Director, Partner Community & Ecosystem Engagement Remote, United States - Business Development

What You’ll Do

The Director of Partner Community & Ecosystem Engagement is a senior leadership role responsible for shaping and scaling how Avalara builds, engages, and grows its partner ecosystem. This leader owns the strategy and execution across partner communications, content operations, digital experience, and ecosystem engagement — ensuring a cohesive, high-quality partner experience at scale across all touchpoints.

Reporting into Partner Programs leadership (VP, Alliance Partnerships), this role leads a team of direct reports and operates as a senior cross-functional partner to Partner Marketing, Enablement, Sales, Product Marketing, PR, and Corporate Communications. The ideal candidate combines executive presence, strategic vision, and operational rigor — with a track record of building and leading high-performing teams in complex partner environments.

Lead Partner Engagement & Ecosystem Strategy

• Define and own the overarching strategy for partner ecosystem engagement across all partner types — technology, accountant, consultant, and channel
• Set the vision for how Avalara builds community, drives advocacy, and deepens partner loyalty at scale
• Translate business objectives into partner engagement priorities, ensuring alignment with program evolution, enablement, and go-to-market efforts

Own Partner Communications Strategy

• Lead the development of partner-first communication strategies that drive awareness, adoption, and engagement across Avalara's entire partner ecosystem
• Define communication frameworks, cadences, and governance models to ensure consistent, effective messaging across channels and audiences
• Serve as executive subject-matter owner for partner communications, advising senior stakeholders on messaging, timing, and channel strategy

Lead Partner Content Strategy & Operations

• Own the end-to-end partner content lifecycle — planning, creation, curation, governance, and distribution of partner-facing and internal content
• Establish scalable content operations including calendars, workflows, prioritization frameworks, and quality standards
• Ensure content aligns with business priorities, partner program evolution, and key initiatives across the ecosystem

Drive Digital Partner Experience

• Lead strategy and execution for Avalara's partner-facing digital experiences, including partner portals, content hubs, and community platforms
• Drive continuous improvement in content organization, discoverability, and usability to increase self-service and partner engagement
• Identify and close gaps across the partner digital journey, partnering with cross-functional teams to implement solutions

Amplify Partner Visibility & Recognition

• Partner with Marketing, PR, and Communications to elevate partner success stories, announcements, and recognition programs
• Develop and scale approaches to highlighting partner impact, reinforcing Avalara's partner-first brand in the ecosystem
• Represent partners' voice and business outcomes in external and executive communications

Enable Partner & Field Readiness

• Collaborate with Partner Marketing, Product Marketing, Enablement, and Sales to ensure timely, relevant content that equips partners and the field to win
• Align communication and enablement strategies to ensure partners are prepared to engage effectively with Avalara solutions and programs

Execute & Scale Partner Engagement Programs

• Lead strategy, planning, promotion, and execution of partner engagement initiatives — including webinars, campaigns, community programs, and advisory forums
• Ensure consistent, high-quality experience across all partner engagement touchpoints
• Build scalable models for engagement that can grow with the partner ecosystem

Lead and Develop a High-Performing Team

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of senior program and engagement professionals across strategy, communications, content, and accountant channel operations
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and partner-first thinking
• Model executive leadership behaviors and build team capability for scale

Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence

• Act as a senior executive liaison across Partner Programs, Marketing, Communications,…