Senior Partnerships Manager, Payments & Network
About the role
As the Senior Partnerships Manager, Payments & Networks, you'll own the partnerships that power how money moves through our platform, from card networks and payment processors to tokenization, fraud, reconciliation, and cash access infrastructure. You'll work across Product, Engineering, Finance, Risk, Legal, Operations, and executive leadership to improve the economics, reliability, and scalability of Dave's payments ecosystem. This role combines commercial strategy with product-led initiatives, giving you the opportunity to shape one of the most critical layers of our business while helping the company move faster as we continue to grow.
Responsibilities
- Own Dave's portfolio of payments and network partners, including card networks, payment processors, tokenization providers, fraud platforms, reconciliation infrastructure, ATM networks, cash-reload partners, and related payment vendors.
- Lead the commercial strategy across your portfolio, including interchange optimization, network incentives, processor economics, contract renewals, and ongoing cost management.
- Support operational excellence across the payments lifecycle by leveraging commercial and product strategy to optimize service levels, settlement quality, and reconciliation performance in partnership with Financial Ops, which maintains direct ownership of these operational workflows.
- Evaluate opportunities to strengthen Dave's payments infrastructure through build-versus-buy decisions, multi-processor strategies, and emerging payment technologies.
- Monitor the broader payments ecosystem, identifying market trends, competitive developments, and new partnership opportunities that improve resilience, flexibility, and member experience.
- Lead cross-functional initiatives that extend beyond the core portfolio as new partnership opportunities emerge, including growth, distribution, and platform initiatives.
Impact
Payments infrastructure sits at the center of nearly every member interaction at Dave. Your work will improve transaction reliability, strengthen commercial performance, reduce operational friction, and create a more scalable partnership ecosystem that supports future product growth.
Requirements
- 6+ years of experience in digital banking, fintech, or payments across product, strategy, or partnership roles.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, including experience evaluating unit economics, revenue performance, pricing models, and commercial agreements.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence partners and internal stakeholders across technical and business teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working with card networks, payment processors, issuer-side partnerships, or payments infrastructure.
- Experience with tokenization, fraud platforms, payment orchestration, or multi-processor strategies.
- Familiarity with banking-as-a-service, debit card programs, or digital banking infrastructure.
- Experience evaluating build-versus-buy decisions for payments technology or infrastructure.
Skills
You enjoy solving problems where product, commercial strategy, and operational execution intersect. You look beyond individual contracts to understand how partnerships affect product performance, member experience, operational efficiency, and long-term business outcomes. You make thoughtful trade-offs, improve systems over time, and are comfortable working through ambiguity when building new capabilities. You're equally comfortable reviewing settlement reports, evaluating commercial models, or collaborating with Product and Engineering to improve the payments experience. You build strong relationships across teams, communicate clearly, and help move complex initiatives forward through collaboration rather than escalation. As priorities evolve, you adapt quickly while maintaining focus on long-term outcomes.
What to Expect
This is a highly collaborative role with significant ownership across one of Dave's most important operating systems. You'll work across multiple functions, balancing strategic commercial decisions with day-to-day operational excellence. As Dave continues to grow, you'll help shape how our payments partnership ecosystem evolves alongside new products, technologies, and business opportunities.
Why Join Dave
- Own the partnerships behind every transaction that moves through Dave.
- Help shape the next generation of Dave's payments infrastructure and network strategy.
- Work alongside leaders across Product, Engineering, Finance, Risk, and Operations to solve meaningful business challenges.
- Join a mission-driven company where thoughtful partnerships create better financial outcomes for millions of members.
Benefits
- Opportunity to tackle tough challenges, learn and grow from fellow top talent, and help millions of people reach their personal financial goals.
- Flexible hours and virtual-first work culture with a home office stipend.
- Premium Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance plans.
- Generous paid parental and caregiver leave.
- 401(k) savings plan with matching contributions.
- Financial advisor and financial wellness support.
- Flexible PTO and generous company holidays, including Juneteenth and Winter Break.
- All-company in-person events once or twice a year and virtual events throughout to connect with your team members and leadership team.
Pay
Compensation Range: $126K - $163K