Partner Development Specialist

Real opportunities. Real impact. Your career, redefined.

(NOTE: A human reviews every application at Oceans, so please apply for only one position and only once a year—if you're a better fit for another role, we'll route your application accordingly and if we're not quite ready for you, we'll reach back out later).

At Oceans, we help the best and brightest of Sri Lanka to take advantage of opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be available to them, while supporting entrepreneurs around the world. Our community (we call them Divers) don't do surface work—they go deep to solve complex challenges and make a real impact. And in doing so, they support bold ideas and expand their skills, broaden their expertise, and grow their careers, all without having to leave family and friends.

We're hiring a Partner Development Specialist to power the top and mid-funnel of our Affiliate & Network Partnership Program. You will be the first touchpoint for affiliates, influencers, creators, community leaders, micro-agencies, and network partners—identifying new opportunities, building relationships, and activating partners at scale. Your work will directly influence partner quality, activation rates, and MQL generation, acting as a vital growth engine for Oceans' partnership ecosystem.

This is a high-leverage, relationship-driven role ideal for someone energized by outreach, discovery conversations, onboarding, and activating global partners into meaningful long-term contributors.

Accountability

Your success as a Partner Development Specialist will be measured by the predictability, volume, and quality of new partners added to the program—along with their early activation and performance trajectory. You'll build bridges, nurture first impressions, and ensure new partners begin strong before transitioning to long-term partnership management.

Here's how you'll make an impact:

New Partner Acquisition

• Identify, research, and source new potential partners across geographies and verticals
• Build and manage outbound campaigns via email, LinkedIn, InMail, and social channels
• Develop ICPs, build sourcing lists, and craft targeted outreach sequences
• Manage list building, data enrichment, and CRM updates for accurate pipeline visibility

Outreach & Activation

• Drive first-touch engagement with highly personalized messaging
• Conduct 30–40 introductory calls per month to explain Oceans, qualify fit, and establish rapport
• Manage timezone-friendly scheduling (particularly across PST hours)
• Convert qualified prospects into active partners through strong alignment and expectation-setting

Onboarding & Ramp

• Deliver individual onboarding sessions and guided walkthroughs of the partner program
• Explain incentives, workflows, tracking, and best practices clearly and confidently
• Help partners set up tracking links, content assets, and initial campaigns
• Move partners from "signed up" → "active" → "producing results"

Performance Management (Early Stage)

• Monitor early-stage partner engagement and track first-phase KPIs
• Conduct proactive follow-ups with newly activated or smaller partners
• Identify blockers, troubleshoot issues, and support partners until transition to long-term management

Partnership Collaboration

• Work closely with the Partnerships Manager on strategy, process refinement, and prioritization
• Collaborate with Marketing (content, design, PR) on co-marketing assets and partner-facing materials
• Share partner insights with Growth and Lifecycle teams to strengthen messaging and funnels

Note: After onboarding and early activation, partners transition to the Partnerships Manager for long-term nurturing.

Colleagues

As a Partner Development Specialist, your closest collaborators will be the Partnerships Manager and the broader Marketing & Partnerships team. You'll work with Growth, Lifecycle, Content, PR, and Design teams to ensure partners have everything they need to begin strong and thrive.

This role reports to the Partnerships Manager, with involvement from the Head of Marketing & Partnerships.

Skills & Qualifications

At Oceans, we believe in T-shaped individuals—those with deep expertise in a core specialty and broad curiosity across adjacent disciplines. As a Partner Development Specialist, your vertical depth will be partner sourcing, outreach, and onboarding, while your horizontal strengths will support collaboration across marketing, content, data, and global engagement.

To excel in this role, you should have:

• 2–5 years in partnerships, BDR/SDR roles, influencer or affiliate acquisition, or partner sales
• Strong experience with outreach tools, CRMs (HubSpot preferred), and sequencing platforms
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to build trust quickly over Zoom, email, and LinkedIn
• High-volume outbound experience across multiple channels (email, LinkedIn, sequencing tools)
• Comfort running multiple intro calls per day across global time zones
• Analytical mindset: able to track performance and adapt quickly
• Ability to thrive in a fast-scaling, globally distributed environment

Bonus Skills

• Experience in affiliate-driven organizations or partner acquisition roles
• Background working in offshore, distributed, or global markets

Diversity of experience is core to Oceans. You are expected to work inclusively with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ensuring that both personal and collective dignity are supported.

During the interview process, you'll have the opportunity to showcase your skills in the following areas:

• Relationship-Building: How do you create rapport and trust quickly with new partners?
• Outbound Prospecting: What tools, strategies, and sequences have driven your best results?
• Communication Skills: How do you pitch programs and run discovery conversations?
• Operational Excellence: How do you manage pipeline hygiene, sequences, and CRM discipline?
• Activation Mindset: How do you turn interest into action and early performance?
• Global Readiness: How do you manage conversations and schedules across time zones?

Role Specifications

This is a remote role open to candidates based in South Africa. During the offer process, we'll share more information about our benefits and compensation philosophy, while updating our understanding of both market and individual factors.

About Oceans

At Oceans, we build remote teams that connect the world's top 1% of talent with visionary leaders. With us, you're not just doing a job—you're redefining your career with opportunities designed to unlock your potential. We welcome the chance to discuss the complementary parts of our business during your interview process and encourage questions about where we are and where we are going.

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