[Hiring] Manager, Strategic Partnerships @Velera

Role Description

The Manager, Strategic Partnerships is accountable for ensuring that the organization consistently receives the highest standards of timely and accurate service and operational support from its largest card processing vendor relationships, including Fiserv, FIS, Visa, and Mastercard. The Manager leads a team of highly-experienced professionals to:

• Maintain a comprehensive view of the card processing service relationships.
• Govern and manage the effectiveness of escalation processes.
• Lead the resolution of specific issues and incidents.
• Monitor service- and operations-related metrics and KPIs.
• Initiate process improvement initiatives both internal and with assigned business partners.

This role will serve as the senior voice to the partners’ service and relationship teams in ensuring accountability for consistent performance, establishing priorities, and optimizing effective bi-directional engagement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree Required in Business, or combination of education and experience required.
• Ten (10) years of experience in relationship or service management with an outside, third-party, card payments processing provider with at least seven (7) years serving as the primary manager of escalated service and operational issues.
• Experience managing revenue generating partnerships and leading a team required, prior supervisory experience preferred.
• Expert-level knowledge in card processing relationship management, with particular focus on navigating service and operational support organizations to drive the highest levels of support for the company.
• Strong knowledge and experience with vendor management programs; ability to create, define, and implement policy and best practices.
• Strong knowledge of and experience with payment and/or financial services industry best practices, policies, and procedures.

Requirements

• Manage team of Strategic Partner Managers to ensure consistent, high quality engagement with assigned partner relationships and outstanding support to the team’s internal customers throughout the company.
• Ensure staff resources remain well-aligned and optimized to the changing demands of the respective partner relationships.
• Serve as subject matter expert to internal customers for navigating the service and operational relationships with assigned business partners.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of our products, services, processing environments, and client bases, including but not limited to setup, implementation, testing, pricing, billing, and reporting.
• Direct and manage partner service relationship by ensuring focus and prioritization of the company’s business and providing service excellence to our client FIs.
• Collaborate across management levels of each partner’s organization to optimize alignment and gain preferential support.
• Review, monitor and report partner performance across contractual SLAs and other established KPIs.
• Direct and hold partners accountable for corrective action and process improvements.
• Identify internal gaps in process or proficiency impacting business partner performance.
• Coordinate and conduct meetings to support the resolution of complex issues.
• Work directly with internal stakeholders and partner liaisons to negotiate, escalate, and resolve high urgency issues.
• Direct recovery of overpayments and contractual penalties; identify and resolve billing issues.
• Support, assist, implement and monitor any special projects within Strategic Partnerships.
• Provide direction and leadership to staff; guide, coach, mentor and develop staff ensuring compliance with processes and procedures.
• Handle interviewing, hiring, promotions, transfers, performance appraisals, compensation, counseling and termination of staff.
• Develop and maintain staff by applying the necessary training and leadership that will allow internal growth and advancement.
• Create a collaborative work environment that motivates individuals and teams to deliver outstanding results.
• Recognize and reward desired behavior and results.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Competitive wages
• Medical with telemedicine
• Dental and Vision
• Basic and Optional Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Maternity, Parental, Family Care
• Community Volunteer Time Off
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Company Paid Disability Insurance
• 401k (with employer match)
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) with company provided contributions
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Supplemental Insurance
• Mental Health and Well-being: Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Wellness program