Strategic Partnerships Manager (Customer Growth & Loyalty)

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About the Team

Our beauty client's Loyalty team is made up of strategic thinkers and operators who collaborate to create meaningful experiences for their clients. The team includes leaders across loyalty programs, credit partnerships, promotions, and sampling, and works at the forefront of innovation to strengthen the brand's relationship with its community.

This team plays a critical role in evolving the loyalty ecosystem-identifying new partnership opportunities, enhancing client engagement, and building experiences that reinforce our beauty client's position as an industry leader. The environment is fast-paced, highly collaborative, and focused on continuous innovation.

Role Overview

Our beauty client is seeking a Loyalty Partnerships Lead to drive strategic partnerships, business development initiatives, and cross-functional programs within the loyalty ecosystem.

This role will focus on identifying and developing new loyalty partnerships while also managing key existing initiatives-most notably the loyalty partnership. The position requires strong collaboration across marketing, technology, analytics, and external partners to develop innovative solutions that enhance the customer loyalty experience.

The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with strong project management skills who can translate business opportunities into scalable partnership initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development & Partnership Strategy (50%)

• Support outreach and evaluation of potential loyalty partners, including market research and opportunity assessment.
• Coordinate NDAs, partnership discussions, and development of business proposals and presentation materials.
• Lead cross-functional brainstorming sessions to develop innovative partnership concepts within the loyalty ecosystem.
• Collaborate with technology teams to identify system capabilities and unlock new functionality through partnerships.
• Develop briefs and strategies for short-term promotional partnerships and strategic opportunities.
• Evaluate and vet reactive partnership opportunities as they arise.

Loyalty Partnership Management - Sephora at Kohl's (30%)

• Manage partnership initiatives and roadmap for the Sephora at Kohl's loyalty program, including technology enhancements and process improvements.
• Collaborate with Kohl's partners and internal teams to launch new features and optimize loyalty experiences.
• Develop strategic presentations and storytelling materials to support long-term partnership planning.
• Identify opportunities to streamline cross-team marketing processes and partnership execution.
• Support additional loyalty partnership opportunities as needed.

Communications, Measurement & Insights (20%)

• Partner with analytics teams to evaluate the performance of loyalty partnerships and promotional initiatives.
• Analyze results to identify strengths, opportunities for optimization, and future growth opportunities.
• Develop internal communication plans to share partnership updates, results, and strategic insights across teams.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in marketing, loyalty, partnerships, or promotional program leadership
• Bachelor's degree required
• Experience managing complex cross-functional projects
• Strong strategic planning and business development capabilities
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
• Proven ability to collaborate across marketing, technology, and analytics teams
• Strong understanding of digital platforms, customer engagement tools, and loyalty ecosystems

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and partnership development
• Cross-functional leadership
• Project management and operational execution
• Creative problem solving
• Data-driven decision making
• Strong understanding of marketing technology and digital platforms
• #LI-SH2