Strategic Partnerships Lead

Job Description

Join Apaleo and Shape the Future of Hospitality Tech!

Apaleo is the world’s most open, API-first property management platform powering the next generation of hospitality operations. Its modular, AI-powered infrastructure enables hoteliers to customise their tech stack, automate routine work, and deliver seamless, personalised guest experiences, powered by best-in-class apps and autonomous AI agents that adapt to every stay.

Apaleo is scaling fast - and our next stage of growth will be driven by the ecosystem. We’ve already built strong foundations across our partner landscape (apps, services, channels) and see clear momentum in how partners support our GTM motions across segments. Now it’s about making this repeatable at scale: clearer structures, sharper prioritization, and commercial motions that work consistently across geographies.

We are looking for a Ecosystem & Strategic Partnerships Lead who will own and scale the commercial impact of our partner ecosystem across app partners, channel/reseller partners, and service/implementation partners. This is a highly commercial individual contributor role with the opportunity to evolve into a people leadership position over time as the partner motion scales and additional ownership and team capacity are added. You will be working closely with our App Success team (technical partnership and integrations) as well as Sales and Marketing to turn ecosystem-led growth into a measurable, predictable pillar of Apaleo’s revenue engine.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Own the commercial impact of the entire partner ecosystem, including sourced and influenced pipeline and ARR.
• Identify, recruit, negotiate and scale high-value partners across app partners, resellers, OEMs and implementation partners.
• Activate key partners through structured co-sell and co-marketing initiatives that drive measurable revenue impact.
• Build and manage a structured partner program with clear criteria, partner life cycle including onboarding, enablement and performance management.
• Enable partner-led expansion, e.g. via reseller/OEM, to open new markets and create repeatable, scalable acquisition.
• Ensure strong cross-functional execution with Sales, Product, Marketing, Platform and CS, surfacing partner insights to shape roadmap and priorities.
• Work hand-in-hand with the App Success team (who owns technical/ops execution) to ensure commercial initiatives translate into adoption, customer value and repeatability

What Success Looks Like

• Partner-sourced and influenced revenue grows significantly and predictably across segments.
• App ecosystem partners show strong activation, co-selling and measurable revenue contribution.
• Reseller and OEM partners unlock scalable acquisition and international expansion.
• Implementation partners materially improve customer activation quality and speed.
• Orchestrating initiatives across different partner types and various departments to drive partner-led growth
• The partner ecosystem becomes a core lever of Apaleo’s GTM strategy.

What You’ll Bring to the Team

• 6+ years of experience in SaaS partnerships, ecosystems, business development or comparable commercial roles.
• Proven success in pipeline generation, partner-sourced revenue, GTM execution and managing high-impact commercial partnerships.
• Experience working with app ecosystems, resellers, OEMs, implementation partners or marketplace models.
• Strong cross-functional skills and the ability to bring structure and clarity into complex or ambiguous environments.
• Technical affinity and confidence working with API-first/AI-first products.
• Hands-on, pragmatic, commercial-first mindset with the ability to operate strategically, prioritize and execute personally.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Based in Munich or Berlin, or willing to travel (being 2-3 days in the office every 2 weeks).

Nice to Have

• Experience in hospitality or travel tech.
• Previous experience building partner programs, ecosystems, or marketplaces.

Culture & Growth

• A Diverse & International Team: Work alongside passionate professionals from over 20 nationalities, bringing unique cultural perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences to shape the future of hospitality tech.
• Growth & Development: As we scale, so do your opportunities. You’ll benefit from 360° feedback reviews, a dedicated learning budget, and plenty of chances to take on more responsibility. Our evolving career framework ensures you have increasing opportunities to learn new skills, advance your career, and make an impact.
• Autonomy & Ownership: Great ideas can come from anywhere. We empower you to take responsibility, make decisions, and contribute directly in an environment built on trust, transparency, and collaboration.
• Shape the Future of Hospitality Tech: Be part of a fast-growing scale-up transforming the hospitality industry. From day one, your work drives real impact and you’ll have the freedom to bring your ideas to life.
• Competitive & Fair Compensation: We believe great work deserves great pay. Our salaries are competitive and guided by benchmarking data to ensure fairness across all roles and teams. We make sure to recognize and reward performance and contribution.

Perks & Lifestyle

• Flexible & Remote Work Options: We focus on results, not clocking hours. You can work from home, the office or in a hybrid setup, with flexibility to adapt your schedule as long as it makes sense for your role, your team and our business.
• Free Public Transport: Travel across Germany with ease using our fully covered Deutschland Ticket.
• Team Connection: Strong connections fuel collaboration. We celebrate and connect through regular team dinners, company meetups, Oktoberfest celebrations, Christmas parties, and other offsite events.
• Paid Time Off: Enjoy 30 days of vacation to fully disconnect, recharge, and return inspired.
• Personal Development Budget: freely use up to 1.000 € per year for your personal development – whether it’s books, a conference or a course, you’re free to choose.
• Health & Wellbeing: Prioritize your health with access to hundreds of gyms, fitness studios, and wellness options through our EGYM Wellpass membership.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming workplace. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sex, national origin, age, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Your personal data will be handled with the utmost care and in compliance with GDPR and relevant data protection regulations. We celebrate differences and believe that diversity enriches our team and drives innovation.