Partnerships Manager

Partnership Manager – Embedded Finance

London – Hybrid working

My client is a profitable SME fintech lender with over 15yrs successful UK trading.

They are best known for speed of delivery, streamlined lending process & accurate credit decisions. Having multiple distribution channels, they are consistently overperforming on lending objectives & now attention is turning to further investment into their strategic partnership division…

It’s a brilliant time to join the team with C-Suite support, brilliant tech ability & API integration success and a ongoing conversations building their credibility in the wider market!

We are looking for talented Partnership Manager with a network of contacts across ISV’s / ISO’s / PSP’s and E-Commerce Platforms who is keen to learn world of B2B lending & grow some long term partnerships with mutual commercial benefit…

You will work closely with Director of Partnerships to build a strategic roadmap for acquisition & identification of IPP and have autonomy to execute and manage the partner throughout its lifecycle.

We are open on the level of seniority of the individual coming into the role - We are more focused on ability, proactivity & desire to be a pivotal part of the channel

Key responsibilities

• Partner pipeline. Build and own a pipeline of partners across payments providers, ISOs, ISVs, PSPs, ecommerce and SaaS platforms, and open banking players
• Embedded journeys. Design the embedded customer journey with Product and Tech, from offer display and application through to funding and repayment. Keep friction low and the experience on-brand for the partner
• Integration. Scope integration requirements with partner product and engineering teams. Translate commercial goals into clear API, data-sharing and workflow specifications
• Onboarding and go-live. Lead partners from signed agreement to go-live: plans, milestones, testing, launch readiness and partner enablement
• Performance and growth. Track conversion and volume after launch. Run joint optimisation with each partner and grow lending volume over time
• Commercial negotiation. Negotiate partnership terms, revenue share and commercial models. Balance partner value with long-term commercial return.
• Market voice. Bring partner and market insight back into our product roadmap and proposition.

Success for us will be:

Strategic partnerships take time to deliver lending volume, typically 6–9 months from signature. Looking to measure success on:

• By 6 months: A qualified pipeline across target partner segments; first partners signed; at least one integration live or in final testing; a clear embedded journey design agreed with Product and Tech
• By 12 months: Multiple partners live; lending volume flowing and growing from onboarded partners; conversion data driving journey improvements; a repeatable onboarding playbook in place.

We are looking for:

• A track record in business development or partnerships in payments, embedded finance, BaaS or open banking, for example with an acquirer, PSP or open banking provider, or in a strategic partnerships team at an SME finance provider.
• Experience signing, launching or managing partnerships with ISOs, ISVs, PSPs, ecommerce or SaaS platforms
• Strong API and integration literacy. You can talk confidently with engineers about endpoints, data flows and workflows
• A customer-journey and UX mindset, with the ability to spot and remove friction
• Commercial negotiation skills and sound judgement on deal structure
• Clear communication and the ability to align partners with internal Product, Tech, Risk and Operations teams.
• Knowledge of SME lending or an interest in learning around the SME lending ecosystem

A lending background is not required.