Partner Development Manager

Apollo.io is the leading go-to-market solution for revenue teams, trusted by over 500,000 companies and millions of users globally, from rapidly growing startups to some of the world's largest enterprises. Founded in 2015, the company is one of the fastest growing companies in SaaS, raising approximately $250 million to date and valued at $1.6 billion. Apollo.io provides sales and marketing teams with easy access to verified contact data for over 210 million B2B contacts and 35 million companies worldwide, along with tools to engage and convert these contacts in one unified platform. By helping revenue professionals find the most accurate contact information and automating the outreach process, Apollo.io turns prospects into customers. Apollo raised a series D in 2023 and is backed by top-tier investors, including Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and more, and counts the former President and COO of Hubspot, JD Sherman, among its board members. Apollo's partner ecosystem already spans thousands of agencies, consultancies, and solution providers who've raised their hand — but most of that potential goes untapped without a dedicated motion to find, qualify, and activate the right ones. As Partner Development Manager (PDM), you'll own that motion end to end: identifying high-potential partners across every segment, driving them through certification and enablement, and pushing each one to their first real activation — a managed customer or a qualified referral. That's what makes this such an exciting moment to join: you're not stepping into an established program, you're helping build the one that gets to define how Apollo turns partner interest into partner value. We're looking for someone with a genuine builder mentality who wants a real hand in shaping what this program becomes. Apollo's ambition goes beyond any single integration or referral channel — we want our partner program to be at the heart of the revolution GTM AI is bringing to outbound sales. Agencies of every kind are core to that, and you're the one turning it into real partners, activated and growing in whatever way fits their business. You'll run a structured, self-paced activation pathway across a book of 40–60 partners at a time, and you'll make the call on whether each one is ready to graduate into Apollo's high-touch named-partner program, move into scaled/automated nurture, or step back. This is a builder's role: the acquisition-to-activation playbook is still being defined, and how you run it will shape how Apollo's partner organization scales. Key Responsibilities Target and Recruit • Source high-potential partners across all segments — inbound applications, customer referrals, ecosystem research, and partner nominations • Score and prioritize every candidate against Apollo's Ideal Partner Profile (IPP) before investing further time • Build and maintain a live cultivation list of 40–60 active partners Qualify and Segment • Determine each partner's segment (e.g., RevOps, lead-gen, sales training, AI-native/headless GTM, or generalist marketing agency), specialization, ICP, and delivery model • Separate partners with a genuine, Apollo-centered motion from generic interest Certify and Enable • Drive partners through Apollo's certification curriculum and onboarding • Help each partner package a concrete Apollo offer, referral motion, or delivery service • Prepare partners for their first live customer conversation Create the First Activation • Push every partner toward a first measurable activation event: a qualified referral, a registered opportunity, or a managed customer • Track progress against a shared, partner-visible activation plan with clear gates and goals Develop Toward Graduation • Run a consistent cadence with each partner