Senior Business Development Manager (Channel Partnerships)

Convera is seeking a commercially driven Senior Business Development Manager to generate net-new pipeline and win strategic channel partnerships across North America. This is a dedicated proactive new business development role, focused on creating and converting new opportunities rather than managing established partner portfolios. The near-term priority is workforce payments, with primary emphasis on payroll and pension and selected opportunities across travel and expense and global mobility. The role will target partners with recurring cross-border payment flows and a strong strategic fit with Convera’s network reach, compliance capabilities, foreign exchange expertise, local payout rails, and relationship-led service model. Key responsibilities Net-new pipeline generation: Build a continuously growing, high-quality pipeline across payroll, pension, travel and expense, and global mobility partners, with primary focus on payroll and pension. Territory strategy: Develop and execute a North American account and territory plan based on addressable whitespace, strategic fit, corridor opportunity, competitive position, and route to revenue. Ideal partner targeting: Prioritise partners with a large customer book, recurring cross-border flows, attractive corridor mix, mature KYC practices, limited high-risk exposure, and influence over payables or receivables. Prospecting and market development: Create opportunities through targeted outbound activity, executive networking, referrals, advisers, technology ecosystems, conferences, and coordinated marketing. Consultative discovery: Understand the partner model, end-customer journey, payment flows, statutory-payment needs, FX economics, technical requirements, implementation dependencies, and commercial value. Value proposition: Lead with Convera’s strengths in global network and currency coverage, compliance, FX expertise , local payout rails, hedging capabilities, and relationship management. Complex sales leadership: Own opportunities from initial engagement through qualification, business-case development, solution design, commercial negotiation, contracting, and internal approval. Anchor partnerships: Identify strategically important partners that can provide brand value, market credibility, learning, or co-development potential in addition to direct revenue. Cross-functional orchestration: Mobilise Product, Solutions Consulting, Technology, Legal, Compliance, Pricing, Finance, Operations, Implementation, and Marketing to progress opportunities and resolve barriers. Disciplined handover: Transition signed partners to the appropriate implementation , partner activation, and account-management teams with clear commercial commitments, success measures, and ownership. Selective future-vertical development: Maintain informed coverage of marketplace and AP automation opportunities, but pursue selectively and in line with product and technology readiness. Sales discipline: Maintain accurate CRM data, next steps, qualification, forecasting, risks, and commercial assumptions; use insight to improve conversion and sales velocity. <span data-contrast="none"