Strategic Partnerships Manager

Licensed sponsor London Full-time Posted 2 hours ago

Hybrid (Tue / Wed / Thu in office) · Competitive Compensation

We help businesses take on the world - and we need people who want to do the same.

Ant International is one of the world's leading digital payments and financial services providers - a business that has already transformed how hundreds of millions of people and businesses manage money across Asia. With global ambitions and the infrastructure to match, Ant International is now driving that same revolution across the rest of the world.

WorldFirst is one of Ant International's four flagship brands - and the platform leading the charge for businesses going global. Trusted by over 1.5 million businesses worldwide, WorldFirst makes it simple to collect payments, convert currencies, and scale internationally across 100+ marketplaces. We operate with the energy and speed of a start-up, backed by one of the most powerful fintech ecosystems on the planet.

1.5M+

businesses on platform

100+

global marketplaces

140+

currencies supported 🚀

WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY DO

Shape and deliver the EMEA partnerships agenda, assessing market opportunities and building a pipeline of strategic relationships across commerce, payments, technology, and merchant ecosystems.
Develop trusted relationships with senior decision-makers at priority partners, understanding their business needs and creating opportunities that generate meaningful value for both organisations.
Take ownership of partnership development from initial opportunity through commercial agreement and launch, including proposition development, deal structuring, negotiation, and business planning.
Bring together internal teams across Product, Technology, Legal, Operations, Sales, Marketing, and Customer teams to deliver integrations, launches, and joint initiatives that translate partnerships into growth.
Establish clear measures of success and continually assess partner performance, using commercial data, customer insights, and market trends to improve outcomes and guide future priorities.

WHAT WE'D LOVE YOU TO BRING

5-7+ years in partnerships, or a related discipline, preferably within fintech, payments, SaaS, eCommerce, marketplaces, or technology.
A strong history of creating and expanding partnerships that have delivered tangible business impact, whether through new customers, increased revenue, greater product usage, or strategic market access.
Good knowledge of the EMEA digital commerce landscape and the businesses that support it, including marketplaces, merchant platforms, ERP solutions, SaaS providers, and payment ecosystems.
Commercially confident and strategically minded, with experience shaping propositions, negotiating deals, influencing senior stakeholders, and turning broad opportunities into executable plans.
A highly collaborative and data-driven approach, with the communication skills, judgement, and ownership to operate effectively across functions, cultures, and levels of seniority in a fast-moving environment.

LIFE AT WORLDFIRST

We're proud of what we've built, and even more excited about where we're going. Here's a little of what you can look forward to.

The right moment. We've already proven our model in East Asia as number one. Now we're scaling it globally - with start-up energy and a world-class platform behind us.
Flexible & Hybrid. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in our office together - Monday and Friday yours to work from wherever works best for you.
Food and drink on us. Free breakfast & coffee, every week in the office. On top of that, a drinks fridge that opens every Thursday at 4.30pm sharp.
Culture & Connection. Multi-cultural socials, and a team that genuinely reflects the global world we operate in.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

We believe the best teams are built from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. WorldFirst is an equal opportunities employer - we hire on merit and potential, full stop.

Whatever your background, if you've got the drive and the hunger, we want to hear from you. Need any adjustments at any stage of the process? Just let us know - we'll make it work.

DATA PRIVACY NOTICE

By applying, you consent to WorldFirst processing your personal data for the purposes of recruitment and candidate assessment. Your information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection legislation, including UK GDPR and EU GDPR.

We retain application data for up to 12 months after the close of the recruitment process, after which it is securely deleted. You can request access to, correction of, or deletion of your data at any time by contacting privacy@worldfirst.com. Your data will not be shared with third parties outside the recruitment process without your explicit consent.

If this sounds like your kind of role, let's talk.

We'd love to hear from you - apply today.