The rate at which Facebook seals game-related deals may soon increase. The social network’s current gaming partners may soon grow happier, too. That’s because Facebook’s attempting to hire a "Head of Games Partnerships," and those will be among his (or her) top priorities.
The official job description begins, "Facebook is seeking a leader for our Strategic Partner Development team to build and manage a high performance team, develop and enhance successful partnerships and influence internal and external partners and industry stakeholders in the Gaming industry."
Some kid who uses Facebook and has devoted countless hours of his life to playing FarmVille won’t cut it, either. The company wants a businessperson with a degree (preferably an MBA) and at least ten years of experience, plus all sorts of management skills.
This signals that Facebook is getting very serious about games. The job description even hints that its gaming unit will have the power to influence the whole organization, stating, "You should be as comfortable pitching and negotiating deals with partners as working cross-functionally with colleagues in Product, Engineering, Sales, Operations, Finance, Marketing, and Legal to create new social experiences that meet the strategic objectives of partners and Facebook."
It should be interesting to see who Facebook finds to fill this role. And how quickly Facebook fills it, since that could reveal more about how much the company values gaming.
Anyway, a hat tip goes to Jason Kincaid.