Strategic Partnerships Director

Human Interest is on a mission to ensure that people in all lines of work have access to retirement benefits. 

More than half of all working Americans are not saving enough for their future. Too often, it’s because they are employed by a company that doesn’t offer a retirement plan. Human Interest is changing that by making it affordable and accessible for small and medium-sized businesses to offer employees a path to financial independence through retirement savings.

We’re a high-growth fintech company changing the retirement industry. We are backed by a number of investors. This includes funding from Marshall Wace and Baillie Gifford, as well as top investors such as BlackRock, TPG (The Rise Fund), SoftBank, Glynn Capital, NewView Capital, USVP, Wing, Uncork, and more.

About the role

The Director, Strategic Partnerships owns a vital piece of Human Interest's most important growth channel: expanding our ecosystem of partners who put our retirement platform in front of millions of small and medium-sized businesses. Reporting directly to the Head of Strategic Partnerships, you will source and land business partnerships across payroll providers, benefits brokers, accountants, financial institutions, PEOs, and embedded fintech distribution.

This is an individual-contributor role with a builder's mindset and a quota orientation. You will be responsible for signing complex, multi-year agreements with some of Human Interest’s largest and most important partners. 

The role is equal parts strategist, dealmaker, and operator. You'll be just as comfortable modeling the economics of a new channel as you are in a room negotiating terms, and just as effective driving a deal across the finish line as you are shaping the partnership thesis with the CRO and the broader leadership team.

The person who thrives here is a natural hunter — energized by the pursuit of net-new relationships, comfortable opening doors cold, and relentless about carrying complex, multi-stakeholder deals through long sales cycles. You bring executive presence and the systems thinking to see how a single partnership fits into a broader distribution strategy. You read a term sheet and a partnership thesis with equal fluency, you make sharp prioritization calls about where to spend your time, and you carry deals with a sense of ownership. Above all, you are a builder: you're drawn to the ambiguity of standing up new channels from scratch, and you bring structure, pace, and judgment to a function that is still writing its own playbook. 

About the team

The Partnerships organization is the engine behind Human Interest's reach, with over 95% of our business coming from our partner ecosystem. This team builds the relationships that let us scale access to retirement benefits far faster than we could one employer at a time. They think in systems and incentives: which partners share our mission, how we make those partners successful, and how we design programs that compound over time. 
The team works shoulder-to-shoulder with Sales, Product, Marketing, Legal, and Operations to establish and launch partnerships that are commercially sound, operationally clean, and genuinely good for the businesses we ultimately serve. As we continue to scale, we're looking for a leader who can take this function to its next level: bigger partners, deeper integrations, and a measurable line on the revenue plan.

What you get to do every day

• Partnership Strategy: Shape and own the strategy for your portfolio of partnerships, prioritizing the channels, partner types, and deals that drive the highest-quality growth, in close partnership with the VP of Partnerships.
• Sourcing & Closing: Identify, pursue, and close strategic partnerships across payroll, benefits brokers and advisors, financial institutions, PEOs, and embedded/distribution partners, personally leading the most complex negotiations.
• Deal Structuring: Lead commercial negotiation and deal structuring end-to-end: economics, terms, integration scope, and go-to-market commitments, partnering with Legal and Finance to protect the business.
• Cross-Functional Execution: Partner with Product and Engineering to scope integrations; with Marketing to build co-marketing and enablement; and with Sales to operationalize partner-sourced demand.
• Onboarding & Handoff to Partner Management: As the “hunter” who sources and closes the deal, own the partner relationship through signature and initial activation, then drive a clean, structured handoff to the Partner Management team. Equip them with the context, relationships, and commercial intent needed to nurture, grow, and steward the partnership over its lifecycle. A disciplined handoff keeps you focused on landing the next high-value relationship while ensuring nothing is lost in the transition from “hunting” to “farming.” 
• Executive Communication: Translate the partnership thesis, pipeline, and results into clear narratives for the VP of Partnerships and senior leadership, and represent Human Interest externally with senior partner stakeholders.
• Market Intelligence: Maintain a sharp view of the retirement, payroll, fintech, and benefits landscape, surfacing competitive and regulatory shifts that should shape the partnership roadmap.
• Other duties as needed.

