Lead Partner Marketing Manager

Salary: R900,000 – R1,000,000 per year
Location: Remote (South Africa). Must be based within UTC−6 to UTC+3
Type: Full-time
Closing date: 5 November 2026, 22:00 GMT

Oyster set out to close the gap between where the best jobs cluster and where talent lives – building a global employment platform that lets companies hire, pay, and care for brilliant people anywhere. Distributed across 60+ countries since 2020, Oyster is a B Corp-certified global employment platform, ranked #10 of 250 on TIME and Statista's 2026 list of America's Top WorkTech Companies and named one of America's Greatest Startup Workplaces 2026 by Newsweek.

Role summary

Oyster is looking for a Partner Marketing Manager to build a scalable engine that creates demand and pipeline through our partner ecosystem. You will inherit an active portfolio, keep important commitments moving, and decide what to continue, improve, or retire using performance and cost data. Working across Channel and Marketing, you will design and execute programs that market to partners, with partners, and through partners — turning partner strategy into repeatable go-to-market motions with clear measurement. This is a high-autonomy individual-contributor role with global remit, budget ownership, and direct partnership with the Director of Demand and Growth.

Key responsibilities

• Design, orchestrate, execute, and measure partner marketing programs across the ecosystem.
• Build programs that market to partners, with partners, and through partners.
• Protect existing partner commitments during handover while reviewing the portfolio for performance, cost, and strategic fit.
• Own and allocate the partner marketing budget, including co-marketing and MDF, and defend investment decisions with return data.
• Develop partner segmentation, positioning, messaging, and repeatable operating models.
• Create joint programs across partner types, including technology partners.
• Enable partners to take Oyster's message and value proposition to their audiences.
• Align Channel, Demand Generation, Product Marketing, Content, Sales, and Revenue Operations around integrated plans.
• Establish credible reporting for partner-sourced pipeline, partner-influenced pipeline, engagement, and program ROI.
• Apply AI and automation processes to improve segmentation, personalization, program development, execution, and insight generation.

Core requirements

• Demonstrated ownership of measurable partner or ecosystem marketing programs from strategy through execution and reporting.
• Strong understanding of marketing to, with, and through partners.
• Ability to connect marketing activity to sourced or influenced pipeline and explain attribution trade-offs.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration across partnerships, channel, marketing, sales, and revenue operations.
• Experience managing a program portfolio and making evidence-based choices about what to continue, change, or stop.
• Ability to adapt messaging and motions across partner types, incentives, audiences, and regions.
• Sound budget judgment and confidence allocating spend against expected return.
• AI-native working style, with evidence of rebuilding marketing workflows around AI while managing quality and privacy risks.
• Comfort operating independently in a fully remote, asynchronous environment.

Nice to have

• Experience in B2B SaaS, HR technology, global employment, or another partner-led ecosystem.
• Experience marketing with technology partners.
• Experience building a partner marketing function, measurement model, or operating cadence from an early stage.
• Familiarity with PRM, marketing automation, CRM, attribution, and analytics tools.
• Experience supporting global programs across regions and time zones.

Benefits

• Fully remote – work from anywhere you're authorised to work
• 40 days off per year (including holidays and vacation)
• Mental health support through Plumm
• Monthly wellbeing allowance
• At least three months' paid parental leave
• WFH stipend for laptop and home office equipment

All applications will be reviewed after the submission deadline, and Oyster will be in touch with next steps shortly after. You'll need a reliable home internet connection and fluency in written and spoken English.