Strategic Partnerships Manager

POSITION LOCATION This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement.
Currently 5 days of on-site work per month are required.
POSITION PURPOSE Deliver measurable results through understanding the credit union technology market and developing, maintaining, and executing technology vendor relationships in the industry.
Responsible for market evaluation, identification of technology gaps, and remediation of product/service offering gaps.
Negotiates vendor contractual arrangements and integrates strategic partnerships/recommended vendors into MDT product ecosystem.
Constantly reviews success of partnerships/recommended vendors with Product Management and uses the input to improve partnership selection process.
Educates and communicates market/vendor trends internally and to our clients.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES Research technology products/services in the credit union market to understand products, vendors, integration methodologies, and processes.
Interviews credit unions, fintech companies, and other business partners to understand pain-points, challenges, and strategic goals.
Attends industry conferences and user groups to develop relationships with credit unions and fintech companies, and to better understand the market and trends.
Continuously uses client and market research, user feedback, usage, and competitive analysis to identify unmet market needs.
Identifies and implements key fintech company candidates for partnership.
Creates/updates a product ecosystem plan that defines product/service vision, strategy, and roadmap, considering credit union and fintech company needs, market trends, and business objectives.
Solicits input from executive and department leadership and adjusts, as necessary.
Presents product ecosystem plan to executive team to secure approval and makes regular updates (at least annually) to product ecosystem plan.
Drives updates and enhancements to MDT Product Ecosystem to support company and client goals.
Makes informed but quick decisions regarding the team's and products/services vendor strategy and roadmaps and follows through with delivery.
Collaborates closely with clients, partners, technology, and business areas to champion and execute on the strategy and roadmaps.
Becomes the subject matter expert for fintech products/services to make quick decisions and drive change.
Acts as a consultant to clients and executive management, providing ongoing strategic market insights, industry trends, and technology recommendations.
Develops and implements a communications strategy to educate and inform internal and external stakeholders of market/vendor trends and intelligence.
Develops and tracks key performance indicators to ensure communication is meeting stakeholders' needs.
Responsible for leading new vendor onboarding process, including but not limited to, vendor identification, qualification, due diligence, contract negotiation, and successful transition to product management.
Establishes new vendor partnership lanes and clearly communicates vendor responsibilities internally and externally.
Establishes and fosters in-depth and productive relationships at all levels with vendors.
Works with Product Management to constantly evaluate existing vendor relationships to identify risks, and opportunities for improvement.
Takes the necessary action to address any gaps.
Works with product management, sales, audit/compliance, security, project management, and client services to ensure key partnership concerns are addressed appropriately.
Participates in partnership launch efforts in collaboration with marketing and product management.
Transitions partnerships to product management for partnership launch and ongoing relationship management once agreement has been signed.
Educates internal teams on partnership and product trends in the industry; provides client feedback trends analysis summary to internal teams.
Keeps the Executive Management informed of MDT Product Ecosystem and vendor gaps, progress toward established objectives, and of any significant problems.
Attends and participates in meetings and committees as required.
Stays informed of trends and changes in the information services field.
Embraces all other duties as assigned.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS B.
S.
or equivalent experience and training.
MBA or similar preferred.
EXPERIENCE REQUIRED 5+ years of experience in product/vendor management or equivalent experience, with a track record of successfully launching and growing products.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE Experience in the FinTech industry and knowledge of key systems integration methodologies.
Strong analytical/technical knowledge pertaining to decision analysis.
WORKING CONDITIONS No hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.
Additional hours, including Saturday/Sunday support, as required.
Occasional overnight travel for training, conferences, and to clients required.
Long duration of computer workstation usage.
On-call responsibilities, available 24/7 via phone or pager.
INTENT AND FUNCTION OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS Job descriptions assist organizations in ensuring that the hiring process is fairly administered and that qualified employees are selected.
They are also essential to an effective appraisal system and related promotion, transfer, layoff, and termination decisions.
Well-constructed job descriptions are an integral part of any effective compensation system.
All descriptions have been reviewed to ensure that only essential functions and basic duties have been included.
Peripheral tasks, only incidentally related to each position, have been excluded.
Requirements, skills, and abilities included have been determined to be the minimal standards required to successfully perform the positions.
In no instance, however, should the duties, responsibilities, and requirements delineated be interpreted as all inclusive.
Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals.
However, no accommodations will be made which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others or which impose undue hardships on the organization.