Director – Financial Services Partnerships & Business Development
About the job
- 8–12 years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, or management consulting, with meaningful exposure to financial services, loyalty, or consumer platforms.
- A demonstrated track record of leading and closing complex, high-value partnerships, including managing partner relationships and negotiations at the senior executive level.
- Strong understanding of the consumer financial services landscape and how partnerships can create value for both companies and end customers.
- Experience with loyalty program partnerships, including understanding earn/burn mechanics, member value proposition design, and coalition-style or co-brand partnerships.
- Strong financial and analytical acumen, including the ability to build and communicate return-on-investment-driven business cases.
- Ability to distill complex deal structures into clear, compelling narratives for partners and internal stakeholders.
- Ability to manage multiple complex deal processes simultaneously in a fast-moving environment.
- Ability to drive alignment across decentralized organizations.
- Genuine passion for sports and belief in Fanatics' mission to enhance the fan experience.
- Drive the full business development lifecycle for financial services and loyalty partnerships, from prospecting and outreach through term sheet, negotiation, and close.
- Lead partner-facing conversations and presentations, representing Fanatics' value proposition with senior executives.
- Build and manage a pipeline of prospective partners across financial services, loyalty, travel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other categories that create value for Fanatics fans.
- Structure deal economics, partnership frameworks, and value exchange models in collaboration with Finance, Legal, and Product.
- Drive negotiation of key commercial terms and contract provisions, coordinating with Legal and the VP as needed.
- Support partner relationships after close, ensuring ongoing engagement and partnership performance.
- Contribute to and help shape Fanatics' financial services and loyalty partnership strategy with the VP of Enterprise Business Development.
- Identify opportunities across financial services and loyalty where Fanatics' user base, sports assets, and platform create differentiated value for partners.
- Develop a loyalty partnership roadmap focused on experiential benefits, everyday earning opportunities, and exclusive fan-first offers.
- Monitor competitive dynamics, emerging trends in consumer financial services and loyalty, and the broader digital sports ecosystem to inform deal prioritization and positioning.
- Partner with Loyalty, Product, Marketing, and Finance to shape commercially attractive and operationally executable partnership structures.
- Develop pitch materials, financial models, and business cases to support partner conversations and secure internal alignment.
- Coordinate with Legal and Compliance on deal structuring, regulatory considerations, and contract execution.
- Serve as a senior point of contact for strategic partners after close, maintaining strong relationships and partnership performance.
- Prior experience in a sports, entertainment, e-commerce, or consumer platform environment is a plus.
About the company
Fanatics China is a joint venture between Fanatics Inc. and Hillhouse Capital that localizes and scales licensed sports merchandise for China. It designs, manufactures, and markets fan gear for Chinese consumers, operating a multi-channel model that includes building and running e-commerce sites for global leagues and teams, exploring online marketplaces, and developing physical retail concepts. Its product workflow combines technology, data, and on-demand manufacturing to manage the entire supply chain, enabling fast response to demand. The company differentiates itself through a China-focused approach backed by Hillhouse’s network and investments, its end-to-end vertical commerce model, and partnerships with hundreds of sports organizations, which together help it navigate China’s complex retail landscape. The goal is to satisfy a previously underserved Chinese market for licensed sports merchandise by creating localized products and channels that connect fans with official gear.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
Growth Equity (Venture Capital)
Total Funding
$5.2B
Headquarters
Huangpu, China
Founded
1995
Get referred to Fanatics
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Fanatics signed exclusive 2026 NFL event-retail rights across Super Bowl and Draft.
- Fanatics and FIFA expanded into trading cards, stickers, and trading-card games on May 7, 2026.
- Hong Kong's Hysan Place concept store opened April 6, 2026, proving Asia expansion.
What critics are saying
- Fanatics is closing Riverview, Florida, distribution center, cutting 286 jobs by July 31, 2026.
- Fanatics still depends on league licenses; Panini remains entrenched until FIFA transitions in 2031.
