Head of Strategic Partnerships

humaninterest; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Human Interest is seeking a Head of Strategic Partnerships to lead our ecosystem of partners that place our retirement platform in front of millions of small and medium-sized businesses. You will report to the Chief Revenue Officer and guide a team through sourcing, negotiating, and closing complex partnerships across payroll providers, brokers, financial institutions, and more.

The role blends strategy, dealmaking, and hands-on execution, requiring executive presence, systems thinking, and the

Qualifications

• Proven track record in building strategic partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing partnerships team.
• Design scalable partnership processes, playbooks, and systems for growth.
• Shape portfolio strategy with the VP of Partnerships to drive high-quality growth.
• Act as primary hunter to identify, pursue, and close net-new strategic partnerships.

Job description

Human Interest is on a mission to ensure that people in all lines of work have access to retirement benefits.

More than half of all working Americans are not saving enough for their future. Too often, it's because they are employed by a company that doesn't offer a retirement plan. Human Interest is changing that by making it affordable and accessible for small and medium-sized businesses to offer employees a path to financial independence through retirement savings.

We're a high-growth fintech company changing the retirement industry. We are backed by a number of investors. This includes funding from Marshall Wace and Baillie Gifford, as well as top investors such as BlackRock , TPG (The Rise Fund) , SoftBank, Glynn Capital , NewView Capital, USVP, Wing, Uncork, and more.

About the role

The Head of Strategic Partnerships owns a vital piece of Human Interest's most important growth channel: expanding our ecosystem of partners who put our retirement platform in front of millions of small and medium-sized businesses. Reporting directly to the Chief Revenue Officer, you will lead the team to identify, pursue, and close strategic partnerships across payroll providers, benefits brokers, accountants, financial institutions, PEOs, and embedded fintech distribution.

This is a leadership role focused on building, scaling, and driving the strategic partnership ecosystem. While hands-on, the focus is on organizational strategy, team mentorship, and driving cross-functional success. You will be responsible for signing complex, multi-year agreements with some of Human Interest's largest and most important partners.

The role is equal parts strategist, dealmaker, and operator. You'll be just as comfortable modeling the economics of a new channel as you are in a room negotiating terms, and just as effective driving a deal across the finish line as you are shaping the partnership thesis with the CRO and the broader leadership team.

The person who thrives here is a natural hunter - energized by the pursuit of net-new relationships, comfortable opening doors cold, and relentless about carrying complex, multi-stakeholder deals through long sales cycles. You bring executive presence and the systems thinking to see how a single partnership fits into a broader distribution strategy. You read a term sheet and a partnership thesis with equal fluency, you make sharp prioritization calls about where to spend your time, and you carry deals with a sense of ownership. Above all, you are a builder: you're drawn to the ambiguity of standing up new channels from scratch, and you bring structure, pace, and judgment to a function that is still writing its own playbook.

About the team

The Partnerships organization is the engine behind Human Interest's reach, with over 95% of our business coming from our partner ecosystem. This team builds the relationships that let us scale access to retirement benefits far faster than we could one employer at a time. They think in systems and incentives: which partners share our mission, how we make those partners successful, and how we design programs that compound over time.

The team works shoulder-to-shoulder with Sales, Product, Marketing, Legal, and Operations to establish and launch partnerships that are commercially sound, operationally clean, and genuinely good for the businesses we ultimately serve. As we continue to scale, we're looking for a leader who can take this function to its next level: bigger partners, deeper integrations, and a measurable line on the revenue plan.

What you get to do every day

Team Leadership & Mentorship: Coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of partnership professionals, fostering a culture of ownership, strategic thinking, and high-quality deal execution.

Strategic Organizational Scaling: Design and implement scalable partnership processes, playbooks, and systems that allow the team to efficiently manage growth and long-term partner success.

Partnership Strategy: Shape and own the strategy for your portfolio of partnerships, prioritizing the channels, partner types, and deals that drive the highest-quality growth, in close partnership with the VP of Partnerships.

Sourcing & Closing: Act as a primary "hunter" for the organization; while guiding the team, you will remain hands-on in identifying, pursuing, and opening net-new strategic partnerships across payroll, benefits brokers, and financial institutions, personally leading high-stakes negotiations to close complex deals.

Performance Management: Set clear performance metrics and KPIs for the team, tracking progress and providing regular feedback to ensure the team consistently meets and exceeds revenue targets.

Deal Structuring & Execution: Lead commercial negotiation and deal structuring end-to-end, while empowering team members to lead negotiations on key accounts. Partner with Legal and Finance to protect the business.

Cross-Functional Influence: Partner with Product, Engineering, Marke