Head of Partner Success

The Organization:  Merit America

The American economy is broken. Today, 53 million working adults–nearly half of the U.S. workforce–do not earn a living wage. These talented workers have few options to advance: college is too long and expensive, full-time boot camp programs don’t offer enough flexibility, and online courses don’t have the structure or support to translate learning into a new career. The result? Talented workers, disproportionately people of color and women, get stuck in low-wage roles with no way to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Merit America is a national nonprofit that creates pathways to family-sustaining careers for Americans stuck in low-wage work. Our fast, flexible solutions are built for working adults: We start by analyzing tens of millions of job postings to identify in-demand, high-paying tech careers and then work with industry-recognized partners to train for these roles with part-time programs that combine flexible online learning with best-in-class coaching. Finally, we support our learners in their job search, helping them connect with a broad constellation of local and national employers such as JPMorgan Chase and Infosys to land higher-earning, family-sustaining jobs, driving an average wage gain of $24k three months or more after completing the program. Merit America is on a mission to build a scalable pathway for workers to join the middle class through merit, not money. Since our founding in 2018, we’ve generated a projected $1 billion in near-term wage gains for our learners. 

Role Overview 

Partnerships are one of the most critical elements of Merit America’s growth plan for the next several years. Building the strategy and growing the program is a top priority for the organization. As such, Merit America is seeking a Head, Partner Success to set the vision and strategic direction for our Partner Success team. As a key member of the Partnerships team, this position will spearhead efforts to deepen and expand our relationships with partners, fostering strategic alliances that contribute to the organization's growth and impact. 

The primary mission of the Head, Partner Success is to maximize the value that our partnerships deliver for our learners, organization, and partners. They will accomplish this through strategic leadership, executive-level relationship-building, expert account management, and by relentlessly identifying and pursuing growth opportunities. This role will have the opportunity to re-evaluate and redesign our partner onboarding processes, engagement strategies, and impact measurement frameworks. This is a leadership role designed for a bold and innovative person who can deliver measurable, high-impact outcomes for partners while developing scalable strategies to expand the reach and effectiveness of our partnerships.

The  Head, Partner Success is an exempt position. This person will manage a small team of 1.5 partnership managers and will report directly to the Managing Director of Partnerships.

What You’ll Be Doing:
The responsibilities of the  Head, Partner Success will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Strategic Leadership (20%)
• Define the vision for world-class account management at Merit America, continuously innovating to enhance partner success.
• Collaborate with the MD of Partnerships to set long-term and semiannual goals focused on partner retention, product adoption, and account growth.
• Design and implement a scalable, partner-focused strategy to drive partner engagement, account retention, and account expansion.
•  Team Development and Management (30%)
• Lead, coach, and expand a small team of Partner Success Managers (currently 1.5 FTEs), fostering a culture of excellence and growth.
• Set performance goals, provide regular feedback, and create professional development plans to build team capabilities.
• Ensure a high-performance culture by tracking progress against goals and driving continuous improvement.
•  Account Management (40%) 
• Develop and execute account plans for each strategic partner, outlining key objectives, milestones, and success metrics.
• Manage day-to-day relationships with key partners like Amazon and Lyft, serving as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to drive business growth.
• Represent partner interests internally, sharing feedback to influence product roadmaps and enhance the partner experience; collaborate with Product, Marketing, and Program teams for alignment.
• Oversee onboarding, engagement, and renewals to ensure partner satisfaction and meet success metrics.
• Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities to deepen relationships and maximize partner value.

• Operational excellence (10%)
• Optimize existing processes and create new frameworks to ensure consistent, high-quality account management.
• Monitor partner health metrics (eg. partner satisfaction scores and retention), gather feedback, and proactively address issues to support retention and growth.
• Develop and maintain a knowledge base of partner resources and best practices

Skills and Competencies

We recognize that individuals from marginalized backgrounds, including women, people of color, and those with disabilities, are often less likely to apply when they don’t meet 100% of the job qualifications. Don’t let that be the reason you miss out on this opportunity! We want to emphasize that your unique skills, experiences, and perspectives are valuable, and we encourage you to apply if you can demonstrate many of the skills and competencies. Below are the skills that are relevant for thriving in this role:

Must Haves: 

• Exceptional Relationship Building: Demonstrated ability to build, nurture, and sustain strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior-level executives and external partners.
• Cross Functional Collaboration: Adept at building-lateral influence and working across functions to galvanize support and align stakeholders in the service of mutually beneficial goals.  
• Problem-Solving and Analytical Thinking: Strong analytical skills, a proactive approach to identifying and solving problems, and a demonstrated ability to optimize performance using data-driven insights.
• Project Management Expertise: Phenomenal project management skills, attention to detail, and the ability to effectively juggle multiple priorities.
• Strategic Thinking and Business Acumen: Strong strategic thinking skills, the ability to translate business objectives into actionable plans, and a deep understanding of the skilling industry.
• Leadership and People Management: Proven experience in people management, demonstrated coaching and mentoring skills, and the ability to foster a high-performing team.
• Entrepreneurial Drive and Resourcefulness: Entrepreneurial spirit, resourcefulness, and the ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced, and quickly-changing environments.
• Data Analysis and Reporting: Proven ability to analyze data, generate reports, and extract actionable insights to inform decision-making and drive partner success.
• Committed to Merit America’s mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers, break the poverty cycle, and create upward mobility for low-wage workers.
• Demonstrated history of embodying our values, which inform our work and drive our organization's culture.
• Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for our collective work in making a positive impact on the community we support, true to our value of Win & Lose Together.
• Committed to continuous learning and growth in understanding and addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces and values individual differences, aligned with our core value of inclusivity.

Nice to Have: 

• Salesforce Knowledge and Expertise: Familiarity with Salesforce and the ability to utilize its features to enhance partnership management and reporting.
• Presentation Skills: Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively convey information and engage audiences, both internally and externally.

Other Logistics 

• This position is full-time: 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Location:  Remote
• Salary: $130,000

Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation.  We have a market-based compensation approach, which means we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates.

We take care of our employees by providing the following perks and benefits: 

• 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage)
• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account
• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit
• Education & personal development reimbursement
• Catalog of course for professional learning and development
• Short and long-term disability
• Unlimited vacation (after a 90-day introductory period)
• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after 1 year of employment)
• 11 federally recognized holidays
• 1 week office closure in July (week of July 4th)
• 2 week holiday office closure in December/January
• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit contribution
• Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources
• Discount perks at work program
• Phone/technology stipend
• Home office setup stipend
• Affinity groups and community building via virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups

*Eligibility for some benefits may vary based on employment status, full-time or part-time. Eligibility will be outlined during the hiring process.

Remote Work & Sponsorship

Candidates must reside within the 50 states or District of Columbia and have full authorization to work in the 50 U.S. states & the District of Columbia (international work abroad, including the U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and other islands are excluded). In addition, Merit America doesn't offer employment visa sponsorship.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Building an inclusive, high-performing team that is diverse across lines of personal identity is integral to our success and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

This means we do not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

We actively strive and evolve to develop and maintain workspaces that are fully inclusive. We encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.

Still excited about our work?  You can learn more about our work in this video we made with our founding partner, Google.

Fair Chance Ordinance

Applicants who have arrest or conviction records and are in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County will be considered in accordance with the state’s fair chance ordinance law. Employment under the ordinance includes part-time work, seasonal work, contract work, contingent work, work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or employment agency.

E-Verify Statement

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the I-9 Form.