Vice President, Strategic Partnerships

Remote; San Francisco (CA); À distance; USD 250 000 - 275 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Stock option plan

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Flexible PTO

Parental leave

Résumé du poste

Upgrade is seeking a senior partnerships leader to drive strategic alliances and embedded finance initiatives. This remote-flexible role supports partners across the U.S., with occasional travel for partner meetings and coordination with Legal, Finance, and Risk.

You will own end-to-end partner onboarding, negotiate terms, and lead cross-functional collaboration to launch new programs and AI-driven product initiatives beyond personal loans.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in strategic partnerships or business development.
• Experience in fintech or consumer lending.
• Proven ability to manage deals from outreach to launch.

Responsabilités

• Build and manage a pipeline of white-label partners.
• Lead end-to-end deal structuring and negotiations.
• Oversee onboarding and launch with cross-functional teams.
• Represent Upgrade at events and outreach to partners.

Connaissances

Strategic partnerships

Business development

Deal-making

Cross-functional leadership

Negotiation

Executive presence

CRM (Salesforce)

Outils

CRM (Salesforce)

Description du poste

Defining the future of work & living globally

Upgrade helps customers move in the right direction with affordable and responsible financial products. Since 2017, we’ve helped over 7.5 million customers access over $42 billion in consumer credit. With a relentless focus on improving our customers' financial well-being, we build products that put more money in their pocket and support their journey toward a better financial future. We’re backed by some of the most prominent technology investors and were most recently valued at $7.3B.

We’re consistently recognized for our collaborative and inclusive culture. Most recently, we were named one of the World’s Top Fintech Companies by CNBC, Best Places to Work by Built In, Best Places to Work by the San Francisco Business Times, America’s Greatest Workplaces by Newsweek, Best Startup Employer by Forbes, and Healthiest Employers by Phoenix Business Journal.

We’re looking for new team members who get excited about designing and delivering new and better products. Come join us and help build a better financial future for millions of people.

About the Role:

This is a remote-flexible position for candidates based in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, or Delaware, and requires occasional travel for partner meetings.

What you’ll do:

• Build and manage a pipeline of prospective white-label partners.
• Develop and prioritize a target list based on strategic fit, reach, and revenue potential.
• Represent Upgrade at industry events and in outbound outreach to build a network of decision-makers at prospective partners.
• Source potential partnerships to support Upgrade's emerging AI-driven product initiatives beyond personal loans

Deal Structuring & Negotiation

• Lead commercial negotiations for partnership agreements, including economics, exclusivity, SLAs, and branding terms.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and Risk to structure deals that meet Upgrade's compliance and margin requirements.
• Own the business case and internal approval process for each partnership, from term sheet through signed contract.

Onboarding & Launch

• Own the end-to-end onboarding of signed partners — project-managing integration, compliance review, branding/marketing/UX approvals, and go-live.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for partners during implementation, coordinating Engineering, Product, Compliance, and Ops to hit launch dates.
• Build repeatable onboarding playbooks and SLAs to shorten time-to-launch as the partner roster grows.

What We Look For:

• 10+ years in strategic partnerships, business development, or a related deal-making role, with a track record of sourcing and closing complex commercial agreements.
• Experience in fintech, consumer lending, or financial services — comfortable with regulatory, compliance, and risk considerations
• Demonstrated ability to manage a deal from first outreach through signed contract and through live launch.
• Strong cross-functional leadership: proven ability to align Legal, Compliance, Risk, Product, and Engineering around a partner launch timeline.
• Excellent negotiation and executive presence; comfortable representing Upgrade large enterprise partner leadership.

Nice to Have:

• Direct experience structuring white-label or embedded finance partnerships (co-branded cards, private-label lending, BaaS-style programs).
• An existing network of relationships at financial services companies or consumer-facing brands that could become Upgrade partners.
• Experience at a high-growth fintech or consumer lending company.

What We Offer You:

• Competitive salary & stock option plan
• Paid coverage of medical, dental and vision insurance
• Flexible PTO
• Opportunities for professional growth and development
• Paid parental leave
• Health & wellness initiatives

The base salary range for this position is $250k-$275k annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including the candidate’s experience, qualifications, skills, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for an annual performance-based bonus as well as equity and other benefits as part of Upgrade’s total compensation package.