VP, Strategic Partnerships — Fintech & Embedded Lending (Remote)

Upgrade, Inc.; New York (NY); Remote; USD 250,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Flexible PTO

Professional development

Parental leave

Wellness initiatives

Job summary

Upgrade is seeking a highly strategic and commercially driven VP, Strategic Partnerships, to expand our personal lending business through enterprise partnerships. You will identify high‑value partners, lead negotiations, and structure complex agreements powering co‑branded lending solutions.

In this role, you will collaborate with Finance, Product, Legal, Compliance, and Risk to shape partnership strategy, manage integrations, and drive revenue growth.

Qualifications

• 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: align Legal, Compliance, Risk, Product, and Engineering around a partner launch timeline.
• Excellent negotiation and executive presence; comfortable representing Upgrade large enterprise partner leadership.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• Lead commercial negotiations for partnership agreements, including economics, exclusivity, SLAs, and branding terms.
• Own the end‑to‑end onboarding of signed partners — project‑managing integration, compliance review, branding/marketing/UX approvals, and go‑live.

Skills

Strategic partnerships

Business development

Negotiation

Executive presence

Job description

Upgrade is seeking a highly strategic and commercially driven VP, Strategic Partnerships, to expand our personal lending business through enterprise partnerships. You will identify high‑value partners, lead negotiations, and structure complex agreements powering co‑branded lending solutions.

In this role, you will collaborate with Finance, Product, Legal, Compliance, and Risk to shape partnership strategy, manage integrations, and drive revenue growth.