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Partnerships Manager - Africa

Canva

Canva

Sales & Business Development
Cape Town, South Africa
Posted on Jun 3, 2025

Job Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time-consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

This role is based in South Africa and is currently fully remote. We're open to talent across cities — from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Durban and beyond. At Canva, we trust our Canvanauts to choose where and how they work best, so long as it supports their team and mission.

What you’d be doing in this role

We’re looking for an experienced Partnerships Manager to drive our next stage of growth across Africa. Our Partnership Manager will work closely with education and non-education partners to help them understand the benefits of using Canva's product tools and resources.

As the Africa Partnerships Manager, you will:

  • Identify high-value partners that have not yet strategically partnered with Canva, source strategic leads, and close partnership deals.
  • Own strategy, prospecting, planning, onboarding, execution, and results, to contribute to Africa’s Crazy Big Goals, namely, strong MAU growth and driving Brand consideration of Canva.
  • Be responsible for managing the relationships with the key stakeholders and decision-makers and getting them what they need, be it technical documentation and support, onboarding help, development resources, Canva tips and tricks, and strategic guidance.
  • Build structure around our Partnerships (inclusive of partner events) plans, building frameworks and playbooks to ensure maximum impact, relevance and execution quality
  • Run healthy and predictable partnerships that deliver a jointly agreed customer transformation strategy focused on clear outcomes. Managing partnership commercials closely, leading negotiations and ensuring cross-functional stakeholders (Finance, Sales etc) are integrated into planning as needed.
  • Establish close relationships with our passionate community of educators, learners, and creators to know first-hand what they need to become successful Canva users.
  • Utilise data analysis to shape your strategic approach to account or partnership management, and to note emerging trends to share with Canva’s XFN teams (eg, Sales & Success, Product, and Marketing teams.
  • Continuously test, learn, and iterate on our lifecycle strategy at our identified districts to build meaningful and impactful relationships.
  • Act as main POC in key partnership conversations, working in close partnership with local XFN Managers to ensure on-the-ground execution feels ‘truly local’.
  • Plan with Canva’s ‘Two Step Plan’ in mind, always looking for opportunities for our partnerships and activations to serve as a Force For Good

You're probably a match if

  • You have experience with the African Education and Non-Education Market. You understand efficient solutions and can communicate with key partners on how Canva can improve outcomes through design and collaboration.
  • You are comfortable driving retention and fostering engagement.
  • You enjoy working alongside your direct team as well as with cross-functional teams.
  • You have a deep understanding and experience of how to roll out new technologies and effective wide deployments.
  • You create clarity through your communication by making complex things simple. You can confidently present your ideas and tell a compelling story to customers and the broader team.
  • You can move from planning through to implementation and complete projects that deliver high impact.
  • You understand social media standard processes and tactics for partner audiences.
  • You're eager to learn and develop your skills whilst having fun along the way!

#LI-remote #LI-JRW

About the team

The African Partnership Manager is a key member of our team who is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with education and non-education partners throughout Africa.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:

  • Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too
  • Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
  • An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more
  • Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above, we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.