Sr. Director Business Development

Sr. Director Business Development - Issuer Channel Partnerships

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment.

Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

The Sr. Director, Business Development – Channel Partnerships is responsible for managing and leading a team that owns strategic relationships with major partners to drive adoption and growth for Paze . The role will support issuer enablement, working with card issuing platforms to integrate and enable Paze for financial institutions and issuers . These partnerships are long term and will initially focus on building support for Paze across all strategic platforms, driving consumer awareness, adoption, and usage. The Senior Director drives and oversees the relationship strategies and key client relationships at the senior executive level, ensuring these partnerships grow and thrive over time. This role is also responsible for identifying new partners to engage with, as we seek to broaden the breadth of partners. This role is expected to deliver strong team and individual results in a high-growth environment by working collaboratively across internal cross-functional teams and client teams.

Essential Functions

Develops trusted, influential partnerships with key senior level decision makers at our largest, most strategic accounts. This includes Paze advisory and operating committee members and leaders in product/digital, marketing, risk, technology, or other functions critical to Paze’s success.

Primary owner of assigned strategic accounts. Requires foremost expertise of partner organizational structure/decision making, company performance and strategic initiatives, product/services, state of EWS-wide relationship, and consistent pulse on the state of Paze performance (e.g., KPIs, user experience (UX), active opportunities and challenges/threats. )

Develops overall strategic account plan (annual, quarterly, and monthly priorities) in close coordination with Paze cross-functional teams and senior leadership.

Expertly presents the value of Paze to external partnerships teams, instilling confidence and gaining buy-in and commitment, while navigating complex discussions to sign agreements with partners.

Issuer Channel Partnership: L eads the activities for the Issuer Channel Partnerships group. Develops and executes the functional strategy to achieve key business objectives . Provides leadership and direction to Channel Partnership team.

Manages the post-integrations relationship with each partner, tracking & driving growth, identifying new engagement opportunities, and leading quarterly business reviews.

Leads new business development and innovation agenda – fostering both Paze -initiated and partner-generated opportunities.

Influences and negotiates with great latitude for successful outcomes; presents and defends complicated or delicate issues.

Applies in-depth knowledge of partnership management, the financial services industry and business expertise to help differentiate EWS from the competition.

Supports the company’s commitment to risk management, safeguarding the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and experience typically obtained through completion of a bachelor’s degree in business, finance, or related field.

15+ years’ experience in financial services and partnership management.

5+ years managing a team, either directly or indirectly through projects or functional area . Demonstrated leadership skills in recruiting, developing and retaining a highly engaged, high performing team.

Experience structuring partnerships with issuer processors (legacy and modern) and other payment channel partners.

Ability to develop senior level collaborative relationships with a diverse portfolio of ecosystem providers to drive broad adoption of Paze services and functionality.

Proven sales and senior level partner management experience in technology solutions focused on payments, with an emphasis on revenue generation in the financial services sector.

Consultative, conceptual, and strategic selling skills. Strong influencing skills, able to sell concepts internally and drive streamlined decision making across partners at the senior level.

Executive communication skills – experience coordinating and running impactful meetings, strong written communication, excellent presentation skills, and an active listener.

Proven ability to engage with senior level executives at top-tier banks. Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong internal and external relationships.

Self-starter who thrives in a dynamic environment, managing ambiguity while delivering results with minimal oversight.

Strong analytical skills, capable of evaluating opportunities from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives and driving performance tracking.

Expertise in building business cases for market opportunities and partnerships, including strategy development, market segmentation, competitive analysis, and financial analysis.

Positive and collaborative team player who excels in goal setting and achievement for self and team members.

Background and drug screen.

Physical Requirements

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling and reaching. Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. Requires the ability to communicate with internal and/or external customers and travel.

Employee must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow instructions and perform other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.

The total cash compensation (base + incentives) for this position in:

San Francisco, CA in USD per year is: $350,000 - $395,000.

Additionally, candidates are eligible for a competitive benefit package.

This pay scale is subject to change and is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific candidate, which is always dependent on legitimate factors considered at the time of job offer. Early Warning Services takes into consideration a variety of factors when determining a competitive salary offer, including, but not limited to, the job scope, market rates and geographic location of a position, candidate’s education, experience, training, and specialized skills or certification(s) in relation to the job requirements and compared with internal equity (peers). The business actively supports and reviews wage equity to ensure that pay decisions are not based on gender, race, national origin, or any other protected classes.

Some of the Ways We Prioritize Your Health and Happiness

• Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Unlimited Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

And SO much more! We continue to enhance our program, so be sure to check our Benefits page here for the latest. Our team can share more during the interview process!

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

Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to