Partner Manager, Franchise

The posting, as Gusto wrote it

About Gusto

At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff — payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR — so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve.

All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) — because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy .

AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process.

About the Role

Franchise is one of Gusto's fastest-growing partner channels, and we are looking for a Partner Manager to own it. You will recruit and sign franchisors, and manage the partnerships once they are signed. When a franchisor becomes a Gusto partner, the franchisees in its network can access Gusto's payroll, benefits, and HR platform on partner terms. Franchisors are not traditional channel partners. They protect their brand, support independent owner-operators, and operate within legal limits on how they can endorse vendors. A signed agreement does not guarantee franchisee adoption. Your job is to make Gusto easy for a franchisor to approve and recommend, and to give franchisees a clear reason to choose us. You will own the full partnership lifecycle for our managed partners (Silver through Platinum) and lead recruiting for our entry-level (Bronze) partners. You will work with a dedicated franchise Account Executive, the Mid-Market Sales team, Partner Marketing, Revenue Operations, and Legal. This role suits someone who enjoys building relationships with brand leaders, structuring agreements that work for both sides, and turning a growing partner portfolio into measurable customer growth.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day

Recruit franchisor partners

• Identify, qualify, and sign franchisors across emerging, growth-stage, and mature brands, with a focus on sectors such as health and wellness, children's businesses, and home services.
• Run discovery on every new partner application and serve as the franchisor's main point of contact through onboarding.
• Build outbound campaigns using prospect lists, partner referrals, franchise sales organizations, industry associations, and competitive displacement opportunities. Use AI and sales tools to research and reach decision-makers.
• Represent Gusto at franchise industry events and trade shows, and follow up so those events turn into signed partners.

Structure and manage partnerships

• Place each new partner in the right program tier based on their expected franchisee growth

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other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable, and consistent internet connection is required. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.

Reliable, consistent presence: We expect regular and predictable attendance, whether you're working in-office, hybrid, or fully remote, so that you stay closely connected to your team, customers, and stakeholders in real time and ensure colleagues and customers receive the timely support and responsiveness they deserve.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses, you will find a home at Gusto.

Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Gusto considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Gusto is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. We want to see our candidates perform to the best of their ability. If you require a medical or religious accommodation at any time throughout your candidate journey, please fill out this form and a member of our team will get in touch with you.

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Personal information collected and processed as part of your Gusto application will be subject to Gusto's Applicant Privacy Notice .