Partnership & Business Development Manager

Auto Approve

10h•$80,000 - $120,000•Remote

About The Position

Auto Approve is a fast-growing, multi-million-dollar fintech organization. We are disrupting the way people pay for their cars and trucks, saving customers over $1,000 a year. Auto loans are complicated, confusing, and too costly. Auto Approve makes it simple for our customers to save money and enjoy life more. With the help of our private equity backers, we are revolutionizing the auto finance industry. We recently crossed the $5B loan milestone, helping over 150,000 customers refinance loans; putting more money back in their pockets for things that matter the most. 3 of the past 4 years, Auto Approve has been recognized on Inc. 5000’s list of Fastest Growing Private Companies and most recently received the distinction of inclusion on BuiltIn’s Best Places to Work List in Chicago. We have big goals and growth in mind for 2026, and the Partnership & Business Development Manager will have an opportunity to grow personally and professionally while having a direct impact in helping Auto Approve achieve our aggressive growth goals into the future. Most of our team members join us because they connect with our mission of providing services that make it simple for our customers to save money and enjoy life more. We provide a fast-paced, enthusiastic atmosphere that thrives on constant improvement. We offer a competitive compensation package, a full suite of medical benefits (including dental, vision, pet insurance, and more), and PTO and holidays. We are looking for individuals to demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit, promote fresh ideas, and serve as an agent of change. The Partnership & Business Development Manager will join our rapidly growing team remotely. The annual base pay for this role is $80,000 - $120,000 (+ monthly / quarterly / annual bonus opportunities for OTE of $150,000 - $200,000 based on performance). The Partnership & Business Development Manager owns the full lifecycle of our lead partnerships. This includes managing and optimizing relationships with our existing lead aggregators, while simultaneously identifying and closing new partnership opportunities. You will be responsible for finding companies with look-alike customer profiles for co-marketing or lead-sharing arrangements, sourcing new lead aggregators, and identifying buyers for leads that fall outside our core lending criteria. This is a hybrid role that requires both strong relationship management skills and a hunter mentality for new business development.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in partnership management, business development, or affiliate/lead generation in financial services, lending, insurance, or a related industry.
Demonstrated experience managing lead aggregator relationships and understanding lead economics (CPL, CPA, CPF, conversion funnels, lead quality scoring).
Proficiency in Power BI or comparable business intelligence tools (Tableau, Looker) with the ability to pull reports, interpret data, and compile monthly performance reports for leadership.
Proven track record of sourcing and closing new partnership deals, not just managing existing accounts.
Strong negotiation skills with experience structuring partnership agreements, pricing models, and performance-based contracts.
Excellent communication and presentation skills; you will be the face of Auto Approve to our partners.
Self-directed and comfortable working independently in a remote environment with minimal oversight.
Proficiency with Pipedrive or similar CRM tools (Salesforce, HubSpot) for pipeline management and partner tracking.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience in auto lending, auto refinancing, or consumer finance lead generation.
Existing relationships with lead aggregators in the financial services space.
Experience selling or monetizing leads through secondary markets or lead resale channels.
Experience with Pipedrive, ClickUp, Jira, or similar project management tools.

Responsibilities

Manage ongoing relationships with lead aggregators, conducting biweekly and monthly performance review meetings with each partner.
Monitor lead quality, volume, conversion rates, and cost-per-funded loan across all aggregator partners using Power BI dashboards and internal reporting tools.
Analyze partner performance data to identify optimization opportunities, negotiate pricing adjustments, and improve lead quality standards.
Serve as the primary point of contact for all aggregator partners, resolving issues related to lead delivery, billing, tracking discrepancies, and contractual terms.
Develop and maintain a partner scorecard that tracks key metrics including lead volume, contact rate, conversion rate, cost per acquisition, and return on spend.
Collaborate with the SEM team and internal marketing to ensure alignment between paid acquisition strategy and aggregator performance.
Prospect and identify new lead aggregator partners, including, affiliate networks, and niche financial content publishers.
Research and approach companies with look-alike customer bases to develop co-marketing partnerships, lead-sharing agreements, or referral arrangements.
Identify and negotiate deals with companies interested in purchasing leads that do not meet Auto Approve's lending criteria, creating a secondary revenue stream from lead resale.
Build a structured pipeline for new partnership opportunities, track outreach activity, and report on business development progress to the CMO.
Negotiate partnership agreements including pricing models, volume commitments, exclusivity terms, and performance guarantees.
Use Power BI to pull reports, analyze partner-level performance, lead funnel metrics, and ROI across all partnership channels.
Conduct regular analysis to identify trends in lead quality, seasonal patterns, and cost fluctuations that inform partnership decisions.
Compile and deliver monthly partnership performance reports to the CMO, summarizing key metrics, trends, and recommendations for budget reallocation across partners.
Track and report on lead resale revenue, new partner ramp-up performance, and the overall health of the partnership portfolio.
Work with the data team to ensure accurate attribution and tracking of leads from sources through funded loans.