Strategic Partnership Manager

The Strategic Partnership Manager – Lending is responsible for developing, managing, and scaling external partnerships that drive Boost Bank’s lending growth across consumer and SME segments. This role will identify high-impact partners, structure win-win commercial models, and design partnership-led lending products that support Boost Bank’s financial inclusion and profitability goals.

As a key product enabler, the role collaborates closely with Product, Credit, Risk, Compliance, Technology, and Marketing to operationalise partnerships and ensure that lending propositions are competitive, compliant, and aligned with Boost Bank’s digital strategy.

Responsibilities:

Partnership Strategy & Market Development

Develop and execute a partnership strategy that supports lending growth, new customer acquisition, and ecosystem expansion.
Identify, evaluate, and onboard strategic partners (e-commerce platforms, fintech providers, insurance companies, payment players, supply chain platforms, BNPL providers, etc.).
Analyse market trends, competitor activities, and ecosystem opportunities to discover new partnership avenues.

Product Leadership for Lending Partnerships

Work with product teams to shape lending propositions delivered through partnerships (e.g., embedded lending, merchant financing, supply chain lending, salary advance, instalment solutions).
Translate partner requirements into product features, business rules, and customer journeys.
Lead product integration efforts with partners – APIs, data flows, credit rules, risk checks, and customer onboarding flows.
Ensure product features meet regulatory requirements (BNM guidelines, credit policies, AML/CFT expectations).

Commercial Structuring & Negotiation

Lead commercial negotiations including revenue share, credit risk allocation, cost-sharing, and partnership incentives.
Build and maintain business cases for partnership-driven lending initiatives.
Ensure that partnership economics meet profitability targets (portfolio yield, cost of acquisition, unit economics).

Portfolio & Performance Management

Monitor performance metrics such as loan origination, partner conversion rates, NPL trends, customer quality, activation, engagement, and repayment behaviour.
Prepare partnership performance dashboards for management reporting and EXCO review.
Drive portfolio optimisation initiatives using partner insights and customer behaviour analytics.

Relationship Management

Serve as the primary relationship owner for all lending-related partners.
Manage end-to-end partner lifecycle: onboarding, governance, quarterly reviews, performance evaluation, and renewal.
Resolve operational issues, customer journeys, technical integration concerns, and compliance queries with internal and external stakeholders.

Governance, Compliance & Risk Alignment

Ensure all partnership models comply with BNM regulatory frameworks (e.g., credit risk, outsourcing, data protection, digital onboarding, fair treatment of consumers).
Coordinate due diligence, risk assessments, legal reviews, and vendor/partner screenings with internal teams.
Lead incident or issue escalation involving partner-related lending services.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner with Technology & Data teams to enable seamless integration and effective data-sharing for credit decisioning.
Work with Credit & Risk teams to develop scorecards, credit policies, and risk parameters for partnership-led lending.
Collaborate with Marketing to design co-brand campaigns, acquisition funnels, and partner communication strategy.

Work Experiences:

Minimum Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Engineering, or related field.
10 years’ experience in strategic partnerships, business development, product management, lending, or fintech ecosystem roles.
Strong understanding of digital lending models, alternative data, credit scoring, collections, and risk management principles.
Experience negotiating commercial agreements and managing external stakeholders.
Familiarity with Malaysian financial regulations, particularly lending and digital banking guidelines.

Preferred

Experience working in a digital bank, fintech lender, P2P lending platform, or e-commerce marketplace.
Exposure to API-driven products, embedded finance models, and partnership-led go-to-market execution.
Strong analytical and financial modelling skills.

Key Competencies

Strategic thinking & market awareness
Strong commercial negotiation skills
Excellent stakeholder and relationship management
Product innovation & problem solving
Good understanding of credit risk fundamentals
Data-driven decision making
Strong communication & presentation skills
Ability to work in a fast-paced, evolving digital environment