Director, Partnerships

The opportunity

You'll be Hazel's first dedicated partnerships hire, owning the partnership motion end-to-end across technology integrations, distribution (broker-dealers and aggregators), affiliates, and industry networks. This is an 80% IC role — you'll personally lead the highest-leverage deals, run exec-to-exec conversations, and close the partnerships that re-rate Hazel's trajectory. The other 20% is leadership: building the function over the next 12–18 months and reporting against partnership-sourced ARR.

Partnerships are how Hazel reaches the majority of the RIA market that direct sales alone cannot — affiliated firms behind broker-dealers, aggregators, and platforms. One signed deal at this tier delivers more advisors than a year of direct selling. If you've built a partnership function at a fintech or wealthtech company, have an existing network across the RIA ecosystem, and want to architect something from scratch inside one of the most exciting AI companies in financial services, this is the role.

Your impact

• Build and own Hazel's partnership pipeline across tech integrations, distribution (broker-dealers, aggregators), affiliates, and industry networks; deliver against partnership-sourced ARR targets each quarter.
• Lead CEO-adjacent conversations with Tier 1 targets — broker-dealers (LPL, Cetera, Raymond James), aggregators (Captrust, Mariner, Mercer, Hightower), and adjacent technology providers (CRMs, financial planning, portfolio management) — through to signed pilots and platform-wide rollouts.
• Architect Hazel's technology partnership program: scope marketplace listings and integrations with major custodians and CRMs, partner with Product on integration roadmap, and orchestrate go-to-market with partner organizations.
• Stand up the affiliate channel through industry consultants (T3, F2 Strategy, Ezra Group) and association partnerships (XYPN, NAPFA, FPA, AICPA PFP), positioning Hazel into the RIA vendor-evaluation process.
• Design partnership economics: rev-share, co-sell, and pilot-to-scale agreements that pencil for Hazel and the partner. Build the commercial templates and own the deal structure end-to-end.
• Build the partnership operating model — partner tiering, deal review, attribution, joint GTM playbooks, marketplace ops — and own partnership 
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Finance to make partnership economics work end-to-end — from partner deal structure to advisor activation to revenue recognition.

What you bring

• 7+ years in business development or partnerships, the majority of it in fintech, wealthtech, or finserv..
• An existing network across the RIA / wealth-management ecosystem — you can pick up the phone today with execs at LPL, Cetera, Captrust, the major broker-dealers and aggregators, or equivalent.
• Track record signing platform-scale deals — you've personally led at least one partnership that delivered $5M+ in influenced or sourced revenue. Pilot-to-scale narrative.
• Comfortable operating CEO-adjacent. You can run a Tier 1 conversation without the founder in the room, and know exactly when to pull them in.
• Player-coach mentality. Happy to close the first deals yourself before you build a team. Player first, coach second.
• Strong technical fluency — credible conversations about APIs, integrations, and marketplace requirements with custodian or CRM partners without leaning on Product for every detail.
• Operating rigor — you can build the partner CRM, attribution model, and reporting cadence yourself. RevOps and Marketing are partners, not crutches.

Bonus points

• Direct experience at a broker-dealer, aggregator, or custodian — you've sat on the other side of the table.
• Background in early-stage or first-partnership-hire situations. You've built a function, not just managed one.
• Existing relationships with consulting firms (T3, F2 Strategy, Ezra Group) and association leadership (XYPN, NAPFA, FPA).
• Comfort with AI / agent-based product narratives — this is what Hazel sells.

Leveling & compensation

This is a foundational hire; we expect to pay for proven capability. This role has a target compensation range of $300,000–$350,000 OTE (base + variable) and competitive equity. Final level and compensation is individualized and will be determined based on overall experience, qualifications, and interview performance.