Partner Management – Global SME Partnerships

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Partner Management – Global SME Partnerships

Role Summary :
Mastercard’s Global SME Partnerships team is expanding its ecosystem of fintech partners to deliver best in class products and value added services to small business and mid market issuers around the world.
We are seeking a Partner Manager who will source, evaluate, negotiate, and commercialize reseller and distribution partnerships with leading fintechs and in partnership with our regional SME teams, then work cross functionally to bring these solutions to market through Mastercard issuing banks globally.
This is a high visibility, high impact role requiring a rare mix of deal making, product understanding, partner management, and GTM orchestration. You’ll sit at the intersection of fintech innovation, issuer needs, and Mastercard’s SME strategy—translating ecosystem opportunities into scalable commercial wins.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Fintech Sourcing & Evaluation
•Identify high potential fintechs that complement Mastercard’s SME value proposition across payments, credit, loyalty, data and embedded finance.
•Conduct deep commercial and technical assessments, including:
-Product fit and differentiation
-Business model analysis
-Scalability and global expansion potential
-Risks and operational readiness
-Build and maintain a continuously refreshed pipeline of category leading fintechs.

2. Deal Structuring & Negotiation
•Lead end to end negotiation of reseller agreements with fintech partners.
•Drive:
-Commercial models (rev share, per active user, per issuer pricing)
-Legal and compliance alignment
-Data, integration, and operational evaluation of partners
•Partner closely with Mastercard Legal, Finance, Privacy, Data, Product and regional sales teams to ensure strong, scalable contracts.

3. Partnership Commercialisation Through Issuing Banks
-Act as the bridge between fintech partners and regional small business & mid market teams within Mastercard.
-Support regional account managers in:
-Positioning fintech solutions to issuing banks
-Structuring issuer commercial terms
-Accelerating time to value for banks and their SMB portfolios
•Ensure fintechs can scale via Mastercard’s distribution engine and GTM pathways globally.

4. GTM Strategy & Execution
•Build joint value propositions, messaging, and solution narratives that resonate with issuers and SMB end users.
•Lead creation and execution of joint GTM campaigns, including:
-Sales enablement for regional teams
-Co marketing assets
-Market education webinars
-Integration of fintech solutions into Mastercard events, PR, and paid channels
•Track performance across pilot launches, revenue contribution, issuer penetration, and SMB adoption.

5. Long Term Relationship and Portfolio Management
•Serve as global relationship owner for key fintech partners, ensuring:
-Ongoing governance
-Quarterly business reviews
-Roadmap alignment
-Resolution of operational issues
-Renewal and expansion planning
•Build multi year growth plans with partners to drive broader regional expansion.

Qualifications & Experience Required -
•Significant experience in partnerships, business development, corporate development, or strategic alliances, ideally in fintech, payments, SaaS, or banking technology.
•Demonstrated track record of:
-Sourcing and evaluating technology partners
-Leading complex commercial negotiations
-Executing multi market or global partnerships
•Strong understanding of:
-Issuer economics
-SME banking needs
-Fintech business models
-Payments, card programs, and digital financial services
•Experience working with regional account teams and navigating matrixed organizations.
•Ability to manage multiple high stakes partnerships across geographies.

Preferred
•Experience in payments, banking & SME specific software.
•Background working with or selling to the financial services vertical.
•Partnership execution experience.

Leadership & Soft Skills-
•Exceptional communicator and relationship builder, comfortable engaging C suite fintech founders and senior bank executives.
•Strong commercial instincts with the ability to balance partner value with Mastercard strategic priorities.
•High ownership mindset; thrives in ambiguity and can drive initiatives from concept to execution.
•Collaborative operator who activates cross functional teams across Product, Legal, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.

Success Metrics-
•Number and quality of signed fintech reseller/solution agreements
•Revenue contribution from fintech enabled SME solutions
•Issuer adoption and activation across regions
•GTM execution quality and campaign ROI
•Partner satisfaction and multi year relationship growth

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.