Senior Manager – Global Acquiring Partnerships and Programs

The Global Acquiring Partnerships and Programs Team (GAPP) within Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS) is tasked with making American Express “Welcomed Everywhere and Used Every Day” – an important strategic focus for the company. The GAPP team leads relationships across several partnership models with innovative FinTech companies, traditional Merchant Acquirers or Banks, and specialized Payment Aggregators to achieve this mission. 

This is an exciting opportunity to join a fast-paced, dynamic team managing relationships with Third-Party Partners such as PNC Bank, Electronic Payments, Windcave, Upserve, KeyBank, and Fortis which sit under the OptBlue program. 

These relationships are significant, complex, and critical to achieving American Express’s strategic objectives for merchant acceptance. The role is multifaceted and requires building relationships across external and internal stakeholders at various seniority levels. In this role, you will own the strategic development of your accounts and be responsible for driving profitable business initiatives. You will also lead the day-to-day relationships to implement tactical initiatives that will drive growth through our partnerships. 

• Excellent partnership and/or client management skills (industry agnostic) with a demonstrated ability to influence C-level executives at business partners. 
• Self-starter with the ability to think creatively and strategically in a world of evolving payment trends and innovations. 
• Proven ability to work through complex business and operational opportunities to identify clear action plans, and drive resolution in a matrix organization with multiple stakeholders.
• Detail oriented project management skills and the ability to manage multiple accounts and initiatives in parallel. 
• Being comfortable with navigating white space to develop partner friendly solutions. 
• Proven influence and negotiation skills.
• An ability to present effectively to large audiences.
• Excellent analytical, oral and written communication skills with the ability to use Microsoft Office.
• An interest or background in Emerging Payments and/or Fintech is a plus.

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions. 

• Key lead for business development discussions, contract negotiations and managing the overall partner relationships for an assigned portfolio of partners.
• Act as the internal point of contact and subject matter expert on your portfolio, formulating a perspective on the external landscape to bring into American Express. 
• Deepen senior level relationships with partners to help strategically position American Express.
• Partner with internal Marketing and Analytics teams to design and implement initiatives that increase merchant activation, drive Welcomed Acceptance and deliver incremental value to our partners.
• Project manage new partner and capability launches (e.g., network products/capabilities, AXP enterprise strategies) by working closely with internal stakeholders and partner leads to ensure successful and timely launches.