Head of Partnerships / BD: skills & capabilities the market requires

Based on 849 real Head of Partnerships / BD job postings, here is what companies actually require for this role today: the capabilities that define it, the hard skills named most often, the scope expected, typical experience and pay. The market leans hardest on Go-to-Market & Sales (80%) and Strategic Leadership (76%).

Open the interactive Skill Check to filter by country, industry and company size.

Core capabilities for a Head of Partnerships / BD

Go-to-Market & Sales — required in 80% of postings
Strategic Leadership — required in 76% of postings
Executive Communication — required in 55% of postings
Customer & Relationships — required in 52% of postings
Negotiation & Vendor — required in 44% of postings
Stakeholder Management — required in 39% of postings
Domain Expertise — required in 34% of postings

Most-required hard skills

Business Development
Market Analysis
Account Management
Business Development Strategy
Contract Negotiation
Client Relationship Management
Pipeline Management

Leadership & soft skills

Strategic Thinking
Leadership
Relationship Building
Communication

Scope, experience & pay

Head of Partnerships / BD roles expect deal / M&A experience in 6% of postings, IPO or capital markets in 2%, and transformation in 10%. Typical stated experience: 10 years. Pay signal from postings (base): $175K–$218K.

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