Strategic Partnerships & Indirect Channel Growth Lead

• Act as a Business Execution advisor to leadership to drive direct and indirect channel performance and initiatives, and develop and implement executive-ready updates to key stakeholders and senior management
• Lead strategy and resolution of highly complex business execution challenges that require solid analytical skills and extensive knowledge of indirect channels, to deliver long term and large-scale solutions
• Provide vision, direction, and expertise to senior leadership on scaling indirect channel growth within Merchant Services, delivering large-scale solutions across matrixed organization
• Lead team meetings governance forums, and steering committee to facilitate decision making, remove blockers and support implementation of recommendations and plans
• Strategically engage with all levels of professionals and managers across multiple lines of businesses and serve as an experienced advisor to the leadership
• Provide direction to cross-functional teams to progress partner initiatives from intake through certification/enablement, aligning to Merchant Services operating requirements
• Drive business development execution for the indirect sales channel by assessing current partner usage, identifying growth opportunities, and prioritizing partners aligned to Merchant Services strategy
• Evaluate and recommend opportunities for certification to existing Merchant Services platforms, defining selection criteria, business case rationale, and expected sales impact

7+ years of Business Execution, Implementation, or Strategic Planning experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education

• Experience with Independent Software Vendor (ISV), referral, reseller, technology partner, or third-party partnership models, preferably in merchant services, payments, fintech, or financial services
• Knowledge of the payments ecosystem, including merchant acquiring, gateways, integrated payments, underwriting, onboarding, risk, compliance, settlement, and servicing
• Ability to recruit/build relationships and negotiate with 3rd parties while aligning internal partners across product, technology, risk, legal, compliance, operations, and sales
• Experience supporting partner onboarding, certification, implementation readiness, or integration governance
• Understanding of partner operating models, including revenue sharing, referral arrangements, governance, support, reporting, and issue escalation
• Ability to translate business, technical, risk, and compliance requirements into clear partner-facing materials and executive-ready updates
• Familiarity with APIs, payment gateways, developer documentation, integration testing, or technical certification processes
• Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed environment with track record of working effectively in a team environment, across all organizational levels
• Strong communication and presentation skills, including experience preparing materials for senior leaders and external partners
• Experience using partner performance, readiness, operational metrics, or feedback to improve partner experience
• Experience in developing 3rd party sales and referral channels, preferably in the merchant services space
• Demonstrated ability for self-management, problem-solving, and critical decision making in an efficient manner using strong analytical thinking