Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, New Verticals

We are seeking an entrepreneurial and highly accomplished Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships (New Verticals) to spearhead Flex’s expansion into nascent, non-discretionary payment categories (e.g., insurance, HOAs, utilities, auto). While Flex is a rapidly scaling business, this pivotal role demands a proven leader who thrives in early-stage environments, adept at identifying and cultivating first-of-kind, company-defining enterprise partnerships where solutions are often loosely defined and require innovative approaches.

Reporting directly to the VP of Strategic Partnerships (New Verticals), you will leverage a sophisticated blend of strategic business development, strong operational acumen, and a rigorous sales discipline to originate, negotiate, and close high-value, complex partnership deals for Flex’s embedded split pay offering. You will be instrumental in shaping our market entry strategy, collaborating closely with senior leadership and cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Marketing, Finance) to refine our GTM approach and ensure successful technical deployment and long-term partnership health. This role offers remote flexibility within a hybrid work model in either the NYC or San Francisco. Candidates relocating to the NYC or SF area may be eligible for relocation assistance.

What You'll Do

• Pioneer New Markets: Proactively identify, engage, and secure strategic enterprise partners for Flex’s embedded Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) offering within uncharted payment verticals, driving first-of-kind deals from inception to successful launch.
• Strategic Pipeline & Opportunity Management: Develop, prioritize, and rigorously manage a robust pipeline of high-value, complex opportunities with a strong sense of urgency, converting prospects into marquee accounts.
• Executive Relationship Building: Act as a trusted strategic advisor to C-level executives (CEOs, CPOs, Heads of Partnership/Strategy) at prospective partner organizations, deeply understanding their strategic priorities and expertly positioning Flex’s transformative solutions.
• Lead Complex Deal Negotiation: Negotiate and optimize legal and economic terms within term sheets and partnership agreements.
• Product & GTM Contribution: Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Marketing teams to identify and incorporate critical market feedback, influencing product development, pricing strategies, and positioning to enhance our embedded GTM offering and competitive advantage.
• End-to-End Partnership Launch: Lead partnerships from signed agreement through technical deployment and successful go-live in partnership with product and technical teams, ensuring seamless execution and maximizing partner value.

Key Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience, in strategic partnership and/or  enterprise sales within high-growth FinTech environments, with a demonstrated focus on new market entry and zero-to-one product adoption.
• Proven track record of defining and executing growth strategies and new markets, consistently sourcing and closing company-defining, first-of-kind opportunities with senior decision-makers for Payments/FinTech solutions, especially those involving buy now, pay later (BNPL) programs.
• Demonstrated ability to close deals in new markets with new product/service offerings
• Expert in influencing executive-level stakeholders: Exceptional communication, influencing, and complex negotiation skills, with a demonstrated ability to operate confidently and effectively at the highest levels of partner organizations.
• Strategic Vision & Execution: Possess deep strategic thinking capabilities coupled with a strong bias for action, comfortable with ambiguity and rapid iteration, and adept at pivoting strategies as market dynamics evolve.
• Strong Financial & Legal Acumen: Extensive experience building deal models, justifying complex partnership economics, and navigating legal agreements.
• Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to lead and influence both direct teams and cross-functional stakeholders (Product, Engineering, Marketing) to drive successful partnership outcomes.
• Comfort with Ambiguity: Thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment, demonstrating urgency, adaptability, and the ability to build structure in loosely defined situations.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.

_The compensation range for this role will be commensurate with the candidate's experience and Flex's internal leveling guidelines and benchmarks. For working locations in NY/NJ/CA, the OTE pay range will be $265,000-$365,000.