Strategic Partner Manager – Payment Partnerships

Job Title: Strategic Partner Manager – Payment Partnerships

Location: Hybrid – San Francisco, CA or Menlo Park, CA

Duration: 6‑Month Contract (W2) with potential extension

Our client is seeking a Strategic Partner Manager to lead high‑impact partnerships across the global payment's ecosystem. This role owns partner initiatives end‑to‑end—from strategy and business case development through negotiation, execution, and ongoing performance management.

This is an ideal opportunity for a seasoned payments and partnerships leader who brings broad industry experience, a strong strategic mindset, and the ability to influence and communicate effectively across cross‑functional teams and executive stakeholders. You will operate in fast‑moving, ambiguous environments and leverage modern AI tools to improve speed, quality, and decision‑making.

Required Qualifications

• 8 years of experience in payments, including networks, issuers, processors, payment service providers, platforms, or payments partnerships
• Proven track record of leading cross‑functional initiatives and influencing without formal authority
• Hands‑on experience structuring and negotiating complex commercial agreements
• Strong comfort with financial models, pricing structures, and payments cost optimization
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging for executives, cross‑functional teams, and external partners

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience owning multi‑threaded, complex negotiations with large global partners
• Strong strategic thinking skills with demonstrated ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments
• Experience engaging senior and executive‑level stakeholders, both internal and external
• High operational rigor, including goal‑setting, metrics, QBRs, and accountability management
• Demonstrated ability to use AI tools to increase productivity through prompting, synthesis, analysis, and automation

Responsibilities:

• Lead major partner workstreams with payments ecosystem partners such as networks, issuers, processors, and payment service providers
• Own quarterly planning, executive‑level reporting, and issue resolution for key partnerships
• Develop and execute partnership strategies by identifying opportunities, prioritizing investments, defining success metrics, and aligning stakeholders
• Structure and negotiate complex commercial agreements, including pricing, financial models, technical scope, performance metrics, privacy, and operational readiness
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering teams to translate strategy into executable roadmaps, clearly articulating tradeoffs and recommendations
• Drive cross‑functional execution across Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, Tax, Operations, and Marketing to launch and scale initiatives
• Create decision frameworks and operating mechanisms to improve partner selection, sequencing, and ongoing performance management
• Run effective operating rhythms including goal‑setting, metrics tracking, QBRs, and escalation paths
• Communicate clearly and concisely with stakeholders at all levels, from individual contributors to senior executives and external partners
• Leverage AI tools for drafting, summarization, analysis, and workflow automation while maintaining sound judgment and data discipline
• Travel approximately 10–30%, depending on business needs and project phase

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience