Partner Manager

About Gusto

At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff — payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR — so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve.

All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) — because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy.

AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process.

About the Role:

As a Consumer Fintech Partner Manager at Gusto, you’ll own, manage, and grow the strategic fintech partnerships that power Gusto’s consumer financial products for both small businesses and the Members who are paid through Gusto. You’ll serve as the primary relationship owner for key partners, working cross-functionally with product, engineering, finance, legal, operations, and corporate development to ensure partnerships are healthy, scalable, and aligned with Gusto’s long-term strategy.

In this role, you’ll identify opportunities to deepen and expand partnerships through new products, features, and use cases, while proactively surfacing gaps in Gusto’s fintech ecosystem and helping shape solutions. You’ll leverage partner performance data, customer and Member insights, and market trends to inform roadmap priorities and partnership strategy.

You’ll collaborate closely across the company to translate partnership strategy into execution, balancing strong relationship management with clear business outcomes. Successful candidates align with Gusto’s values, are highly self-motivated, and bring a strong desire to learn, grow, and solve complex problems in a regulated fintech environment.

About the Team:

Product Partnerships is a small team embedded within Gusto’s Corporate Development organization. We manage the launch, performance, and growth of strategic product partnerships, while Corporate Development also leads M&A and develops new partnership opportunities. We work side-by-side with cross-functional stakeholders to extend Gusto’s product offering and deliver high-quality experiences for small businesses and their employees.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Own the strategy, performance, and executive relationships for Gusto’s Consumer Fintech partners, serving as the strategic lead and primary point of contact
• Set and execute a partnership strategy aligned with Gusto’s objectives, identifying growth opportunities and leading regular partner reviews to drive long-term value
• Act as the strategic quarterback across Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal & Compliance, Operations, and Corp Dev to translate partnership strategy into execution
• Use AI and data tools proactively to analyze partner performance, synthesize insights, automate repeatable workflows, prepare for negotiations, and accelerate decision-making
• Identify and address partnership gaps across product capabilities, coverage, economics, and scalability, including supporting contract renewals and renegotiations
• Serve as the escalation point for strategic partner issues

Here’s what we're looking for:

• 6+ years of total professional experience and 3+ years of experience in fintech partnerships, platform partnerships, or strategic account management
• Experience managing complex consumer financial-services or fintech partnerships, such as banking, payments/cards, insurance, investing, tax, or financial wellness
• Proven ability to drive partnership growth through both direct ownership and cross-functional leadership/influence
• Strong cross-functional operator with experience influencing Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, and Operations
• Sound judgment, executive presence, and strong communication skills
• Experience building for the employee/consumer end users and the SMB buyers behind them, while balancing the needs of both
• Bonus: experience with BaaS providers, card networks, or embedded finance platforms

Our cash compensation amount for this role is $109,785 to $135,402 in Denver & most major metro locations, and $132,765 to $163,744 for San Francisco & New York. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.

At Gusto, we don't use titles the traditional way, as a signal of rank or hierarchy. Instead, our titles describe two things at once — your craft (what you do, e.g. Engineering, Design) and your scope of ownership (what you're accountable for) — which is why you'll see something like "Head of X" instead of a rank word like "Director" that tells you neither. Because of this, the title on this posting may look different from what you'd expect based on the scope and seniority of the role, and from how similar roles are typically titled elsewhere. If you have questions about how this role compares to your current title or level, your recruiter can help translate.

Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees who are based in those locations will be expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week (or more depending on role). The same office expectations apply to all Symmetry roles, Gusto's subsidiary, whose physical office is in Scottsdale.

Note: The San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas. 

When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable, and consistent internet connection is required. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.

Reliable, consistent presence: We expect regular and predictable attendance, whether you're working in-office, hybrid, or fully remote, so that you stay closely connected to your team, customers, and stakeholders in real time and ensure colleagues and customers receive the timely support and responsiveness they deserve.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses, you will find a home at Gusto. 

Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Gusto considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Gusto is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. We want to see our candidates perform to the best of their ability. If you require a medical or religious accommodation at any time throughout your candidate journey, please fill out this form and a member of our team will get in touch with you.

Gusto takes security and protection of your personal information very seriously. Please review our Fraudulent Activity Disclaimer.

Personal information collected and processed as part of your Gusto application will be subject to Gusto's Applicant Privacy Notice.