Director of Partnerships - UK

Lead the UK Partnerships team

• Lead, coach and develop a team of Partner Managers (currently four), setting clear expectations, standards and ways of working.
• Coach your team to prepare for and hold senior conversations, and step in where a relationship needs your level.
• Own hiring, capability building and succession for the team, and build a culture of ownership and accountability.
• Set the governance rhythm (MBRs, QBRs, roadmap reviews) and make sure it is consistent, insight-led and drives action.
• Act as the escalation point for key partners and internal teams.

Own commercial outcomes

• Own the revenue, funding volume, conversion and unit-economics drivers for the UK partner portfolio, and the plan to deliver them.
• Operate growing and profitable partnership programs, making trade-offs between partner growth and Liberis’ profitability explicit.
• Lead forecasting and commercial planning with Finance and Analytics, and be accountable for accuracy.
• Identify and act on funnel, pricing, renewal and penetration opportunities across the full merchant lifecycle, not just initial originations.
• Assess the commercial viability, operational readiness and P&L impact of proposed expansions and new product launches.

Grow and expand existing partnerships

• Lead partner discussions on new products and new merchant segments.
• Shape the proposition for each partner and align it with Product and Solutions on scope, integration and launch.
• Take on newly signed partners from BD and make sure they launch and ramp well.

Work across the business and across regions

• Work with Product, Partner Solutions, Underwriting, Risk, Marketing and Operations to deliver launches and lifecycle improvements.
• Make sure partner priorities, risks, dependencies and roadmap commitments are aligned internally.
• Work closely with the Director of Partnerships, UK/EU, who also owns our EU partners, so that partners operating in both UK and EU are managed under one plan and one voice.
• Partner with the Global Partnerships team on globally owned partners, shared standards and reporting, and bring UK insight into the global agenda.
• Support multi-market opportunities with the EU team, for example marketplace and platform partners that operate across the UK and EU.

What you’ll need

Must have

• Proven experience in partnerships or Key Account Management, including leading a team of partner- or Key Account facing managers.
• Commercially minded: you have owned revenue, P&L drivers or commercial outcomes, and can show the results.
• Familiarity with embedded finance, in either lending or payments.
• Experience building and negotiating relationships at executive and senior leadership level (e.g. C-suite, Managing Director, VP, Head of function), including contract negotiations.
• Ability to own the most senior partner relationships and read a partner’s strategy and operating model to align it with Liberis’ goals, product offerings and priorities.
• Experience with partner types such as merchant acquirers, ISOs, marketplaces or payment providers.

Also valued

• Experience managing complex B2B2B or B2B2C partnerships and platform ecosystems.
• Analytical skills with funnel data, renewals and financial metrics.
• Understanding of lending workflows, underwriting concepts and partner integrations.
• A track record of building and developing teams.

Our hybrid approach

Working together in person helps us move faster, collaborate better, and build a great Liberis culture. This role requires at least three days per week in the office, with flexibility around which days depending on team and business needs. Our ways of working may evolve over time, including office attendance expectations. At Liberis, we embrace flexibility as a core part of our culture, while also valuing the importance of the time our teams spend together in the office.

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