Senior Partnerships Manager, Payments & Network

Dave vs. Goliath. We’re Dave.

Dave is a financial app on a mission to build products that level the financial playing field. It is redefining the financial landscape by leveraging technology to create an affordable, transparent, and user-centric access to liquidity for millions of Americans. As a leading innovator in the U.S. financial services sector, Dave’s digital financial platform offers products designed to meet the credit needs of those underserved by traditional financial institutions. Dave’s offerings include its flagship ExtraCash product, providing members up to $500 within minutes. The company is on track to launch several new product offerings in 2026, including a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) option.

Dave is focused on serving Americans who are financially vulnerable or living paycheck to paycheck. Dave is leading the charge in creating a new era of credit products that prioritizes speed, affordability, and accessibility, making it the go-to financial partner for those who need it most.

Every transaction at Dave depends on a network of partners working together behind the scenes. 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.

What You'll Build & Own

• 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.

The 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.

What We're Looking For

Experience & Technical Foundation

• 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.

Bonus

• 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.

What Makes Someone Successful Here

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.

Ready to build for the underdog?

Reports to: Head of Strategic Partnerships & Vendor Management

Don’t let imposter syndrome get in the way of an incredible opportunity. We’re looking for people who can help us achieve our mission and vision, not just check off the boxes. If you’re excited about this role, we encourage you to apply. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles.

Why you’ll love working here

At Dave, our people are just as important as our product. Our culture reflects the values that guide who we are, how we work, and what we aspire to be. Daves are member-centric, helpful, transparent, persistent, and better together. We strive to create an environment where all Daves feel valued, heard, and empowered to do their best work. As a virtual-first company, team members can live and work anywhere in the United States, except Hawaii. 

A few of our benefits & perks:

💚 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

Dave Operating LLC is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and is dedicated to cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace. We will consider for employment all qualified applicants and do not discriminate on any basis protected by federal, state, or local law, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance relating to an applicant's criminal history.