Vice President, Strategic Partnerships

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California, +1 more state.

📋 Description

• Develop and oversee a pipeline of potential white-label partners.

• Create and prioritize a target list based on strategic alignment, market reach, and revenue potential.

• Represent Upgrade at industry conferences and engage in outbound outreach to cultivate a network of key decision-makers.

• Identify potential partnerships that support Upgrade’s innovative AI-driven product initiatives beyond personal loans.

• Lead negotiations covering economic terms, exclusivity agreements, service level agreements (SLAs), and branding conditions.

• Collaborate with Legal, Finance, and Risk teams to structure compliant and profitable agreements.

• Manage the business case and internal approval process from term sheet to finalized contract.

• Oversee the comprehensive onboarding process for signed partners, which includes integration, compliance review, branding, marketing, user experience approvals, and the go-live phase.

• Act as the primary contact for partners during implementation and coordinate with Engineering, Product, Compliance, and Operations to ensure timely launches.

• Create scalable onboarding playbooks and SLAs to reduce time-to-launch.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 10 years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or a similar deal-making capacity, with a proven record of sourcing and finalizing complex commercial agreements.

• Background in fintech, consumer lending, or financial services.

• Familiarity with regulatory, compliance, and risk factors.

• Proven capability to manage a deal from initial outreach through to contract signing and live launch.

• Demonstrated success in aligning Legal, Compliance, Risk, Product, and Engineering teams around a partner launch schedule.

• Exceptional negotiation skills and a strong executive presence.

• Ability to represent Upgrade to senior leadership within large enterprise partners.

• Preferred experience in structuring white-label or embedded finance partnerships (such as co-branded cards, private-label lending, and BaaS programs).

• An established network of relationships within financial services firms or consumer-facing brands is preferred.

• Experience at a rapidly growing fintech or consumer lending organization is preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive salary.

• Stock option plan.

• Paid coverage for medical, dental, and vision insurance.

• Flexible paid time off (PTO).

• Opportunities for professional growth and development.

• Paid parental leave.

• Health and wellness initiatives.

• Annual performance-based bonus.

• Equity and additional benefits as part of Upgrade’s comprehensive compensation package.