Partnerships Manager

The Opportunity

This is not a traditional channel sales role.

Our partners are integrated into the Blend platform—not simply reselling our solutions. Success means creating meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships that drive adoption, customer value, and revenue for both organizations.

You'll inherit an established portfolio of strategic partners while helping shape the future of Blend's partnership strategy. Approximately 70% of your time will focus on maximizing the success of existing partnerships, with the remaining 30% dedicated to identifying and onboarding new strategic partners.

This is an individual contributor role designed for a seasoned partnership professional who enjoys building strategy, executing independently, and influencing cross-functional teams.

What You'll Do

• Own and manage Blend's strategic partnership portfolio.
• Strengthen existing partner relationships by increasing engagement, collaboration, and mutual success.
• Develop joint business plans that create measurable value for both Blend and our partners.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing integrations, commercial relationships, and go-to-market initiatives.
• Evaluate current partnership agreements and recommend improvements or renegotiations where appropriate.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for partner executives and key stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with Product, Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, and Engineering to ensure partner success.
• Identify, evaluate, and recruit new strategic technology partners that complement Blend's platform.
• Build a scalable partnership program that supports future growth.

Current Partner Ecosystem

You'll initially manage relationships with several strategic partners. The goal is to deepen these relationships while thoughtfully expanding the ecosystem from approximately four strategic partners today to six or seven high-impact partnerships over time.

What We're Looking For

• 7+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, channel management, or alliance management within SaaS or fintech.
• Experience managing technology integrations and strategic partnerships rather than purely reseller relationships.
• Proven success growing existing partner relationships while developing new partnerships.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence senior leaders internally and externally.
• Comfortable working independently with significant ownership and autonomy.
• Strategic thinker who can also execute day-to-day partnership initiatives.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and relationship management skills.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Product, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success teams.
• Experience selling or partnering within the financial services, banking, mortgage, or fintech ecosystem is highly preferred.

What Success Looks Like

During your first year, your primary focus will be strengthening Blend's existing partner ecosystem by improving partner satisfaction, driving greater engagement, expanding joint opportunities, and ensuring our partnerships deliver meaningful value for both organizations. As that foundation is established, you'll help strategically expand the ecosystem by identifying and launching new partnerships that align with Blend's long- term growth strategy.