Director, Business Development, Financial Services Marketplace

Kikoff: The Fintech Powering Financial Security at Scale

Kikoff is a profitable, pre-IPO fintech company on a mission to empower everyone to achieve financial security. With record revenue growth in 2025 and a unicorn valuation, we've built a suite of products that help millions of people build credit, access liquidity, and save money. We're scaling fast. Join us if you want to build something meaningful and help millions of people move forward financially.

Why Kikoff

This is a consumer fintech startup, and you will be working with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and the desire to create lasting work and work relationships. Yes, you can build an exciting business AND have real-life real-customer impact.

Overview

We are looking for a Director of Business Growth & Strategic Partnerships to lead expansion of our financial services marketplace across key verticals including credit cards, personal loans, insurance, banking, and other consumer financial products. This leader will own the strategy, execution, and performance of high-impact partnerships that drive marketplace revenue, customer engagement, and long-term ecosystem growth.

This role is ideal for a commercially-minded operator who combines deep partnership expertise with strong analytical rigor and marketplace intuition. You will be responsible for identifying and scaling strategic partnerships, optimizing monetization performance, negotiating complex commercial agreements, and building durable relationships with leading financial institutions, affiliate partners, fintech platforms, and distribution channels.

You will lead the business team cross-functionally with Product, Design, Marketing, Data, Finance, and Engineering to shape the overall marketplace strategy roadmap and unlock new growth opportunities. This role will inherit, lead, and develop a growing business development team fully dedicated to this initiative.

The ideal candidate has experience in consumer fintech, affiliate marketplaces, lead generation ecosystems, or financial services platforms similar to companies like Credit Karma and NerdWallet.

Marketplace Growth Strategy

• Own the growth strategy and commercial roadmap for the financial services marketplace across categories such as credit cards, personal loans, insurance, banking, and adjacent fintech products
• Identify new revenue opportunities, partnership models, and distribution channels to expand marketplace monetization
• Develop scalable frameworks for partner acquisition, lifecycle management, and revenue optimization
• Drive strategic initiatives that improve marketplace efficiency, user conversion, LTV, and partner ROI
• Evaluate competitive trends, market dynamics, and emerging fintech opportunities to inform long-term strategy

Strategic Partnerships & Business Development

• Source, negotiate, and close high-value partnerships with banks, lenders, insurance carriers, fintechs, affiliate networks, and lead buyers
• Structure complex commercial agreements including CPA, CPL, rev-share, hybrid monetization, and exclusive distribution partnerships
• Own executive-level partner relationships and serve as the primary escalation point for strategic accounts
• Lead negotiations across pricing, economics, data-sharing, compliance requirements, marketing placements, and operational integrations
• Expand wallet share within existing partnerships through upsell, cross-sell, and new product expansion initiatives
• Build repeatable outbound and partnership sourcing strategies to drive sustained marketplace growth

Marketplace Operations & Optimization

• Oversee onboarding, launch, tracking implementation, and operational readiness for new partners
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Design to improve marketplace infrastructure, attribution systems, lead routing, and optimization tooling
• Drive experimentation across placement strategy, conversion funnels, pricing models, and user segmentation
• Establish scalable operational processes and performance management systems for the partnerships organization
• Ensure partner compliance, quality standards, and operational SLAs are maintained

Analytics & Revenue Performance

• Own core marketplace KPIs including revenue growth, contribution margin, conversion rates, EPCs, CAC efficiency, approval rates, and partner retention
• Build forecasting models and business cases to evaluate partnership opportunities and investment decisions
• Analyze marketplace performance data to identify optimization opportunities, risks, and growth levers
• Deliver regular executive reporting and strategic recommendations to leadership
• Use data-driven insights to prioritize initiatives and allocate resources effectively

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with Product, Design, Marketing, Data, Finance, and Engineering to align marketplace priorities
• Translate partner needs and market insights into product and platform improvements
• Influence roadmap prioritization to support monetization and marketplace scalability
• Collaborate with Legal and Compliance teams to ensure adherence to financial services regulations and advertising standards
• Align acquisition, lifecycle, and monetization strategies across the broader business

Team Leadership

• Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing business development and partnerships team
• Establish performance expectations, operational rigor, and career development frameworks
• Create a culture of ownership, analytical thinking, and commercial excellence
• Coach managers and individual contributors on negotiation strategy, partner management, and business execution

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, growth, affiliate marketing, marketplace strategy, or related commercial functions
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing high-performing partnerships or revenue teams
• Deep experience within consumer fintech, financial services marketplaces, affiliate ecosystems, lead generation, or digital acquisition channels
• Strong understanding of financial products including credit cards, personal loans, insurance, banking products, and/or adjacent fintech categories
• Proven track record of negotiating and scaling complex strategic partnerships that drive measurable revenue growth
• Strong analytical and operational skillset with experience managing KPIs, forecasting, attribution, and monetization performance
• Experience working cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Legal, Marketing, and Analytics teams
• Exceptional executive communication, relationship management, and negotiation skills
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous, high-growth environments
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or relevant advanced degree is a plus

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at a fintech marketplace, affiliate network, comparison platform, or performance marketing company
• Familiarity with CPA/CPL/rev-share monetization models and affiliate tracking platforms
• Experience managing partnerships with banks, lenders, insurance carriers, or major financial institutions
• Strong understanding of consumer acquisition funnels, lifecycle marketing, and marketplace economics
• Experience scaling partnership organizations from early-stage growth through operational maturity

Base Range

$225,000 - $265,000 USD

A note on applying: We know great candidates sometimes hold back if they don’t meet every qualification listed. If you’re excited about this role and believe you can do the work, we encourage you to apply. We’re looking for capability and trajectory, not a perfect checklist match.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Kikoff Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.

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