senior manager, Partnerships

Now Brewing – senior manager, Partnerships! #ToBeAPartner

From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection. We are known for developing extraordinary leaders who share this passion and are guided by their service to others.

We are looking for a culture-obsessed, commercially minded, and highly strategic leader to join our Brand Engagement team as a senior manager of partnerships. This role will lead the identification, development, negotiation, and execution of breakthrough partnerships that drive customer engagement, strengthen brand affinity, and deepen Starbucks' relevance across culture.

The ideal candidate combines strong business acumen, partnership expertise, exceptional relationship-building skills, and a deep understanding of consumer culture. They are equally comfortable building long-term strategic roadmaps, negotiating complex deals, and bringing innovative collaboration concepts to life.

This role will serve as a key architect of Starbucks' partnership strategy, working alongside team leads for sports, music, entertainment, fashion, beauty, and merch to unlock opportunities grounded in customer insights, driving fandom and strengthening brand affinity.

As a senior manager, Partnerships, you will…

Strategy & Business Development

• Develop and shape Starbucks' partnership strategy, identifying opportunities that advance brand, customer, and business objectives.
• Leverage customer insights, cultural trends, and marketplace intelligence to build compelling partnership narratives and business cases.
• Identify, evaluate, and cultivate new partnership opportunities across key culture verticals including sports, music, entertainment, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle.
• Establish partnership evaluation frameworks that assess brand strategic alignment, customer impact, financial return, and brand equity.
• Monitor competitive activity, consumer behavior shifts, and industry trends to proactively identify white-space opportunities.
• Build annual and multi-year partnership roadmaps that support Starbucks' cultural relevance and growth ambitions.

Partnership Development & Negotiation

• Source, develop, and maintain a robust pipeline of partnership opportunities and strategic relationships. Serve as a trusted ambassador for Starbucks with external partners, agencies, and key industry stakeholders.
• Lead partnership negotiations, including business terms, marketing rights, intellectual property usage, financial commitments, and marketing activation frameworks. Drive partnership agreements from concept through execution.
• Partner closely with Legal, Finance, Accounting and Sourcing teams to structure and execute partnership agreements

Partnership Operations & Portfolio Management

• Own and manage the end-to-end partnership pipeline, ensuring visibility, prioritization, and governance across senior leadership stakeholders.
• Develop and refine partnership processes, tools, scorecards, and operating models that improve efficiency and decision-making.
• Create scalable frameworks for evaluating partnership performance and long-term value creation.
• Ensure cross-functional alignment across all phases of partnership development and activation.

Performance & Insights

• Establish KPIs and measurement frameworks to assess partnership effectiveness across brand, customer, and commercial objectives.
• Regularly evaluate partnership performance and identify opportunities for optimization and growth.
• Deliver executive-ready recommendations, business updates, and performance insights to senior leadership.
• Translate data, customer insights, and market trends into actionable strategies that inform future partnership investments.