Partnerships Strategy & Ops Associate

About Blackbird:

Blackbird Labs is a loyalty and payments platform establishing meaningful connections between the world’s best restaurants and their customers.

Served up in 2022 by Ben Leventhal, co-founder of Eater and Resy, Blackbird offers a fully customizable loyalty programming platform for restaurants and a consumer app designed to make every guest feel like a bonafide VIP no matter where they dine. Backed by Union Square Ventures, a16z, Amex Ventures, Variant Fund, and other forward-thinking investors, Blackbird is out to revolutionize the restaurant industry.

About Our Team:

At Blackbird, our values guide everything we do and our talent principles define the key traits we seek in our employees.

We have passion for our product – committed to our mission and instinctively think like and go the extra mile for our customers. We are elite performers – striving for excellence, going above and beyond to achieve exceptional results, and learning quickly with horsepower, drive, and grit. We make others better – taking initiative to elevate others, giving and receiving feedback, and championing a culture of growth. We hold one another accountable to living out our talent principles as we march together to achieving our mission.

About the Job

We're hiring a strategically-minded Partnerships Strategy & Ops Associate to architect and scale the partnership ecosystem that makes $FLY valuable everywhere. You'll design and execute a two-tier partnership strategy: premium partners (travel, delivery, retail) that drive brand equity and user acquisition, and volume partners (cashback platforms, shopping portals) that generate profit and fund the ecosystem. This role combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution—defining go-to-market frameworks while managing deal flow to cement partnerships and drive execution.

Responsibilities

Strategic Partnership Development

• Design category strategies across travel, delivery, retail, fintech, and lifestyle verticals—identifying whitespace opportunities and defining prioritization frameworks

• Build financial models to evaluate partnership opportunities, including LTV impact, contribution margin analysis, and portfolio optimization across partner tiers

• Develop scalable partnership playbooks and deal frameworks that balance brand positioning with revenue generation

Deal Execution & Structuring

• Source, negotiate, and close partnerships with companies that expand the $FLY network

• Structure revenue share, commission, and co-marketing deals that hit margin targets while scaling user value

• Build relationships with platforms that enable rapid implementation and mutual growth

Business Operations & Analytics

• Own partnership P&L—tracking contribution margins, redemption costs, breakage rates, and ROI across the portfolio

• Create executive-ready analyses and recommendations for partnership prioritization and resource allocation

• Work cross-functionally with product, marketing, and finance to integrate and launch partners efficiently

Requirements

• 2-4 years in banking or strategy/BD roles at investment banking institutions or high growth start ups

• Proven ability to structure complex problems, build financial models, and synthesize insights into actionable recommendations

• Strong commercial instincts - you understand unit economics, can structure win-win deals, and think in terms of portfolio optimization

• Track record of moving from analysis to execution—comfortable building frameworks and closing deals

• Scrappy executor who thrives in ambiguity and can operate with minimal oversight

• Excellent PowerPoint and Excel skills with demonstrated ability to synthesize complex concepts into easy to understand executive slides

Nice to Haves

• Experience with affiliate networks, cashback programs, loyalty platforms, or two-sided marketplaces

• Knowledge of major metropolitan dining scenes and restaurant industry networks

• Background in fintech, payments, or consumer marketplace business models

Pay Transparency Notice & Benefits

Depending on your work location and experience, the target annual salary for this position can range from: $80,000-120,000 USD. This range does not include the equity component of the overall compensation package. Disclosure in accordance with New York City's Pay Transparency Law.

Full time offers from Blackbird may also include stock options, benefits (including medical, dental, vision, flexible time off, 401(k)), and some not-so-standard, extra-fun perks — subject to applicable taxes and based on eligibility.

Commitment to Equal Opportunity

Blackbird Labs is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by applicable law. Blackbird will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law. For US applicants, you may view the Know Your Rights notice here. Additionally, Blackbird participates in the E-Verify program.

Join us and find out what the best work of your career could look like here at Blackbird.