Partner Development Manager

Descrizione

We started in 2012, when we noticed a problem: on average, it was taking eight weeks (and a lot of paperwork) for small businesses to apply for a loan. Worse still, more often than not, that process was ending in a ‘no’.

We knew that bakeries, building firms, salons, and solicitors deserved better. They deserve to be able to grow – hire more hands, invest in stock, market themselves – without all the hold music and absurdly rigid criteria.

We’ve now been around for a decade, and in that time, we’ve:

• grown to a team of 290 iwocans
• worked with over 50,000 small businesses across the UK and Germany
• redesigned the whole business loan process from start to finish – our record is three minutes, 26 seconds.

It’s a good start, but it’s just the beginning. Our mission is help one million businesses who need us, so we still have a long way to go.

Here’s what we’ve learned about lending along the way:

• Technology is the way to change this space

From automated decisions to API integrations, tech has the potential to create the changes small businesses have been waiting for – so we can’t stop innovating.

• Embedded finance is the future

More and more, we’re reaching customers by embedding our loans within the apps and systems they use everyday. Our partners are people like neobanks, online marketplaces and accountancy software companies.

• Payments and credit are converging

Lots of small businesses struggle with cash flow; often getting invoices paid from their customers months after paying their own bills. Loans can help them pay these bills, but we also want to tackle the problem at its root by improving payment terms.

• New products are always possible

We’re working to create new loans of all shapes and sizes, and we’ve recently launched iwocaPay to help with these cash flow conundrums.

We work hard to make iwoca a place where everyone feels welcome, where you can confidently be yourself. We understand that diversity isn't an optional add-on, it's the core ingredient of what makes us great. However, we’re still near the start of our journey – our aim is to finance a million small businesses within a decade and so we need more smart, hands-on people to help us reach this goal. Get in touch if you think you might be the right person for our team.

Now we're looking for a Partner Development Manager who can help us to accelerate growth and build new partnerships.

Requirements

At iwoca, our partnerships are a significant part of our customer acquisition strategy and we are continuing to grow this area of the business. We have a wide range of partners such as market comparison websites, digital banks, accounting software platforms & SaaS providers. These partners refer customers to us in a number of ways but most commonly through our Application Programming Interface (API), which allows them to deliver a fast digital journey for their customers. Our Partner Development Manager will be responsible for growing our network of partners.

You will be the first point of contact for potential partners and work with them to agree terms and start generating new customer referrals.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Mapping out the market to determine which businesses we we want to target as potential partners
• Outreach to these potential partners with the objective of setting up an initial meeting
• Scoping initial opportunities so that we can prioritise how much resource we should invest in engaging them
• Following up internally after calls & meetings to set up detailed discussions with relevant teams at iwoca
• Designing high quality pitch materials so that we give a good impression of iwoca and convert more opportunities
• Contributing to important projects that support the development and growth of iwoca, such as new product testing,
• Representing iwoca at events & building a strong network of industry connections

• Providing general support where required across the partnerships channel

We look for people that are smart, humble, motivated and who are always looking to improve. Ideally, you’ll have:

• A passion for helping SMEs
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• The ability to build and maintain business relationships
• Strong commercial acumen
• Excellent time management and organisational skills
• Sales or business development experience
• You can demonstrate an interest in the wider lending/fintech market
• A network of industry contacts is preferable

Benefits

What’s life like as an iwocan?

We all enjoy:

• Bright, modern office spaces in Leeds & Fitzrovia. We have always supported flexible working however during the current pandemic the majority of iwocans are working from home. We have taken every precaution to keep our offices COVID-19 secure for those that need to use them.
• A calendar of ‘remote friendly’ events each week including Bingo, Comedy Nights, Escape Room challenges….
• Two company retreats a year (in places like the French Alps or Spanish seaside)
• Pool, ping pong, foosball tables and tournaments
• Virtual Yoga classes every Tuesday and Thursday morning
• An ever-growing number of clubs including climbing, chess, football and boxing
• Plenty of drinks and snacks in our office kitchen

Just for you:

• Medical insurance from Vitality, including discounted gym membership
• We take your well being incredibly seriously, so you’ll have instant access to emotional and mental health support services via our partner Spill
• Share options
• Enhanced maternity and shared parental leave
• A workplace nursery tax benefit scheme. Save £££ on your nursery costs
• 25 days holiday per year and an extra day off on your birthday
• All the equipment you need to set up your home working space up
• Paid volunteering time for you to support your chosen charity
• Extra leave if you want to travel or study
• Special celebrations for anniversaries and long service including sabbatical
• Flexible working arrangements
• Cycle-to-work scheme

And to make sure we all keep learning, we offer:

• L&D budget including a book budget to encourage you to keep learning
• Company-wide talks with internal and external speakers
• A calendar of meetups we host at our office
• Access to learning platforms like Treehouse if you want to learn to code.