About Smokeball
With offices in Australia, the US, and the UK, Smokeball is the leading provider of legal practice management software helping small and mid-sized legal practices run their best firm and live their best life. We’re passionate about what we do, and our clients know it!
Culture plays a big part in our success, and our clear purpose and vision motivate us daily.
The Role
We’re looking for a Program Manager, Strategic Partnerships, to lead the development and expansion of new partner programs, including managing the execution and strategy of 30+ state and local bar association relationships. This role requires an individual with an entrepreneurial and creative mindset that has previous experience both building and managing partner programs in the LegalTech or Legal AI partnerships space. From nurturing ongoing partner relationships to driving new and unique opportunities, you’ll be the architect for a first-of-its-kind innovative program.
You will combine strategic partnerships, sales, and market expansion: sourcing and landing new partners, representing Smokeball in partner education and industry events, and opening new channels. This is a player-coach role for someone who is opportunity driven, thrives in ambiguity and constant reprioritization, and moves fast from strategy to measurable results.
Open to remote candidates or candidates within the Chicagoland area. Our headquarters is located in Chicago, IL and for candidates in the Chicagoland area, the role will be hybrid with 2 days a week in office.
Responsibilities:
- Program Strategy: Develop and evolve our partner program strategy, and areas of focus.
- Lead Business Development: Drive the creation of new partner programs with bar associations and other key organizations.
- Identify strategic opportunities to build new programs.
- Write and pitch proposals to potential new partners.
- Drive negotiations with partners and contract review.
- Build Program Operations to Scale: Create new program operations and processes, developing a scalable playbook for long-term growth of partner programs and teams.
- Partner Relationship Management: Create and maintain strong relationships with key partners to drive success and create innovative opportunities.
- Contract Review & Negotiation: Lead negotiations and creation of terms with key partners, reviewing and approving contracts, redlines, and setting commercial terms.
- Partner Revenue Targets: Establish partner targets for referral quality, program participation, and revenue contribution; monitor and report against those metrics.
- Drive Partner Marketing & Education: Liaison with marketing, education, and training teams to design campaigns for partner adoption and promotion that lead to measurable revenue and brand awareness.
- ROI analysis & Reporting: Track and update partner ROI reports and analyze results regularly to determine trends and growth opportunities.
What You Bring
- 5+ years of demonstrated experience building and/or managing partner programs in the LegalTech, Legal AI, or the bar association space, bar association partner programs experience is preferred.
- A deep understanding of the legal technology and Legal AI space
- Experience building partner programs from scratch in tech is a plus, including managing a team.
- Strong familiarity with commercial contracts and contract negotiation. JD or legal experience is a plus.
- Experience with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and project management tools is a plus.
- Strong communication and presentation skills.
- Occasional travel is expected, estimated 25% of the time.
Compensation Band
The salary for this role is between $130,000-170,000 based on experience.
What's in it for you?
💵 Competitive Salary
💹 Work-Life Balance: 20 vacation days, 3 reboot days, birthday off, volunteer time, and more!
🧘 Benefits: Excellent medical, dental, vision coverage. 401(k) match, & monthly wellness stipend
👶Parental leave
🥡 Office lunch and loads of snacks
🧢 And of course...the SWAG!
Want to Know More?
Why do we do what we do? Where did the name ‘Smokeball’ come from? What are our values? Learn more here!
*Smokeball values diversity & inclusion and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Smokeball considers all individuals seeking employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic.
If you’re excited about this role, we encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn’t check every box.
Skills Required
- 5+ years of experience building or managing partner programs in LegalTech, Legal AI, or the bar association space
- Deep understanding of the legal technology and Legal AI space
- Strong familiarity with commercial contracts and contract negotiation
- Strong communication and presentation skills
- Experience building partner programs from scratch in technology
- Experience managing a team
- Bar association partner programs experience
- JD or legal experience
- Experience with CRM systems such as Salesforce
- Experience with project management tools
Smokeball Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Smokeball and has not been reviewed or approved by Smokeball.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Stated salary bands on job postings and market‑aligned role snapshots indicate clear, competitive base pay across several Chicago‑based roles. Explicit ranges for sales roles with base plus commission increase visibility into how total pay is structured.
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Healthcare Strength — Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with multiple BCBS plan options is characterized as strong for the cost, with profiles calling the coverage excellent. The breadth of plan choices supports different employee needs.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — The package combines PTO and sick time with two floating holidays, three reboot days, a birthday day off, and paid volunteer time, and time off is encouraged. This mix extends beyond standard vacation to provide additional recharge and flexibility days.
Smokeball Insights
What We Do
Smokeball is a legal practice management software for small law firms. Our mission isn’t simple, but it is straightforward: help small law firms be successful businesses so that they can better serve our communities.
Why Work With Us
Named a Best Workplace by both Crain’s and Inc. Magazine, we believe that fostering a great culture is just as important as providing a great product. We live and breathe our Core Values; they inform every strategic decision we make and guide our behavior with every person we meet.
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