Strategic Partnerships Lead — Bank Programs & Launches

cardless; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful Start-up equity

100% health, vision & dental primary覆盖

75% health, vision & dental dependent

Catered lunches

$250/month Commuter benefit

Parental leave

Team building events & happy hours

Flexibl

Job summary

Cardless is seeking a Strategic Partnerships Manager to own the day-to-day relationship with issuing bank partners and drive co-brand card programs from signed deal to live launch.

You’ll coordinate with Compliance, Legal, Product and Engineering to deliver partner-ready updates, manage risk and timelines, and represent Cardless in meetings with bank stakeholders in San Francisco. This on-site role requires strong cross-functional collaboration and a proactive, structured approach.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in partnerships, account management, program management, or a related client-facing role.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder relationships balancing technical, legal, and business considerations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to distill cross-functional work into clear updates for partner audiences.
• Bias toward proactive communication; over-communicate risks early to avoid surprises.
• Experience working cross-functionally with compliance, legal, product, and engineering teams.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and building processes where none exist yet.

Responsibilities

• Own ongoing relationship management with bank partners, serving as primary contact for program status, open issues, and escalations.
• Manage partner expectations across active programs by proactively communicating risks, delays, and open items.
• Lead or support new program launches end-to-end: kickoff coordination, drafting partner-facing materials, tracking milestones, and aligning launch timelines.
• Translate internal workstreams into clear, partner-ready updates with Compliance, Legal, Product, and Engineering.
• Build and maintain trackers, status reports, and governance cadences to keep programs on track.
• Represent Cardless in partner meetings, including with senior stakeholders at bank partners.
• Identify and help resolve friction points between Cardless and partners on rewards, payments, and disputes.
• Support due diligence and onboarding for new bank and brand partners as Cardless grows.

Skills

Partnerships management

Account management

Program management

Job description

Cardless is seeking a Strategic Partnerships Manager to own the day-to-day relationship with issuing bank partners and drive co-brand card programs from signed deal to live launch.

You’ll coordinate with Compliance, Legal, Product and Engineering to deliver partner-ready updates, manage risk and timelines, and represent Cardless in meetings with bank stakeholders in San Francisco. This on-site role requires strong cross-functional collaboration and a proactive, structured approach.