Partner Development Manager
2 days ago
Springfield
Partner Development Manager Justin Alexander Group | B2B Sales Reports to: NA Sales Manager Department: B2B Sales Work Location: Hybrid - 4 days onsite: 1 day WFH Travel: ~50 days annually, including trunk show weekends Justin Alexander Group sells through independent boutiques - no direct to consumer, no company flagship boutiques. Each gown that Justin Alexander Group sells is sold by someone standing in a store with a bride, an owner, a manager, a stylist. The Partner Development Manager is the person who knows those people by name, understands what is working on their floor, and turns that relationship into sell-through. You are the connective tissue between JAG and our retailers. Part trusted advisor, part educator, part road warrior. You will build training and development programs that make our partners better at selling our brands, however, the programs are the tool, not the point. The point is depth of relationship and measurable performance in the stores you guide. This is a role for someone with real bridal or luxury retail in their bones. Industry depth is the single most important thing you bring. Who You Are Before scope, the person. We are less interested in someone who can administer a training calendar than in someone retailers trust and call first. • You know bridal. depth of industry is your greatest strength: you understand the economics of a boutique, the rhythm of a trunk show weekend, and what a stylist needs to close the sale., • You build relationships that last. With owners, with managers, and equally with stylists on the floor — they are three different audiences with three different motivations., • You are commercially minded, not administratively minded. You can look at an account and see where the revenue is being left on the table., • You are comfortable being the face of JAG in a room, on a webinar, and in a store on a Saturday., • You are practical with tools and platforms without being a technician. This role is not a systems job. The best version of this hire is a relationship operator with a training toolkit, not a trainer who happens to know retailers. Account Relationships & Revenue Contribution The heart of the role. You will develop and deepen relationships with our retail partners and be held to what those relationships produce. • Act as a direct point of contact and trusted advisor for retail partners, building genuine relationships with owners, managers, and stylists alike, • Visit stores during trunk show weekends and peak selling periods - in the room and on the floor, where the selling happens., • Develop and implement programs focused on in-store performance improvement and increased sell-through, • Partner with Leadership to define a list of key accounts that serve as reliable sources of feedback and early signal, • Maintain ongoing check-ins to monitor retailer health and surface risk or opportunity before it shows up in the order book Retailer Onboarding & Partner Health A new partner's first 90 days set the tone for the entire relationship. You own that experience. • Own the onboarding experience for new retail partners: welcome materials, initial training, platform access, and a structured introduction to tools, resources, and brand standards, • Define and develop an inventory of retailer gifting opportunities (ie: welcome kits, Diamond invitations, end-of-year gifting) partnering with Marketing on execution and the Senior Account Associate on delivery Education, Training & Development You will build the body of knowledge that makes our partners better at selling Justin Alexander Group brands, for both internal and external audiences. • Develop and produce training materials covering brand and product knowledge, special orders and customizations, delivery processes, stylist training, store merchandising, trunk show execution and optimization, and marketing basics including social and digital best practices, • Create and produce digital training seminars and quarterly webinars aligned to company objectives and brand strategy, • Lead the annual Stylist Summit in collaboration with Sales and Product/Merchandising, partnering with on-site team members on coordination, • Own all logistics for training courses and workshops like scheduling, materials, venue and platform management, • Build programs in response to retailer needs and internal requests across Sales, Marketing, Digital Product, Merch/Product, and Operations, • Deliver ongoing education to store partners in person and virtually across product expertise, merchandising best practice, and retail operations, • Enable Account Managers and Account Associates to deliver core training themselves: train-the-trainer sessions, facilitator guides, and ready-to-run decks and talk tracks so the material travels without you in the room, • Work with Marketing and Merchandising to ensure training content reflects current business priorities and product stories VIP Retailer Programs Account Managers and Sales Representatives are the primary touch point for their stores; you are the steward of the programs behind them - how the funds get used, and whether the team advising on them knows what good looks like. • Oversee use of VIP Retailer Programs incentive and allocation funds — ensuring spend is deployed against what actually drives sell-through, and escalating where it is not, • Train Account Managers and Sales Representatives on program mechanics and allocation best practices so they can advise their stores directly and with confidence, • Advise on allocation decisions including POS materials, stylist gifting, advertising formats, and spiffs — as the internal expert the Account team escalates to, • Step in directly with stores when a question, opportunity, or account warrants it, without displacing the Account Manager relationship, • Collaborate with Media and Advertising and other cross-functional partners for channel POVs, best practices, and recommendations, • Host program webinars for participating stores, surfacing what is working across the country so every partner benefits from the full national picture Partnerships & New Ventures As JAG extends into new categories and collaborations, you carry the story into the stores. • Partner with Sales and Marketing to lead new brand partnerships with an in-store component, serving as primary point of contact for questions and implementation, • Onboard and educate retail partners on new product categories and programs, in store and virtually, ensuring understanding of brand positioning, product offering, selling points, and operational requirements to support confident sell-in, sell-through, and long-term success, • Serve as the primary resource on new venture partnerships, leading training and presentations for prospective partners Communication & Cross-Functional Partnership You are the 1:1 voice to the retailer. Marketing Communications owns the broadcast. • Work with Digital Product and Marketing Communications to keep retail partners current on portal and tool changes — this role owns 1:1 communication and training, while the Marketing Comms lead manages broad channel communication, • Feed retailer insight back into Sales, Marketing, Merchandising, and Digital Product so the business hears the floor On the Road Approximately 50 travel days annually. Travel is not incidental to this role — it is where the relationship gets built. • Store visits, weighted toward trunk show weekends and key selling periods, • Key events, regional retailer retreats, and strategic meetings Experience We're Looking For • 3–5 years in bridal or luxury sales, training, and development, • Demonstrated ability to build and hold relationships with retail owners, managers, and stylists, • Comfort presenting and teaching to groups, live and virtual, • Program-building instinct — you can create something repeatable, not just execute a one-off We are also open to a more seasoned candidate with established wholesale account development, program creation, and multi-market training experience — someone who could contribute to revenue more meaningfully from day one. Compensation & Benefits $82,000–$85,000 for a candidate bringing strong bridal product knowledge and training ability who is stepping into their first corporate manager role. $90,000–$95,000 for a candidate with established wholesale account development, program creation, and multi-market training experience. Justin Alexander offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes: • Health, dental, and vision insurance with ancillary options, • 401(k) with company match, • Paid time off (vacation, sick days, holidays), • Family Building Benefits, • Tuition Reimbursement, • Employee discounts and more Why This Role Matters JAG sells exclusively through boutique partners. That makes retailer capability our growth ceiling — we cannot out-market or out-merchandise a floor that does not know how to sell our product. This role raises that ceiling. Done well, it moves us from sending materials to genuinely developing partners: stronger sell-through, deeper trust with the owners and stylists who represent us, and a feedback loop that makes every other function in the building smarter.
