Director, Travel Agency Partnerships

About the role

The Director of Travel Agency Partnerships owns the end to end strategy and execution of the Flex Pay Agent Program at Upgrade. This role is responsible for defining the commercial vision for Travel Agent partnerships and ensuring alignment with Upgrade's mission of affordable and responsible financial products. You will shape the operational model for the program and drive measurable growth in partnership performance, agent engagement, and revenue. The position requires deep expertise in the Travel Advisor and Call Center ecosystem, including backend operations and technology platforms. You will manage high performing teams and execute complex multi stakeholder growth strategies while maintaining superior relationship management skills. This is a remote role based in the United States or Canada that requires frequent travel and may include weekends or off hours support.

Key facts

What you'll do

Own and execute the Agent Program strategy by engaging Travel Advisors and Agencies through targeted marketing, incentive programs, and awareness campaigns.

Define and track key performance metrics across all Agent Program initiatives including marketing campaigns, webinars, conferences, incentives, and trainings, and use data to continuously optimize program effectiveness.

Build and deepen relationships with top Agency Partners by expanding current program value, identifying growth opportunities, and pitching new Flex Pay solutions.

Own and actively manage the business development pipeline for new Agency Partners and expansion opportunities within the existing portfolio.

Develop growth strategy with Agency Partners using a multi channel approach and leveraging partners' technology offerings.

Define and continuously improve internal processes that support agent registration, maintenance, and performance reporting.

Identify actionable insights from data and agent feedback, and translate them into strategic recommendations and operational best practices.

Develop, maintain, and iterate on agent training materials and programs to improve engagement, product knowledge, and program adoption.

Partner with the internal Product team to streamline Agent Product Solutions with a focus on user experience and operational efficiency.

Collaborate with Marketing, Compliance, and Legal teams on campaign development, regulatory considerations, and contractual frameworks.

Serve as the primary point of contact for key agency partners, ensuring timely escalation resolution and strong program advocacy.

Leverage industry insights and competitive analysis to position Upgrade's Flex Pay offerings within the Travel Advisor and Call Center landscape.

Support the creation of sales materials, case studies, and success stories that demonstrate program value to prospective and existing partners.

Attend industry conferences, webinars, and partner meetings to represent Upgrade and gather market intelligence.

Requirements

You bring a proven track record of building and managing high performing teams in a growth oriented environment.

You possess superior project management and communication skills with demonstrated experience collaborating across all levels of an organization and with external partners.

You have deep experience in the Travel Advisor and Call Center ecosystem, including backend operations and technology platforms.

You are passionate about the Travel Agent community and show a history of driving initiatives that enhance partner engagement and satisfaction.

You combine a data driven mindset with strong relationship management skills to influence stakeholders and guide strategic decisions.

You have experience defining and tracking key performance metrics and using data to continuously optimize program effectiveness.

You demonstrate ownership of complex, multi stakeholder growth strategies and the ability to execute in a fast paced environment.

You are comfortable developing and maintaining operational models, training materials, and process documentation to support scale.

Nice to have

Experience with financial products or consumer credit platforms is preferred.

Familiarity with fintech partnership models and incentive design is advantageous.

Practical notes

This role is remote based in the United States or Canada, and it requires frequent travel that may include weekends and or off hours support.

On site meetings with partners may be required as part of the responsibilities.

There is no specified compensation range listed in the source material.

The position involves travel and potential off hours support, and candidates must be able to meet these operational demands.