Partnerships Strategy Lead

About the Role

We're looking for a Partnerships Strategy Lead to serve as the operational and strategic engine behind a growing membership partnerships program. This is a role for someone who thinks like a strategy consultant and operates like a dealmaker - comfortable with ambiguity, skilled at building frameworks from scratch, and energized by finding the next unlock rather than defending the status quo.

The ideal candidate believes that meaningful partnerships create genuine, differentiated value for specific customer segments - not generic, one-size-fits-all perks or a race-to-the-bottom discount model. You'll run deal flow end to end, lead negotiation on a select set of deals yourself, and continuously evolve partnership strategy even while deals are in motion.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end project management of a full partnerships deal pipeline, keeping partners, timelines, and deliverables on track
• Lead negotiation of a select set of partnership deals directly, in coordination with leadership and legal counsel
• Serve as the primary point of coordination across a global partnerships team and a cross-functional program team, aligning stakeholders and unblocking work
• Represent the organization in meetings with existing and prospective partners
• Continually refine and evolve partnership strategy, identifying new models and products that innovate within the existing ecosystem and beyond
• Evaluate prospective and existing partners against specific customer segments, regions, and use cases to determine genuine fit
• Partner directly with senior leadership to shape partner prioritization and external engagement strategy

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in strategy consulting, corporate development, partnerships, or brand marketing
• A structured, "consultant mentality" - able to build frameworks from ambiguous problems and back recommendations with data and judgment
• Direct experience structuring and negotiating deals with external partners
• Strong external presence; comfortable holding your own in partner meetings and negotiations alongside senior stakeholders
• Exceptional project management skills, with proven ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder deal flow across a matrixed organization
• Data-driven approach to partner evaluation, balancing quantitative analysis with strategic judgment
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills for internal and external audiences
• Industry-specific loyalty/membership program experience is not required; candidates from that background should bring a point of view on building differentiated value rather than discount-driven models

Key Details

• Start Date: September 22, 2026
• Duration: 12 months, with a potential path to full-time conversion based on performance
• Location: Remote, within the US (occasional on-sites per team norms)
• Work Schedule: 40 hours/week, 5 days/week, 8 hours/day
• Pay Rate: $85 - $96/hour + benefits
• Reporting: Reports to the Director of Brand & Membership Partnerships
• Work Authorization: Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship
• Engagement: Contract role through Maleda Tech