Strategic Partnerships Director — Payments & Product

VGS; New York (NY); On-site; USD 170,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work hours

Flexible PTO

VGS stock options

401(k) with 4% match

Life & disability insurance

Pre-tax FSAs

Global parental leave

Employee Assistance Program

Home Internet reimbursement

Home office set-up allowance

Professional learning reimbursement

Job summary

Very Good Security (VGS) is seeking a Director of Strategic Partnerships – Payments & Product to expand its partner ecosystem, shaping product strategy and platform capabilities with card networks, investors, cloud providers, and AI platforms. The role blends external engagements with internal product collaboration to accelerate growth and innovation.

The candidate will lead a team, own top partnerships, and drive commercial and technical plans across multiple functions, influencing the roadmap

Qualifications

• 10+ years in strategic partnerships, fintech BD, product strategy, or payments consulting.
• Understanding of the payments ecosystem—issuers, processors, card networks, wallets, and commerce platforms.
• Ability to connect technical product functionality with partner and market needs.
• Demonstrated success managing complex partnerships and cross-functional projects.
• Comfortable in ambiguous, fast-paced environments with shifting priorities and emerging technologies.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a strategic mindset and a bias toward execution.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Strategic Partnerships professionals.
• Own and grow a portfolio of strategic partnerships across payments and commerce tech.
• Develop and execute partnership strategies aligned to product priorities.
• Lead complex, product-oriented partnerships across Product, Engineering, Legal, Sales, and Leadership.
• Source, evaluate, and develop new strategic partnerships with product roadmap impact.
• Lead negotiations for strategic commercial and product agreements.

Skills

Strategic partnerships

Fintech business development

Product strategy

Payments consulting

Cross-functional collaboration

Ambiguity navigation

Strategic communication

APIs & integrations

Tools

APIs & SDKs

Job description

Very Good Security (VGS) is seeking a Director of Strategic Partnerships – Payments & Product to expand its partner ecosystem, shaping product strategy and platform capabilities with card networks, investors, cloud providers, and AI platforms. The role blends external engagements with internal product collaboration to accelerate growth and innovation.

The candidate will lead a team, own top partnerships, and drive commercial and technical plans across multiple functions, influencing the roadmap