- Losing NFL, MLB, or FIFA renewals would cripple Fanatics' vertically integrated model.
What makes Fanatics unique
- Fanatics controls design, manufacturing, e-commerce, and on-site retail across major leagues.
- Topps and Fanatics won FIFA collectibles rights beginning 2031.
- Hillhouse-backed Fanatics China localizes merchandise for Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
Work Life Balance - At Fanatics we place our focus on results and empowerment and encourage you to enjoy your time on and OFF the field with our competitive time off policies.
Recognition and Rewards Program - Fanatics values our internal fans too! Our programs are designed to thank and reward Fanatics athletes for their hard work and commitment to winning as a team.
Company Sponsored Events - From breakfast to happy hour and every hour in between – Fanatics employees can enjoy time together at one of our many company events.
Fanatics.com Employee Discount - As an employee you will receive a special discount on all of your favorite sports merchandise and memorabilia.
Give Back - Fanatics cares about the fans around us. We encourage you to partner up with your teammates in giving back and serving the communities where we work and play.
Meet & Greets - You never know who will show up to the office. You might just meet one of your all-time favorite athletes.
Invest in You - Here at Fanatics we want you to accomplish your goals. We offer tuition reimbursement.
Healthy Lifestyle - Fanatics cares about helping and supporting our teams in their busy lifestyles. Through wellness relationships with fitness and weight management partners we are here to support you in whatever your lifestyle goals.
Wellness Coverage - Your health is important to you – and it’s important to us too! We offer a number of benefit plan options for convenience and flexibility.
Financial Security - Through our plans, Fanatics offers you a way to budget for health care expenses that you’d typically pay for out of pocket.
Retirement - The sooner you begin planning for your retirement, the better. Fanatics offers generous plans to help you prepare for the future.
Network of Support - Fanatics understands that sometimes you may need someone in your corner. Through the Life Assistance Program, you and your family have access to support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Fanatics Family First - Afterall we are #OneFanatics. Put your family first with our paid maternity and paternity leave program, or take advantage of our infertility treatment reimbursement program to get the support you need while you try to grow your family.
IDEA - We invite you to join one of our Employee Resource groups, or celebrate and honor what’s most important to you through our IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality & Advocacy) floating holiday. We recognize diversity helps foster innovation, and people perform better when they can be themselves. Gender Affirmation Treatment reimbursement is available to employees.
Company News
Scorability, a sports tech platform, raised $40 million in funding led by Bluestone Equity Partners, with participation from Fanatics and others. The startup, founded in 2023 by Brian Cruver, aims to modernize college sports recruiting. It has 1.2 million athletes and 3,000 college sports program users. Scorability is free for athletes, while colleges pay $10k-$40k annually. The platform simplifies recruitment by providing comprehensive data and AI-driven tools for coaches.
417 likes, 21 comments - blacksportsbiz on May 30, 2024: "Day one of #BlackSportsBiz launched the inaugural @BlackSportsWallStreet + @Pitch.Black.Sports, presented by @Fanatics, while also featuring @CariChampion, Eli Kumekpor, @RyanHoward_006 and @1JeremiahBrown! 🎤🛍️ Congrats to @Reel_Analytics for winning Pitch Black Sports! We can’t wait to see what’s next for Cory and his team. 📈 🎥: @travisellisonproductions @aumemedia".
Fanatics raised a new round of funding valuing the online sports-merchandise retailer at $18 billion, people familiar with the matter said, roughly tripling its valuation from a year ago.
Fanatics is launching a new events vertical, in partnership with IMG, to capitalize on the company’s growing suite of business ventures, including merchandise, memorabilia, fashion, music, trading cards and sports betting. Starting next year, Fanatics Events will create fan festivals that feature athletes and brands from across the industry, including those in the Fanatics orbit. […]
What began as a single e-commerce deal in 2002 has grown into a mobile-first, tech and data-fueled consumer brand, built to satisfy global fans who purchase gear in-the-moment when passion is burning highest. Fanatics provides the ultimate shopping experience to sports fans whether buying gear onlin