Senior Strategic Partner Manager – Payments

The Global Payments Partnerships team builds and manages relationships with companies that provide critical payment services across a prestigious tech company’s commerce products, and partners that unlock new payment experiences on its platforms. We’re seeking a Strategic Partner Manager to own high-impact partner workstreams end-to-end—from strategy and business case development through negotiation, execution, and ongoing performance management. This role is ideal for a leader who brings broad payments experience (not narrow SME depth), a strong strategic mindset, and the ability to communicate clearly and influence effectively at every level—from cross-functional individual contributors to executive stakeholders, and from partner operators to C-level counterparts. You will be expected to move quickly, operate with sound judgment amid ambiguity, and apply modern AI tools to accelerate analysis, synthesis, and day-to-day execution.

Responsibilities

• Lead major partner workstreams with key payments ecosystem partners (e.g., networks, processors, issuers, PSPs), including quarterly planning, executive reporting, and issue resolution.
• Develop and drive partnerships strategy: identify opportunities, prioritize bets, define success metrics, and align internal stakeholders on path forward.
• Structure and negotiate complex agreements, including commercials, technical scope, performance expectations, privacy/data protection terms, and operational readiness requirements.
• Partner closely with Product & Engineering to translate strategy into executable roadmaps; provide crisp tradeoffs and recommendations grounded in business and platform constraints.
• Run cross-functional execution across Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, Tax, Operations, and Marketing to launch and scale initiatives.
• Create decision frameworks and operating mechanisms that improve how we select partners, sequence builds, and manage ongoing partner performance.
• Communicate up and down the organization effectively: concise leadership updates, clear asks, strong stakeholder management, and thoughtful escalation when needed.
• Use AI thoughtfully in daily work (e.g., drafting, summarizing, analysis support, workflow automation) to increase speed and quality while maintaining strong judgment.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing without authority.
• Experience structuring and negotiating commercial agreements, including comfort with financial models, pricing, and key contractual terms.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to tailor messages to executives, cross-functional teams, and external partners.
• Experience with payments cost optimization.
• 12+ years of relevant payments and/or partnerships experience, including ownership of complex, multi-threaded negotiations.
• Demonstrated ability to operate strategically in ambiguous environments, create frameworks, and drive alignment across competing priorities.
• Experience working with large global partners and executive stakeholders.
• Strong operational rigor: setting goals/metrics, running quarterly business reviews, and driving accountability.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage AI tools to improve productivity (prompting, synthesis, analysis support, automation), with good data-handling judgment.

Pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, qualified applicants will be considered for assignment with arrest and conviction records. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness, meet client expectations, standards, and accompanying requirements, and safeguard business operations and company reputation.

Work Authorization

Applicants must be located in the United States. Cincinnatus does not sponsor visas and will not provide visa sponsorship for this role.

About Cincinnatus

Cincinnatus is an enterprise staffing company that partners with leading technology companies to source and employ highly skilled professionals for full-time and long-term contingent roles. Cincinnatus serves as the employer of record for these engagements, providing W-2 employment, payroll, benefits, and compliance, while placing employees directly within client teams to work on high-impact initiatives.

Roles hired through Cincinnatus are not project-based or freelance engagements. They are structured, role-based positions that typically involve full-time or fixed-term commitments, close collaboration with a client's internal teams, and integration into standard enterprise workflows.

Cincinnatus is a legal entity separate from Mercor. While opportunities may be discovered through Mercor's platform, employment, onboarding, payroll, and benefits for these roles are administered by Cincinnatus.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Cincinnatus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Cincinnatus is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans throughout the job application process.