Director, Financial Services Partnerships & Business Development

The Role

Fanatics Financial Services is at the center of Fanatics' ambition to build the world's leading digital sports platform. The Director, Financial Services Partnerships & Business Development will be a senior, externally-facing deal leader responsible for driving high-impact partnerships across financial services and loyalty.   

This individual will own a pipeline of prospective partnerships, leading conversations with senior executives at target companies, structuring deals, and driving them through to launch. They will bring a sharp commercial instinct, deep knowledge of the financial services and loyalty landscapes, and the credibility and hunger to be a primary driver of new partnership value for Fanatics. 

The Director, Financial Services Partnerships & Business Development reports directly to the VP of Enterprise Business Development and works closely with leaders across Loyalty, Commerce, Betting & Gaming, Legal, Finance, and Product. 

What You'll Do

• Partnership Development & Deal Leadership
  • Drive the full business development lifecycle for financial services and loyalty partnerships from prospecting and outreach through term sheet, negotiation, and close
  • Lead partner-facing conversations and presentations, representing Fanatics' value proposition with authority and conviction at the senior executive level
  • Build and manage a robust pipeline of prospective partners across financial services and loyalty, including travel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other categories that create compelling value for Fanatics fans
  • Structure deal economics, partnership frameworks, and value exchange models in collaboration with Finance, Legal, and Product
  • Drive negotiation of key commercial terms and contract provisions, coordinating with Legal and the VP as needed
  • Support partner relationships post-close, ensuring strong ongoing engagement and partnership performance 

• Strategy & Market Intelligence 
  • Contribute to and help shape Fanatics' financial services and loyalty partnership strategy in collaboration with the VP of Enterprise BD
  • Identify white space opportunities across the financial services and loyalty landscapes where Fanatics' 130M+ user base, sports assets, and platform create differentiated value for partners
  • Develop a loyalty partnership roadmap focused on bringing incremental value to members through experiential benefits, everyday earning opportunities, and exclusive fan-first offers
  • Monitor competitive dynamics, emerging trends in consumer financial services and loyalty, and the broader digital sports ecosystem to inform deal prioritization and positioning 
• Cross-Functional Execution 
  • Partner with Loyalty, Product, Marketing, and Finance to shape partnership structures that are commercially attractive and operationally executable
  • Develop compelling pitch materials, financial models, and business cases to support partner conversations and secure internal alignment
  • Coordinate with Legal and Compliance on deal structuring, regulatory considerations, and contract execution
  • Serve as a senior point of contact for strategic partners post-close, ensuring strong relationships and partnership performance 

What We're Looking For

• Experience
  • 8–12 years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, or management consulting, with meaningful exposure to financial services, loyalty, or consumer platforms
  • Demonstrated track record of leading and closing complex, high-value partnerships, including managing partner relationships and negotiations at the senior executive level
  • Strong understanding of the consumer financial services landscape and how partnerships can create value for both companies and end customers
  • Experience with loyalty program partnerships including an understanding of earn/burn mechanics, member value proposition design, and coalition-style or co-brand partnerships
  • Prior experience in a sports, entertainment, e-commerce, or consumer platform environment is a plus 
• Skills & Attributes
  • A natural deal leader that is comfortable owning partner conversations end-to-end and driving towards close with urgency and commercial discipline
  • Strong financial and analytical acumen; ability to build and communicate ROI-driven business cases with clarity
  • Excellent communication and storytelling skills. Capable of distilling complex deal structures into crisp, compelling narratives for both partners and internal stakeholders
  • Highly organized and execution-oriented; able to manage multiple complex deal processes simultaneously in a fast-moving environment
  • Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias for action; comfortable with ambiguity and skilled at driving alignment across decentralized organizations
  • Collaborative and humble, with the interpersonal credibility to build trust across functions and levels
  • A genuine passion for sports and belief in Fanatics' mission to relentlessly enhance the fan experience

Why This Role Matters 

Financial services and loyalty partnerships are two of the highest-leverage growth vectors for Fanatics. This Director will be one of the primary drivers of new strategic partnerships on the team, operating with the autonomy and ambition of a senior deal leader and backed by the brand power of a category-defining sports platform, as well as relationships with 130M+ fans, leagues, teams, and athletes. The partnerships you close will directly shape the fan experience and the future of Fanatics