Head of Partner Growth, Embedded Payroll

About the role

Gusto Embedded Payroll (GEP) is one of Gusto's highest-growth bets - a platform business that enables software companies to offer Gusto-powered payroll directly within their own products. We're looking for a Head of Partner Growth to lead the team responsible for making our embedded partners successful: driving go-to-market execution, growing partner revenue, and building the operational and strategic frameworks that will scale this business toward $100M+. This is a player-coach leadership role. You'll manage a cross-functional team spanning Partner Success Management (PSM) and Partner enablement- while also staying deeply hands-on with our most strategic partner relationships. You'll own the partner growth playbook end-to-end: from GTM planning and launch sequencing through ongoing optimization, escalation management, and executive relationship development. Gusto's partnerships organization focuses on evaluating and executing strategic partnerships in new categories. Gusto Embedded Payroll allows us to bring our people platform to thousands more businesses than those we serve directly and will play a key role in Gusto's growth. What It's Like to Work in This Role Lead & Develop Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team of Partner Success Managers and Partner Enablement Set the operational rhythm for the partner growth function - including planning cadences, escalation workflows, and performance management Coach team members on partner strategy, executive communication, and cross-functional navigation Drive Enablement with the ideation, creation, and execution of enablement frameworks and materials. Drive AI fluency across the team - embedding AI tools and workflows into day-to-day partner operations, GTM planning, and internal knowledge management to accelerate output and decision quality Strategize & Plan Own the partner growth strategy across the GEP portfolio, including partner segmentation, prioritization, and resource allocation Develop and maintain per-partner operating plans with clear success metrics, in collaboration with Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Sales Enablement Build repeatable GTM playbooks - covering co-marketing motions, sales enablement, content roadmaps, and launch sequencing - tailored to each partner's distribution model and ICP Translate portfolio-level data (revenue, attach rates, funnel performance) into strategic narratives for leadership Operate & Execute Drive success for our partners and their end customers through adoption, activation, and retention of Gusto-powered embedded products Own the full marketing funnel and sales motion with partners - from top-of-funnel demand generation through conversion, onboarding, and expansion Manage complex, high-stakes partner relationships directly - including contract negotiations, executive escalations, and cross-functional alignment on roadmap priorities Lead partner incident response and escalation management with structured, cross-functional workflows Build for Scale Create and expand the feedback loop between partners, their end users, and Gusto's internal product, marketing, engineering, and operations teams Design frameworks, templates, and processes that enable the team to manage a growing partner portfolio without linear headcount growth Identify and implement AI-powered workflows and tools that improve team efficiency, partner reporting, and knowledge management

Requirements

• 12-15 years of experience , with 8+ years in a people management role and 7+ years in partner-facing or channel-facing roles
• Partner-side perspective : Has operated on the partner or channel side of the table - understands how partners evaluate, prioritize, and activate embedded or referral relationships
• Farmer mentality : Wired to grow and deepen existing partner relationships through trust-building, strategic account planning, and proactive expansion - not just hunting new deals
• Methodical operator : Builds repeatable playbooks, escalation frameworks, and operational rhythms rather than

Benefits

Additional Information

About Gusto At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff - payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR - so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve. All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) - because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy . AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process.

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