Director - Head of Partner Advantage Program

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Director - Head of Partner Advantage Program

Role Overview
The Channel Partnership Enablement (CPE) team at Mastercard supports the Services Partnership business by driving the execution, governance, and scalability of global partner enablement activities. This highly visible Director role is central to the success of the recently launched Mastercard Partner Advantage Program, owning end‑to‑end program execution across partner onboarding, tier management, performance reporting, and compliance. The role partners closely with cross‑functional leaders and external partners to drive alignment, manage risk, and deliver a high‑quality partnership experience.

Key Responsibilities
• Oversee end-to-end program execution: Ensure all partnership program deliverables and timelines are met by coordinating across Mastercard’s internal teams (Marketing, Systems, Finance), establishing governance frameworks, and managing cross-functional project activities.
• Partner program tiers: Evole and manage tiers based on performance KPIs (identify, measure and track those KPIs); monitor partner compliance with tier requirements, oversee the annual recalibration of tier thresholds, and administer the exception management process to address unique partner circumstances or deviations from standard criteria.
• Manage partner onboarding and integration: Lead the onboarding of new partners (such as banks, fintech firms, or merchant partners) into Mastercard’s systems and programs, coordinating technical integrations and setup while ensuring partners meet Mastercard’s network requirements and standards.
• Ensure compliance and risk management: Monitor partner activities for adherence to Mastercard policies, industry regulations, and contractual obligations, working with Legal and Compliance teams to implement controls and address any compliance issues (e.g., data security, regulatory changes) within partnership programs.
• Monitor performance and reporting: Track partnership program performance metrics (e.g., transaction volumes, service levels, key KPIs) and prepare regular reports or dashboards (including Quarterly Business Reviews) to update internal stakeholders and executives on program status, achievements, and areas requiring attention.
• Stakeholder communication and coordination: Serve as the primary operational liaison for partners, maintaining open communication channels and regular update meetings. Coordinate internally to ensure all stakeholders (including account teams and executives) are aligned and promptly address partner issues or escalations to maintain smooth collaboration.
• Internal process management and improvement: Maintain and continuously improve the internal processes, tools, and documentation governing partnership programs. This includes developing standard operating procedures (playbooks, partner guides), defining clear SLAs and workflow efficiencies, and implementing process enhancements that enable scalable and consistent partnership operations.
• Ad-hoc projects and requests: as needed, including rapid response initiatives, executive briefing preparation, cross-functional task force participation, support for strategic partner escalations, and coordination of time-sensitive deliverables across internal teams and external stakeholders.

All About You
• Highly motivated with strong work ethic and ability to act with urgency and flexibility to drive results, especially in an ambiguous environment.
• Great interpersonal and collaborative skills to develop relationships and partnerships with a broad range of individuals throughout the organization.
• Self-starter / motivated to work independently and as an effective team member.
• Confident and comfortable with engaging executives, presenting with conviction.
• Strong intellectual curiosity, out of the box thinker, creative, with strong analytical skills, proficient with data and newly developed and deployed AI tools
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Bachelor’s Degree required; MBA preferred.

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact [email protected] and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.

Pay Ranges

Purchase, New York: $179,000 - $305,000 USD