet new companies through phone calls and face-to-face meetings

• Monitor the competitive landscape and share findings with The Zebra’s leadership team and other relevant departments
  
  

What We're Looking For:

• 3-5+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or strategic sales, ideally in fast-paced or high-growth environments.

• A track record of building and scaling partnerships - you’ve launched new initiatives, negotiated smart deals, and can point to tangible results.

• Strong attention to detail and follow-through. You keep projects on track, follow up like a pro, and care about getting the small things right.

• Proven success navigating ambiguity and driving outcomes, especially when priorities shift or you're working across multiple teams.

• Confident negotiator with a knack for structuring deals that create value for both The Zebra and our partners.

• Excellent communicator who can adjust your style to suit different audiences - internal teams, external partners, execs, and everyone in between.

• Comfortable collaborating with cross-functional teams and guiding projects from idea to execution.
  
  

What Will Really Impress Us

• You bring experience building a strategic partnerships function from the ground up, leveraging best practices to create scalable, cross-functional processes in a fast-paced environment

Why Work Here

• When we say “All Stripes Welcome,” we mean it. Considering viewpoints outside of our own as individuals creates a better, more inclusive experience for everyone

• We live and breathe inclusion. You will be part of a wide array of voices, opinions, and experiences that inform everything we do

• We believe in innovation. You will be part of experimentation; creative problem solving; cross-functional collaboration; testing new approaches, tools and ideas and learning from those tests; and understanding when innovation can drive real impacts and when it may not be needed.

• We trust our teams. You’ll own your work, balancing personal accountability with team accountability. Together, we take pride in individual and team contributions; make thoughtful decisions; and want our teammates to succeed.

• We care about each other. You’ll join a team that truly lives their values, both in and out of the office. Our Zeebs have honest conversations, give direct feedback, and remember that we are all people here to do great work.

• We take thoughtful action. You will be empowered to do the right things as efficiently as possible, not just checking boxes off a list without thinking.

Benefits & Perks

Inclusive and healthy environments are crafted intentionally. Here are some other wonderful perks of working here:

• Competitive Compensation & Stock Option Offering

• Health, Dental, Vision & Disability Coverages

• Sabbatical program for tenured employees

• HSA offering + employer contribution

• Fertility support through Carrot

• $100 monthly wellness perk

• $300 pet reimbursement program

• 401k with match

• Unlimited PTO (paid time off) + flexibility to enjoy it

• Paid Parental Leave Program

• Learning & Development Opportunities

This role offers $135,000 in on-target earnings, including base salary and commission. The final salary amount will be determined based on a variety of factors, including experience, skills, internal equity, and insights gained throughout the interview process.

About The Zebra

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, The Zebra seeks to bring transparency and simplicity to car and home insurance shopping – it's Insurance in black and white.®

We've garnered attention across the industry and across the nation. Check out all of our awards & recognition!

Our core motto is "All Stripes Welcome." As part of our dedication to maintaining an inclusive and diverse workforce, we provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform core job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation!