Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager

Meet Upside:

Upside is a high-growth retail technology company driving hundreds of millions of dollars in proven profit to brick and mortar businesses. Unlike the many apps and services that provide discounts to consumers but actually hurt retailer profitability, Upside is the only two-sided marketplace that provides proven incremental profit to retailers. Tens of thousands of retailers nationwide are seeing a 52% ROI on average—results that have been independently audited by Fortune 500 and third-party analytics companies. On the consumer side of the marketplace, millions of users power $5 billion in purchases through the Upside platform every year. They use our top-rated mobile app to see 2 to 3 times more value on their purchases than with any other product. By helping people and businesses do better, communities grow stronger. You’ll join a Team whose experience hails from places such as Google, Uber, Instacart, Capital One, and MasterCard with proven startup executives and venture capitalists.

Upside was named #2 on Deloitte's 2021 list of Fastest Growing 500 Tech Companies and #308 in Inc.’s America’s fastest-growing private companies of 2022. Upside’s Series D was raised in March 2022 and led by General Catalyst at a $1.5B valuation. Other investors include Bessemer Ventures and Formation8.

About the job:

Upside's looking for a Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager to lead the charge of growing and running Upside’s network partners, from startups to the largest financial institutions. As a member of the Business Development team, you’ll play a key role in defining our consumer partner strategy, cultivating relationships with key executive stakeholders, building and supporting partnerships on top of our APIs, and managing strategic relationships from inception to scale with constituents across our organization. You’ll partner closely with internal product and operations teams to drive consumer growth through strategic partnerships.

What you’ll do:

• Leverage your industry expertise to develop and execute a compelling partnership strategy that drives success for Upside and our merchants over the long term
• Drive meaningful merchant growth and expansion opportunities via referral partnerships
• Structure and negotiate multi-year contracts with partners across the fintech, merchant processing, and retail services industries.
• Work closely with the cross-functional deal team to develop operational plans for each partnership, and then manage the execution of those plans end-to-end. Act as the ‘connective tissue’ that links all aspects of the deal execution together.
• Ensure on-time, in-full delivery of deal terms as agreed with external partners. Establish and monitor performance metrics as needed to ensure both Upside and partner commitments are met.
• Support sales & marketing teams in our key verticals (fuel/convenience, restaurant & grocery), while being a thought leader and driver of vertical expansion initiatives.
• Represent Upside in relevant industry forums and merchant coalition forums.
• Work in a fast-paced evolving environment, and thrive in a dynamic, fluid, matrix environment
• Deliver best-in-class results, while continuously challenging yourself and your team to be more ambitious.

What do you need:

• 7+ years of relevant experience negotiating commercial agreements, management consulting, corporate strategy, or project management.
• Experience in financial services, payments, and internet/technology businesses is required – including direct work with partners and partner networks.
• Demonstrated partnerships experience in a startup or financial services environment is strongly preferred.
• A creative and meticulous approach to structuring agreements, work with partners, and interpret legal documents.
• Excellent quantitative analytical skills, with the ability to demonstrate conclusions based on data-focused approach.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deliver results in a fast-paced environment working within timing constraints.
• Ability to travel up to 40% throughout the year
• BS/BA degree required. MBA or other advanced degree preferred.

The fine print:

• Location: This is a fully-remote role that may sit anywhere in the United States. You're welcome to work from our DC, Austin, Chicago or New York office if you're in-region! Full Covid-19 vaccination is required to enter our Upside offices.
• Notice to recruiters and placement agencies: This is an in-house search. Please do not submit resumes to any person or email address at Upside. Upside is not liable for, and will not pay, placement fees for candidates submitted by any party or agency other than its approved recruitment partners.

At Upside, we believe that diversity drives innovation. Our differences are what makes us stronger. We‘re passionate about building a workplace that represents a variety of backgrounds, skills, and perspectives and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Everyone is welcome here. Come join us!