Partnerships Manager (New Business Development)

Who are we?

Lyka is an Australian founded pet wellness company that’s shaking up an outdated industry and paving the way for happier, healthier pets. Despite medical advancements, animal lifespans are on the decline. Today, the average pet only reaches 37% of their full potential lifespan and statistics have shown us that many suffer from dental disease, cancer, and obesity. Simply put, the status quo is not enough.

As humans, we’ve experienced firsthand the positive impact fresh wholefoods can have on our health and wellbeing, and we believe our furry friends deserve the same. We're on a mission to do just that, starting with nutritionally balanced, wholefood meals delivered direct to doors around Australia. As the world’s most sustainable pet wellness company, we’re putting pets and our planet first - one bowl at a time.

Today, we are proud to share we’ve served over 100 million meals to puppers and their parents across Australia, and this is just the beginning. Our vision is to create multiple nutritional products, adding disease prevention meals and supplements, and expand into new markets.

Currently, we have a team of 250+ pet-obsessed people, and we're continuing to grow (yes, looking at you!). These carefully selected people are dedicated to building the next generation of technology and products to help empower pet parents to take control over their pet’s wellbeing.

Our Mission

The time we share with our pets is being cut short. Despite medical advancements, they’re getting sicker earlier. They’re dying prematurely. The industry has it backwards - prioritising treating symptoms instead of addressing the root cause. That’s where we come in.

At Lyka, we take a preventative, holistic and personalised approach to pet care. We look at the full picture, factoring in the diet, lifestyle and environment of each individual animal.

We don’t stop at symptoms, instead we dig for the root cause. We create nutrition plans unique to each pet, because it’s not just about living longer, but living well too.

Our mission is to increase the lifespan of dogs and cats.

The Role

Lyka’s Partnerships team is growing, and we’re looking for driven Partnerships Manager to help build and scale our newest sub-channel within the Professional Affiliates (PA) program - Behaviourists and Dog Trainers.

In this role, you’ll lead the development of a brand-new partner portfolio from the ground up. You’ll identify, prospect, and onboard high-quality pet professionals who align with our mission, building long-term relationships that drive meaningful impact and strengthen Lyka’s presence in the pet wellness space.

You’ll work closely with passionate pet professionals who share our goal of educating and empowering pet parents on the benefits of real food nutrition. As the channel scales, you will have the opportunity to work across a variety of projects and contribute to step-change improvements in how we build, engage, and accelerate Lyka’s growth.

What you'll do:

• Identify, prospect and secure high-quality Behaviourists/Dog Trainers and other pet professionals across Australia.
• Own the full acquisition cycle from research and outreach through to discovery, education, pitch and close, while continuously refining what high-quality partner fit looks like as the channel grows.
• Build and manage a strong pipeline in HubSpot with excellent hygiene, forecasting and prioritisation based on strategic value, commercial impact and alignment to Lyka’s mission.
• Consistently meet or exceed monthly and quarterly onboarding and referral acquisition targets.
• Develop and refine the go-to-market strategy for this new sub-channel, including value proposition, messaging and outreach tactics, campaign concepts and foundational sales playbooks.
• Lead seamless partner onboarding - educating and enabling new partners, ensuring they are set up for long-term success, and delivering a smooth handover to Account Managers.
• Analyse funnel performance and partner behaviours to optimise targeting, messaging and conversion.
• Report actionable insights that help shape product, marketing, GTM motions and broader program improvements.
• Collaborate with Strategy, Sales Ops, Marketing & R&D on GTM co-marketing, enablement resources and channel-wide initiatives.

Requirements:
• 3+ years’ experience in Channel Partnerships or Outbound sales, ideally in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment (e.g. SaaS, or start-up).
• Proven ability to source, build and grow partner relationships from scratch while achieving ambitious targets.
• Curious, commercially minded and highly motivated by building a new channel from scratch and testing new approaches.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and executing GTM and engagement plans, prioritising high-impact actions that drive measurable results.
• Comfortable owning both strategy and execution, shifting easily between big-picture thinking and hands-on delivery.
• Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to identify growth opportunities and use data-led insights to influence decision-making.
• Highly organised, proactive and disciplined in managing pipeline and delivering on commitments; adaptable and comfortable working within a fast-paced environment.
• Experience using CRM tools (preferably HubSpot) to manage relationships, track activity, and report outcomes.
• Excellent relationship-building, communication, and collaboration skills - confident working cross-functionally with multiple stakeholders (internal and external).
• A genuine love for animals and a desire to help drive progression in pet wellness.

Benefits:
• Work in a fast-growing start-up, experiencing what goes behind the scenes to sustain hyper-growth for a start-up with a physical product!
• Growth and Development – Lyka is growing extremely quickly, which means you will have the opportunity to experience different challenges every day and progressively acquire more responsibilities as our facility and team expands. We provide an annual L&D budget for you to continue your personal development.
• Work for a sustainability focused company - we care about the health of our dogs and our planet. We’re proud to be Australia’s only carbon-negative and plastic-negative pet company and we’re always looking at ways for us improve sustainability practices.
• Be part of a diverse top talent team, coming from widely different backgrounds and geographies.
• Up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave top-up.
• Wellbeing assistance and tools to take care of your mental and physical wellbeing so you can do your best work.
• Hybrid working - 3 days per week in office. We have pet-friendly offices and industrial kitchens in Sydney and Melbourne. Onsite days are required during your onboarding.
• Pupper parent support to care for your furry friends - flexible arrangements for new pets, pet-friendly offices, discounts, and financial allowance for dog training & care to help them live their best life!

We are committed to building inclusive and diverse teams

Lyka is an equal opportunity employer devoted to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion.

We celebrate diversity, are devoted to creating an inclusive environment for all staff and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application.