What you bring to the role

• Partnerships & Business Development Expertise: 10+ years in partnerships, business development, or channel sales, with a track record of personally owning and growing a book of strategic partnerships.
• Proven Dealmaking: Demonstrated history of sourcing, structuring, and closing complex, high-value partnership and distribution agreements with measurable revenue impact.
• Domain Fluency: Deep experience in fintech, retirement / wealth, payroll, benefits, or an adjacent financial-services ecosystem, with a working understanding of how these distribution channels actually buy and sell.
• Cross-Functional Influence: A proven ability to mobilize Product, Engineering, Marketing, Legal, and Sales around a partnership without direct authority over those teams.
• Executive Presence: Ability to negotiate with and present to senior executives, both internally and across partner organizations, with confidence and credibility.
• Builder's Mindset: Thrives in a fast-paced, scaling environment; brings structure to ambiguity and is energized by standing up new motions from scratch.
• Analytical Rigor: Strong commercial and financial instincts: able to model channel economics and make sharp prioritization calls about where to invest.
• Values-Driven: A deep alignment with Human Interest's core principles, especially Customer Obsession, Long-Term Orientation, and Leading with Autonomy.

Why you will love working at Human Interest

Human Interest is tackling one of our country's biggest challenges - closing the retirement gap. You'll be instrumental in architecting and scaling solutions that bring financial security to employees at small and medium-sized businesses nationwide. We’ve made significant progress, but there is still growth ahead, offering you a unique opportunity to solve complex problems, drive innovation, and advance your career alongside a dedicated, mission-driven team. We value hard work and recognize that our team's contributions are key to our continued success.

Join Human Interest and make a lasting impact by shaping the future of retirement.

Our operating principles define how we work together as a team. They reflect Human Interest’s unique view on what’s important and what’s right. Documenting this core aspect of our culture helps employees make good decisions on their own. It also helps candidates considering career opportunities critically evaluate whether they will thrive at Human Interest. 

• Customer obsession: We're all about creating amazing experiences for our customers. We put their needs first and go the extra mile to make them smile.
• Long-Term Orientation: We're not just playing for today; we're building a legacy. We think big, plan strategically, and invest in our future.
• Autonomous and Accountable Teams: We trust our team members to take ownership and make smart decisions. We empower you to be your best self!
• An Escalating Bar for Talent and Performance: We're constantly raising the bar and challenging ourselves to be better. We believe in growth and continuous improvement.
• Fundamental Optimism: We see the glass as half full (and then we fill it up with more amazing ideas!). We believe in the power of positivity and the potential for greatness.

Compensation - At Human Interest, there are a number of factors that are used to determine the appropriate pay range for each position. We take into account the cost of labor for each position in various markets across the U.S. The base salary for this position spans $195,000- $200,000and represents the minimum in our lowest geographic region to a maximumin our highest geographic region. The salary we offer to a new employee within this range is based on their location within the U.S., their relevant job-related skills, and experience. At Human Interest, base salary is one component of the overall total rewards package. This position will also offer a variable target of $200,000. All of our employees are offered a robust suite of physical, financial, and mental wellness benefits. In compliance with applicable laws, we do not inquire about salary history, or about criminal history prior to a conditional offer of employment.

Benefits - 

• A great 401(k) plan: Our own! Our 401(k) includes a dollar-for-dollar employer match up to 4% of compensation (immediately vested) and $0 plan fees
• Top-of-the-line health plans, as well as dental and vision insurance
• Competitive time off and parental leave
• Addition Wealth:  Unlimited access to digital tools, financial professionals, and a knowledge center to help you understand your equity and support your financial wellness
• Lyra: Enhanced Mental Health Support for Employees and dependents  
• Carrot: Fertility healthcare and family forming benefits
• Candidly:  Student loan resource to help you and your family plan, borrow, and repay student debt
• Monthly work-from-home stipend; quarterly lifestyle stipend
• Engaging team-building experiences, ranging from virtual social events to team offsites, promoting collaboration and camaraderie.

We’re a great place to work (but don’t take our word for it) 

Here’s a list of our awards and accolades:

• Certified as a Great Place To Work® (2023-2025)
• Fortune Best Place to Work in the Bay Area (2024)
• Best Places to Work by Built In (2023-2024)
• America’s Best Startup Employers by Forbes (2020-2022, 2024) 
• A Top Company by Y Combinator (2020-2023)
• Inc. Fastest Growing Companies (2021)

Human Interest is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran or military status, pregnancy, or any other characteristics protected under federal, state, or local laws. Employment with Human Interest is at-will, meaning either you or the company may terminate employment at any time, with or without cause or notice, except as otherwise provided by law or written agreement.

We are committed to making every stage of our application process fully accessible to all individuals. If you need a reasonable accommodation at any point in the process, please let us know at applicantaccommodations@humaninterest.com.

Protect yourself against fraud and identity theft. Apply to our open positions directly via our careers page on Greenhouse. Human Interest will never ask applicants for their financial or banking information as part of our application process. All legitimate communication will come from a @humaninterest.com email address. If you have questions, please reach out to us directly at careers@humaninterest.com

Please note Human Interest does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates. We will not consider resumes from vendors, including and without limitation search firms, staffing agencies, fee-based referral services, and recruiting agencies. 

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We comply with CCPAguidelines.

See more: https://humaninterest.com/disclosures