Director of Payments Strategic Partnerships

About Pushpay

Pushpay is a market-leading digital payments and engagement platform serving 14,000+ churches and faith-based organizations. Our technology stack combines Church Management Software and Giving Platform and has processed over $37B in donation payments over the last five years, driving community engagement and generosity.

About the Role

The Director of Payments Strategic Partnerships is a pivotal, senior individual contributor role that will architect and execute the comprehensive fintech payment partnership strategy for Pushpay’s $8B+ annual volume embedded payments SaaS platform. Reporting to the Head of Payments within the Product organization, you will lead cross-functional teams to deliver game-changing capabilities, seamless integrations, and superior unit economics. Your primary directive is to drive the strategy and execution across all global gateway, processor, and network relationships to maximize revenue, gross margin, and product expansion across the ecosystem.

Mission and Impact

Your success in this role will directly contribute to three critical business outcomes: 

• Competitive Differentiation: Transform complex processor and ecosystem relationships into durable, strategic advantages. 
• Platform Growth: Expand payment capabilities to accelerate adoption, increase Total Payment Volume (TPV), and optimize conversion rates.
• Economic Optimization: Drastically improve unit economics and gross margin to power future product innovation and organizational growth.

Named as one of BuiltIn ‘Best Places to Work’ in Seattle, Denver and Dallas for 2025; ranked number 10 by Seattle Business Magazine in the ‘Washington’s 100 Best Companies to Work For’ list in the large companies category for 2024; named as a 2025 'Best Places to Work for Women' by Best Companies Group.

Benefits and Compensation

We have a passion for making all employees feel supported. In addition to having a genuine interest in helping you do your best work and drive your career, we offer:

• 100% employer-paid premiums for Medical HDHP Plan, Dental, and Vision for employee
• 70% employer-paid premiums for Medical PPO Plan for employees, and Medical, Dental, and Vision for dependents
• 401K match
• Hybrid work model - 3 days in the office / 2 days remote each week
• 12 paid Company Holidays
• 2 paid Volunteer Time Off days
• 25 days PTO
• Paid parental and adoption leave

What You'll Do

Success is measured by your direct, quantifiable impact on TPV growth, margin expansion, and the adoption of new, partner-driven capabilities.

1. Payment Ecosystem Strategy:  Define the multi-year partnership strategy, identify capability and economic gaps in the existing payments stack, and continuously refine the ecosystem of ISV, ISO, PayFac processors, digital wallets, and risk tool providers.
2. Product & Capability Expansion:  Drive the expansion of integrated payment capabilities (e.g., recurring giving, web, mobile, ACH, fraud tools), partnering with Product Management and Engineering to ensure new solutions are technically scalable, operationally sustainable, and commercially attractive.
3. Strategic Partner Management:  Serve as the primary relationship owner for payments ecosystem partners, developing joint business plans, and running governance cadences (QBRs, roadmap reviews) to monitor performance and resolve escalations.
4. Commercial Strategy & Unit Economics:  Lead complex commercial negotiations and high-value contracts for all processing and partner agreements. Develop economic models with Finance/BI and execute comprehensive strategies for cost containment and margin improvement (e.g., routing optimization, mix-shift).
5. Technical Integration & Alignment:  Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Architecture to formulate and facilitate platform-to-partner integrations (APIs, webhooks, data flows). Ensure platform compliance and contribute to build-vs-partner decisions by articulating trade-offs.
6. New Partner Development:  Systematically identify, qualify, and prioritize new processor and ecosystem partnerships (e.g., payment methods, data and AI services). Lead the full deal lifecycle, including solution planning, negotiation, contract execution, and strategic launch.
7. Matrixed Leadership:  Lead and drive cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Operations, etc.) on partnership strategies, acting as the internal subject-matter expert on payment economics and fintech ecosystem trends. Influence and align senior stakeholders through clear, data-driven business cases.

Success Metrics

• Growth in processed TPV and payments revenue
• Measurable improvement in gross margin and unit economics
• Successful launch, stability, and widespread adoption of new partner-driven capabilities
• Demonstrable strategic expansion of key processor and ecosystem relationships

What You'll Bring

Required Education and Experience

This role demands a seasoned Fintech professional with a unique and demonstrated blend of deep payments domain expertise, commercial acuity, and strategic partnership management, thriving in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.

• 8+ years of experience in the fintech payments industry with substantial, hands-on experience in Processor/Acquirer Relationships and Governance as well as the ISO/PayFac Models and commercialization of embedded payments.
• Deep Subject Matter Expertise:  Demonstrated capability to thoroughly analyze the financial aspects of Merchant Services payments, including expert knowledge in modeling and explaining:  Interchange, scheme fees, acquiring markup fees, revenue share and buy rate mechanics and residual structures.
• Compliance & Risk:  Direct experience as a PayFac, ISO or acquiring entity with PCI-DSS compliance, AML/KYC frameworks, and card brand scheme rules.
• Commercial Acuity:  Proven track record as an individual contributor structuring and negotiating complex, multi-year, commercial agreements.
• SaaS/Platform Experience:  Demonstrated experience influencing product roadmaps and integrations in a SaaS or platform environment.
• Financial & Analytical Rigor:  Strong financial modeling and analytical skills, including P&L ownership thinking and scenario modeling.
• Education:  Bachelor’s degree required, ideally in Engineering, Business, or Finance.  An advanced degree, such as an MBA is strongly preferred.

Required Skills and Abilities

• Strategic Vision:  Ability to translate ecosystem strategy into executable partnership roadmaps, leading with data, speed and urgency.
• Commercial & Analytical Acumen:  Exceptional skill in commercial negotiation, end-to-end contract management, and a relentless, data-driven approach to strategic decision-making.
• Matrixed Leadership:  A highly collaborative influencer with a strong ability to align senior cross-functional stakeholders and external partner executives without formal authority.
• Technical Fluency:  A solid grasp of payments and SaaS integration patterns to ensure effective and credible collaboration with technical teams.
• Communication & Storytelling:  Clear, concise, and persuasive communication to connect complex payment and economic topics, effectively linking them to concrete business outcomes.
• Customer Focus & Adaptability:  A customer-centric approach that balances external partner needs with internal priorities, consistently thriving in ambiguity and rapid change.

Pushpay is committed to equal opportunity. We value and embrace diversity and inclusion of all Team Members. Pushpay uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. Head to our career page to learn more.

If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, or you require religious accommodation, and you wish to discuss potential accommodations related to applying for employment at Pushpay, please contact [email protected].

About Pushpay

Pushpay helps organizations and communities come to gather & stay connected, strengthening community, connection, and belonging through our suite of mobile apps, management software, and giving technology. Our 550 Pushpay teammates support 10,000+ customers as they drive social good, and we’re honored to have processed over $15 billion in charitable giving. We’re growing fast, including some exciting acquisitions in recent years, and we need driven talent. Join Pushpay and grow with us!

Applications will be taken on an ongoing basis.

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