Strategic Partnerships & Business Development Manager

Job Summary

The Strategic Partnerships & Business Development Manager leads partnership development and ecosystem growth initiatives, with a primary focus on Ignite by Ascentium, the organisation’s platform for supporting business growth, innovation, and strategic collaboration. The role identifies, cultivates, and manages high-value partnerships that generate commercial opportunities, strengthen market presence, and deliver sustainable value for clients, partners, and the business.

This role sits within the Business Development department.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead partnership and growth initiatives for Ignite by Ascentium, driving platform adoption, stakeholder engagement, market presence, and commercial opportunities.
• Develop and execute ecosystem strategies that position Ignite by Ascentium as a trusted platform for entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, professional services firms, and strategic partners.
• Identify, evaluate, and secure partnerships with industry associations, chambers of commerce, institutions, accelerators, incubators, investors, technology providers, and business communities.
• Build and maintain relationships with senior decision-makers and external stakeholders, and structure partnership agreements and collaboration frameworks that create measurable value for all parties.
• Develop referral partnerships, strategic alliances, and joint go-to-market initiatives that contribute to lead generation, pipeline growth, revenue, and broader business objectives.
• Represent the organisation and Ignite by Ascentium at networking events, conferences, industry forums, and business communities, while facilitating partnership discussions, workshops, campaigns, events, and collaborative initiatives.
• Monitor market trends and emerging opportunities, and work with internal stakeholders to launch initiatives that strengthen the platform’s value proposition and member experience.
• Establish and track KPIs for partnership performance, ecosystem growth, engagement, revenue contribution, and business outcomes; prepare business cases, proposals, and strategic recommendations for senior management, and continuously optimise partnership strategies.

Skills & Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Management, Entrepreneurship, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in strategic partnerships, business development, alliance management, ecosystem development, corporate development, or related commercial functions.
• Proven track record of establishing and managing strategic partnerships that deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Experience building stakeholder networks and driving collaborative initiatives across multiple sectors.
• Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to identify opportunities, develop compelling value propositions, and unlock value creation.
• Strong relationship-management, negotiation, influencing, presentation, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to translate market insights into practical partnership strategies, business cases, proposals, and measurable execution plans.
• Strong attention to detail, adaptability, and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.

We are committed to fair and merit-based employment practices. All applications will be assessed based on skills, experience, and organisational fit. We welcome all applicants and do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, gender, marital status, family responsibilities, or any other protected characteristic in accordance with the Tripartite Guidelines and Singapore law.