Business Development Manager, AI Discoverability and Scheduling Partnerships

About the role

The Business Development Manager for AI Discoverability and Scheduling Partnerships owns the strategic direction of Squarespace's partnerships in two high-impact domains, defining how the company engages with the AI ecosystem and the Acuity Scheduling partner landscape. This role is responsible for shaping long-term partnership strategies that determine how Squarespace participates in and influences emerging technology ecosystems, affecting external platform roadmaps and driving sustainable business growth. The hire will act as a strategic bridge between Squarespace and external technology leaders, ensuring that the company's platform capabilities are positioned within the most relevant and evolving solution networks. Cross-functional collaboration is central to the position, requiring close alignment with engineering, design, legal, marketing, and operations teams to execute on shared business objectives. The role reports directly to the Associate Director of Business Development and will operate from New York, NY, or a remote location within an approved US state, with work governed by the constraints outlined in the source materials. Success in this role will be defined by the ability to translate market insights into actionable partnership strategies that create measurable value for the Squarespace ecosystem.

Key facts

What you'll do

Define and lead Squarespace's long-term AI ecosystem partnership strategy, establishing a clear vision for how the company engages with emerging discovery, search, commerce, and agent-based platforms.

Influence product direction and partnership priorities with senior leaders at leading AI and technology companies to advance Squarespace's strategic objectives and competitive positioning.

Act as the primary strategic advisor on AI ecosystem trends, platform opportunities, and competitive dynamics, converting complex market signals into cohesive company-wide partnership and growth initiatives.

Drive alignment across Product, Engineering, Marketing, SEO, and Executive Leadership to develop and execute a unified AI discoverability and ecosystem strategy that supports business goals.

Represent Squarespace in high-level external meetings and industry forums, engaging with senior executives and product leaders from major technology and AI companies to safeguard strategic interests.

Define and lead the long-term partnership vision and ecosystem strategy for Acuity Scheduling, identifying transformational opportunities that accelerate product adoption, customer value, and revenue growth.

Develop and prioritize ecosystem expansion strategies that position Acuity as a market-leading scheduling, productivity, and service business technology platform.

Identify and enable integration opportunities between Acuity and emerging AI-native workflows, assistants, and agent platforms to enhance scheduling experiences and unlock new customer value.

Influence product roadmap decisions by providing strategic partner insights, market intelligence, and ecosystem trend analysis that drive long-term competitive advantage for Squarespace.

Build and maintain active relationships with Acuity integration partners, proactively resolving business and technical issues while driving mutual value creation and platform success.

Define key performance indicators for Acuity's partner ecosystem, including activation rates, revenue attribution, and customer adoption metrics, and use data to guide strategic refinements.

Develop business proposals, structure financial projections and KPIs, and negotiate commercial terms and contracts to secure favorable partnership agreements.

Track, analyze, and communicate partner metrics, industry trends, and the overall impact of partnerships on business goals to inform executive decision-making.

Collaborate with internal cross-functional partners to design, launch, and scale new initiatives that deliver significant value across the Squarespace ecosystem.

Maintain direct, active relationships with all partners, serving as an internal advocate and resolving business and technical issues before they escalate.

Requirements

8+ years of professional experience in partnerships, business development, strategy, or product management, with a proven track record of defining and leading complex partnership programs.

Experience developing and leading partnership strategies that involve external platform relationships, ecosystem development, and cross-company initiative management.

Demonstrated ability to operate at the executive level, engaging with senior stakeholders and influencing decisions in large, complex technology organizations.

Exceptional analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the capacity to synthesize market data, competitive insights, and technical information into clear strategic recommendations.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, capable of producing high-quality business proposals, negotiating terms, and presenting to executive audiences.

Experience managing cross-functional collaboration and aligning diverse teams around shared strategic objectives in a fast-paced environment.

Proven success in defining and tracking metrics, using data to evaluate partnership performance and guide ongoing strategy refinement.

Commitment to understanding emerging technology ecosystems, including AI, discovery platforms, and scheduling technologies, and their implications for business growth.

Practical notes

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