Partnerships Lead (fixed term contract)

About Cleo
At Cleo, we're not just building another fintech app. We're embarking on a mission to fundamentally change humanity's relationship with money. Imagine a world where everyone, regardless of background or income, has access to a hyper‑intelligent financial advisor in their pocket. That's the future we're creating. Cleo is a rare success story: a profitable, fast‑growing unicorn with over $300 million in ARR and growing over 2x year‑over‑year. This isn't just a job; it's a chance to join a team of brilliant, driven individuals who are passionate about making a real difference. We have an exceptionally high bar for talent, seeking individuals who are not only at the top of their field but also embody our culture of collaboration and positive impact. If you’re driven by complex challenges that push your expertise, the chance to shape something truly transformative, and the potential to share in Cleo’s success as we scale, while growing alongside a company that’s scaling fast, this might be your perfect fit.

About The Role
As we scale, we’re bringing new features and products into the ecosystem at an increasingly fast pace – across spending cards, credit‑score coaching, “debt‑crushing” services and beyond. To make this work at global scale, we’re looking for a Partnership Lead who will own and elevate Cleo’s most critical strategic partnerships, drive cross‑functional alignment, and shape the partner ecosystem that powers our product. Please note, this position is a maternity‑leave cover, and as such is offered as a fixed‑term contract.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Partner Leadership
  • Manage and grow Cleo’s most important enterprise partnerships across payments, fraud, data and embedded finance.
  • Lead negotiations independently, consistently achieving above‑benchmark outcomes.
  • Build trusted relationships quickly with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Align Product, Engineering, Data, Compliance, Risk, and Operations around shared partnership goals.
  • Act as the connector between internal teams and external partners, ensuring clarity of requirements and smooth delivery.
  • Build scalable processes for partner onboarding, contracting, and operational collaboration.
  • Gather and translate partner and user requirements into clear, actionable product specifications.
  • Maintain strong knowledge of Cleo’s product ecosystem, especially partner‑enabled features.
  • Identify new product opportunities unlocked through partner capabilities.
• Data Strategy & Reporting
  • Define partner KPIs and design data strategies to track performance.
  • Own commercial and operational reporting for enterprise partners, ensuring accuracy and internal adoption.
  • Communicate insights and opportunities proactively to stakeholders.
• Partnership Operations & Efficiency
  • Manage day‑to‑day partnership operations across payments, fraud, data, new opportunities and compliance.
  • Drive efficiency improvements across the partner ecosystem, including reducing COGs and improving product delivery.
  • Oversee issue escalation and ensure strong execution across all partner workstreams.
• Industry Expertise
  • Maintain deep understanding of fintech trends, competitor products, and regulatory changes.
  • Coach internal teams and leadership on relevant market developments.
  • Apply industry knowledge to shape Cleo’s product and partnership strategy.

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years managing enterprise vendor partnerships in tech or fintech.
• Strong negotiator with a track record of exceeding industry benchmarks.
• Excellent requirements‑gathering and analytical skills.
• Deep critical thinking ability; comfortable diving into complex problems.
• Strong data literacy and experience with Excel or analytics tools.
• Effective communicator who can simplify complex issues.
• Experienced in collaborating cross‑functionally.
• Experience in the US and/or UK open banking ecosystem, including data aggregation platforms, regulatory environments, and standards.

Nice to Haves

• Experience managing stakeholders across multiple countries and timezones.
• Background in B2C embedded finance, consumer lending, payments, or cards.
• Experience in high‑growth, VC‑backed startups.
• Proven success driving business impact through vendor or partner relationships.
• Experience improving operational processes.
• Project management experience.

What You Get for All Your Hard Work

• A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with bi‑annual reviews, aligned to our quarterly OKR planning cycles.
• Work at one of the fastest‑growing tech startups, backed by top VC firms, Balderton & EQT Ventures.
• A clear progression plan. We want you to keep growing. That means trying new things, leading others, challenging the status quo and owning your impact. Always with our complete support.
• Flexibility. We can’t fight for the world’s financial health if we’re not healthy ourselves. We work with everyone to make sure they have the balance they need to do their best work.
• Work where you work best. We’re a globally distributed team. If you live in London we have a hybrid approach, we’d love you to spend one day a week or more in our beautiful office. If you’re outside of London, we’ll encourage you to spend a couple of days with us a few times per year. And we’ll cover your travel costs, naturally.

Other Benefits

• Company‑wide performance reviews every 6 months.
• Generous pay increases for high‑performing team members.
• Equity top‑ups for team members getting promoted.
• 25 days annual leave a year + public holidays (an additional day for every year you spend at Cleo, up to 30 days).
• 6% employer‑matched pension in the UK.
• Private Medical Insurance via Vitality, dental cover, and life assurance.
• Enhanced parental leave.
• 1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years at Cleo.
• Regular socials and activities, online and in‑person.
• We’ll pay for your OpenAI subscription.
• Online mental health support via Spill.
• Workplace Nursery Scheme.
• And many more!

Welcoming Everyone
We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio‑economic backgrounds. If there’s anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.