Director of Strategic Partnerships

Rocket Travel is looking for a Director, Strategic Partnerships to join our growing Partnership team. In this role, you’ll work closely with loyalty partners across North America, helping develop the Rocket Travel brand, evolve existing brands, and develop opportunities for growth.

• Work with a group of intrinsically motivated people with a track record for building successful new businesses from scratch.
• Embody curiosity, community, and accountability. We live and build products by these values every day. 
• Own decisions and take action that can be implemented in a matter of days (or hours).
• Get inspired and encouraged to vacation faster, with an annual vacation stipend.
• Receive a competitive compensation package, including bonus, 401k with match, flexible vacation time, maternity and paternity benefits, health, and dental insurance.
  • Total Compensation is based on experience - Salary: $130k - $170k, Bonus: up to 60%
• Can have a flexible work schedule. We have great offices in Chicago’s West Loop and in NYC’s Empire State building, we have a hybrid team, and a flexible work environment.d
• Share your passion for travel with equally adventurous teammates. 
• Work within the largest online travel company in the world. Rocket Travel creates B2C and B2B2C travel products and is part of Booking Holdings (BKNG). We have many worldwide partners and a diversified business. Despite the world’s current situation, Booking Holdings has been rated the healthiest company in travel, and Rocket itself is already seeing travel demand surpass pre-pandemic levels.

• Own Regional Partnerships with our white label, loyalty program partners. You’ll take on a team and set direction for the growth and optimization of partners within a designated region at Rocket Travel
• Lead Business Development efforts to effectively grow our portfolio of new partnerships, by creating lead gen and effectively running sales efforts from first pitch to final contract
• Grow existing partnerships by analyzing data at a macro and micro level, strategizing around trends, and proposing initiatives to partners. You’ll also be tasked with selling new travel verticals to existing partners
• Establish team and partner KPIs to guide measurements of success and track progress along the way, reporting internally and externally on what is working well and where help is needed
• Negotiate commercial terms with existing and potential new partners to create an aligned economic structure where both parties are motivated by the same success. Be a first line in contract reviews, working closely with legal teams to redline deals
• Partner with product and engineering teams to define and deliver product features, tests, enhancements and launches. Facilitate clear communication between external partners and internal teams
• Partner with leadership across the Booking Holdings group to grow strategic partnerships through collaboration and product/partner innovation
• Be a leader, acting as a manager, advocate, mentor, and peer.  Engage with direct reports, guide priorities, and provide detailed support when needed to communicate partnership direction and strategy across the company
• Bring creative thought to partnerships, working closely with each partner to drive growth across product verticals and be a subject matter expert on global travel industry
• Manage deadlines across projects. There will be short turnarounds for some projects, and longer engagements with others. Be effective in managing time and proper balance between both
• Be scrappy. We’re a small team and often wear many hats. Some projects may not be completely defined. This individual will take a resourceful approach to what’s needed and drive results

• You have 10+ years of relevant experience, preferably in B2B2C, partner management, or travel.
• You have proven experience leading, motivating, and growing a team
• You are outcome-driven, providing specific instances of when and how to lead a team and hit KPIs
• You are comfortable leading meetings and presenting to key stakeholders, leadership, and external partner stakeholders, including the executive C-suite level
• You always put the customer front and center. Customers can be a traveler, partner, or even colleague. You ensure a focus centered around solving pain points
• You have familiarity with key business tools across Google Sheets, Docs, and Slides. SQL knowledge is a plus.
• You understand business objectives. You establish goals for yourself, your team and your partners. In negotiations, you understand tradeoffs and work to create the best deal for all parties
• You have a strong knowledge of technology and product development with the ability to vary your communication based on the audience, both internal and external
• You continuously seek feedback. You have a growth mindset, are comfortable soliciting thoughts from others, and are curious to learn from a spectrum of perspectives

We make travel more rewarding than anyone else 

Rocket Travel awards customers for booking travel through our products, allowing people to earn or use loyalty benefits from their favorite loyalty programs.

Our journey

We began in 2013 with the same goal of making travel even more rewarding. This started with our bespoke Rocketmiles website, earning travelers their favorite airline loyalty miles for hotel bookings, and every year since, we’ve advanced our goal.

We now partner with over 60 loyalty programs that travelers can choose from, we build unique partner-branded travel sites, we offer the ability to earn and redeem loyalty rewards, we sit within Booking Holdings—the most experienced Group of travel companies in the world—and we continually grow the number of ways that people can book travel through us, from stays to cars and more.

Travel constantly evolves, opening additional opportunities to create rewarding experiences, and we intend to be at the forefront of building and innovating on those for travelers worldwide.

A diverse and global team

Our teammates work across the globe, in person and remotely. We have offices in Chicago, NYC, Bangkok, Bogota, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Cebu. No matter where people work, our main team-building goal is to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. We do that with a Diversity and Inclusion Committee, setting DEI hiring goals, investing in employee retention, and conducting regular team training that fosters collaboration and morale.

All of these efforts help ensure that we’re promoting a supportive workplace, where people are motivated to grow professionally and build rewarding travel experiences together. 

Note on general employment requirements

Candidates should be authorized to accept employment in the US from any employer, should be willing to start within three weeks of accepting an offer, and should be able to work the same daily working hours as our Chicago office.

A final word

If the idea of working within an environment that promotes accountability, curiosity, and community to build reward travel products sounds motivating to you, we would love to hear from you—even if you’re unable to meet 100% of the job requirements. We never expect people to have all of the answers, as long as they’re willing and able to learn and grow with us.