National Partnerships Director
2 days ago
Denver
Job Description Position Title: National Partnerships Director Department: Sola Franchise Operations Reports To: SVP Marketing Travel: Up to 30% Location: Lakewood, CO or Remote FLSA Status: Salaried, Exempt About Sola Salons: Sola Salons is a wholly owned subsidiary of Radiance Holdings, LLC. It is the nation’s largest and fastest-growing salon studios franchise and was established in 2004 with the opening of the first-of-its-kind location right here in Denver. Now, with 740+ locations in the US and Canada, we provide 21,000+ salon professionals with premium, fully equipped salon spaces in which they own and operate individual boutique salons alongside the support and tools they need to succeed. Our innovative salon concept empowers experienced hairdressers, estheticians, nail techs, massage therapists, and other like-minded beauty and wellness professionals to elevate their careers quickly and easily. We provide each stylist with high-end studio space and the basic tools they need to find success as a business owner and entrepreneur. The National Partnerships Director is responsible for building and leading Sola Salons’ national partnership strategy to drive occupancy growth, enhance brand visibility, and strengthen our position in the beauty and wellness industry. This role combines strategic partnership development with proactive outbound sales by identifying high-potential national or regional brands, initiating contact, pitching the value of Sola’s platform, and converting prospects into fully executed partnerships that create measurable impact across our system. Acting as the primary liaison for brand partners, the National Partnerships Director will oversee partnership development from prospecting to execution, crafting scalable programs and negotiating agreements, and collaborating with Sola’s franchise owners across the US and Canada. This role will work cross-functionally with marketing, operations, real estate, finance, and franchise teams to deliver measurable business results through innovative collaborations. The ideal candidate brings a mix of strategic thinking, relationship management, and analytical ability, along with a passion for the beauty and wellness industry. Key Responsibilities: Partner Development & Strategy • Build the outbound sales and partnership function from the ground up, defining processes, metrics and best practices to execute a [AW2] sales strategy that aligns with company growth and brand positioning goals., • Own the funnel, identifying and research target accounts and partnerships to drive system wide occupancy., • Partner closely with corporate and franchise ops, real estate and finance teams to develop our approach to servicing large partnerships., • Identify, prospect, and secure partnership opportunities with national and regional brands/concepts that complement our salon suite model (e.g., beauty, haircare, skincare, wellness, and retail brands)., • Negotiate partnership agreements, ensuring favorable terms and strong ROI., • Create scalable partnership packages that can be implemented across multiple markets and suite locations. Brand Relationship Management • Serve as the primary liaison for national/regional brand partners, maintaining long-term, mutually beneficial relationships., • Collaborate cross functionally internally and with franchise owners to integrate brand activations into corporate-owned and franchise locations., • Represent the brand at trade shows, school events, and industry conferences to promote suite opportunities and partnership programs., • Build productive relationships with Sola franchise owners and their managers and professionally represent Sola Salons corporate in all franchisee interactions. Cross-Functional Collaboration • Partner with finance and analytics teams to evaluate partnership performance and identify areas for optimization., • Provide insights from partnerships to influence marketing messaging, recruitment materials, and franchise support initiatives., • Coordinate with franchisees to ensure they are leveraging national partnership opportunities effectively at the local level. Market Research & Insights • Stay informed on industry trends, emerging beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands, and evolving partnership models., • Analyze competitor activity to identify white space opportunities in brand collaborations., • Report on partnership impact, engagement, and revenue contributions to executive leadership. Experience and Education: • 5+ years in national account sales, business development with sales emphasis, or strategic alliances with sales emphasis, ideally within the beauty, wellness, retail, franchise industries., • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field preferred., • Proven track record of sales, negotiating and managing national/regional partnerships., • Experience working with cross-functional teams (marketing, operations, finance, analytics)., • Proven ability to develop and maintain high-value strategic relationships that drive measurable growth., • Experience creating and executing partnership marketing or lead generation programs. Skills & Competencies: • Strong relationship-building and communication skills., • Strategic thinking and ability to develop scalable partnership models., • Analytical skills for evaluating partnership performance and market trends., • Project management skills for coordinating multi-market initiatives., • Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills., • Strong negotiation and relationship management abilities., • Strategic thinker with strong execution and follow-through skills., • Data-driven mindset; able to interpret performance metrics and ROI., • Self-starter comfortable working independently and cross-functionally., • Willingness to travel nationally (up to 30%) for meetings and events, • Entrepreneurial mindset and proactive approach., • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment., • Passion for the beauty and wellness industry. Performance Metrics: • Number and quality of active national partnerships., • Volume and growth rate of leads in the sales funnel., • Conversion rate of leads., • Occupancy growth attributed to partner channels., • Franchisee participation with partnership programs. Compensation: The salary range for this role is $80,000-$90,000 annually, commensurate with experience. This role is eligible for a performance-based bonus structure; all bonuses are subject to board and CEO approval. Radiance Holdings is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee based on race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, citizenship, or any other legally recognized protected basis under applicable federal, state, or local law.