Lead Strategic Partnerships Manager

About the Role

Forter is seeking a Lead Strategic Partnerships Manager, Financial Services to own and accelerate our most strategic relationships across the global payments ecosystem. Reporting to the VP of Global Strategic Partnerships, this position carries expanded ownership: you will set the vision for Forter's PSP and issuing bank partnership strategy, close and structure landmark deals, and serve as an internal authority on how the Financial Services landscape intersects with Forter's AI-powered fraud and identity platform.

You will work cross-functionally with Product, Sales, Marketing, and Analytics to shape Forter's go-to-market positioning and translate partner needs into product requirements. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role for a seasoned partnerships leader who thrives in complex, multi-stakeholder environments and wants to leave a clear mark on one of fintech's fastest-growing companies.

What You'll Be Doing

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Own and evolve Forter's end-to-end partnership strategy for PSPs, issuing banks, and broader financial institutions — translating company objectives into a disciplined, measurable BD plan with clear pipeline and revenue targets.
• Act as the internal subject-matter expert on the payments and Financial Services landscape; brief GTM leadership on emerging trends, competitive shifts, and white-space opportunities.
• Define and drive annual pipeline goals ($Xm+ in net-new bookings) and multi-year relationship roadmaps with Forter's most strategic partners.

Partnership Development & Deal Execution

• Identify, evaluate, and advance strategic alliances with global PSPs, acquirers, issuing banks, card networks, and adjacent financial institutions that extend Forter's market reach and product distribution.
• Lead complex, multi-stakeholder deal cycles end-to-end: prospecting, value articulation, solution scoping with Product, commercial negotiation, contracting, and post-signature launch coordination.
• Structure partnership agreements that are commercially favorable, legally sound, and set both parties up for measurable joint success.
• Expand Forter's trust platform by onboarding new top- and mid-tier bank partners globally.

Revenue & Pipeline Ownership

• Drive net-new revenue through the Payments product portfolio, including 1:Many platform partnerships & direct issuer integrations tied to a Business Development team bookings quota.
• Maintain rigorous CRM hygiene, clear account and close plans, and proactive stakeholder alignment to accelerate deal velocity and remove blockers.
• Own full deal cycles and collaborate with cross-functional teams, as needed, to convert partnerships to durable, growing revenue streams.

Cross-functional Collaboration & Influence

• Partner closely with Product and R&D to ensure partner needs are prioritized in the roadmap; translate market intelligence and partner feedback into clear, actionable product requirements.
• Work with Field Marketing to advance Forter's brand in the 1:Many vendor space and drive adoption of Forter's platform, including our new Agentic motion.
• Align with Sales, Analytics, RevOps, Legal, and Marketing to ensure seamless strategy execution and consistent messaging across all partner touchpoints.
• Mentor and coach junior BD team members, elevating the team's overall capabilities in deal structuring, relationship management, and payments domain expertise.

Market Intelligence & Positioning

• Conduct ongoing market research to identify emerging trends across payments, fraud, identity, and open banking ecosystems.
• Use market insights to shape product positioning, inform competitive strategy, and identify new partnership categories before they become table stakes.
• Represent Forter externally at industry events, conferences, and partner forums; serve as a credible, compelling voice for Forter's vision.

What You'll Need

• 8–12 years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or enterprise sales within the payments and/or Financial Services space — with a strong track record in online payments, Banks or PSPs, fraud, or identity-adjacent environments.
• Demonstrated ability to own, structure, and close complex multi-million-dollar deals with PSPs, issuing banks, card networks, or major financial institutions.
• Deep knowledge of the payments ecosystem: PSPs, acquirers, issuers, card networks, 3DS/Trusted Authentication, fraud prevention, and related identity domains.
• Executive presence and credibility: you build trust at the C-suite level and can navigate complex, multi-stakeholder organizations with confidence.
• Outstanding communication skills — clear, compelling writer and presenter; able to distill complex topics into sharp, visual storytelling for any audience.
• Ability to travel as needed (~20–30%), including internationally.
• Bachelor's degree in Business or a related field; MBA or equivalent preferred.

Would Be Very Cool If You Have

• Direct experience partnering with global PSPs such as Mastercard, Worldpay/FIS, Nuvei, Stripe, Adyen, Clover, or comparable providers.
• Background in issuer development and 3DS/Trusted Authentication, open banking, or adjacent fraud and identity solutions.
• Experience at leading payments, fraud prevention, or identity companies or at major PSPs/networks.
• Established senior relationships across the PSP and issuing bank ecosystem that can accelerate Forter's pipeline.
• Public speaking or thought leadership experience; comfort and enthusiasm representing a company at industry events (Money20/20, Sibos, NACHA, etc.).
• Familiarity with CRM forecasting best practices and partnership lifecycle management tooling.

About Us:

Commerce is evolving faster than the systems built to support it. Agentic AI is redrawing how people buy. Customer expectations have a new ceiling. And bad actors are evolving alongside every advancement.

Forter was built to meet this moment — and stay ahead of it.

We are a human-first, AI-built company. Our technology analyzes patterns across a network of over 2 billion shoppers, delivering identity intelligence across the entire commerce journey — from sign-up to checkout to returns — that protects revenue and unlocks great customer experiences simultaneously. With Forter, businesses know who to trust, whether it’s humans or the agents shopping for them. The result: zero friction for the customers who matter. No revenue left behind.

The world's most trusted brands — Nordstrom, Instacart, Priceline, Adobe, ASOS, and eBay among them — rely on Forter to get this right. Since 2013, we've raised $525M from investors including Tiger Global, Bessemer, Sequoia Capital, and Salesforce Ventures, and today we power commerce decisions for nearly 1 million businesses globally. We're more than fraud, payments and orchestration – we make trust a competitive advantage.

Trust is backed by data – Forter is a recipient of over 10 workplace and innovation awards, including:

• Great Place to Work Certification (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Fortune’s Best Workplaces in NYC (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025)
• Forbes Cloud 100 (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025)
• Anti-Fraud Solution of the Year at the Payments Awards (2024)

Life as a Forterian:

Forterians are, genuinely, some of the best people you'll work with. Smart, curious, and deeply good humans who care about the work and each other. That's not an accident — it's something we've been intentional about since day one, and it's the thing people mention most when they talk about why they stay. When you're surrounded by people like this, doing work that actually matters, it changes what a job can feel like.

Forter was built on a simple but powerful conviction: when AI does its job, humans can do theirs better. That philosophy shapes our products and shapes how we work. AI is core to our workflows — not as a shortcut, but as a force multiplier that gives Forterians the space to focus their energy where human judgment is irreplaceable.

We're a global team of 500+ people, with regional headquarters in New York, Tel Aviv, London, and Singapore, and employee presence across the US, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, China, and Australia. Our teams are cross-functional by design, and the work you do here is visible, consequential, and connected to the outcomes that matter.

You'll have real ownership here and proximity to decisions. And we back that with investment in your growth — RSU offerings, L&D programs built around AI tools, and a culture of recognition rooted in our 4.5 day weeks (aka Forter’s Appreciation Fridays and Sundays). From team outings to local cultural celebrations, we mark the moments that matter — wherever you are in the world. We don't want Forter to be just another job. We want it to be the place you build.

If you're ready to work on a problem that sits at the intersection of AI, commerce, and human trust, this is it.

Forter is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that will consider all qualified applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetics, age, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at interviewaccommodation@forter.com. This information will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of determining an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.

*Forter does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to Forter (or any related) jobs alias or directly to any Forter employees. Forter will not be responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.