Director of Travel Agency Partnerships, Upgrade
Offering responsible credit to mainstream consumers
Be an early applicant
Offering responsible credit to mainstream consumers
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
1001+ employees
Company mission
To help our customers move in the right direction with responsible financial products that put more money in their pocket.
Role
Who you are
- The ideal candidate is passionate about the Travel Agent community and brings deep expertise in the Travel Advisor and Call Center ecosystem, including backend operations and technology platforms
- The ideal candidate possesses superior project management and communication skills with demonstrated experience collaborating with all levels of an organization and external partners
- This is a remote role based in United States or Canada, but requires frequent travel that may include weekends and/or off-hours support, and may require on-site meetings with Partners as needed
- 10+ years of Travel Agency experience with a focus on strategy, technology, training, and business development
- Deep knowledge of Travel Agencies’ booking systems, their UX and capabilities
- Proven experience developing training materials and delivering training in-person or via webinar
- Excellent analytical and presentation skills
- Superior written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate user and partner feedback into actionable product requirements for non-partner-facing stakeholders
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities calmly under pressure and ambiguity
- Methodical problem-solving skills with a continuous improvement mindset
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to work independently
- Demonstrated experience managing direct reports, team development, and budget oversight
- Nice to have: Bilingual in English and French or English and Spanish (oral and written)
What the job involves
- The Director of Travel Agency Partnerships is a pivotal leadership role responsible for driving the full lifecycle of the Flex Pay Agent Program — from strategic vision to day-to-day execution
- This individual will shape the program's commercial direction, modernize operational models, and deliver measurable growth across partnerships, agent engagement, and revenue
- They combine a data-driven mindset with strong relationship management skills, and have a proven track record of building high-performing teams and executing complex, multi-stakeholder growth strategies
- Own and execute the Agent Program strategy, 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 leverage 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 business development pipeline for new Agency Partners and expansion opportunities within the existing portfolio
- Develop growth strategy with Agency Partners via multi-channel approach and tapping into partners’ technology offerings
- Define and continuously improve internal processes supporting account 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 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, ensuring all deliverables meet partner specifications and timelines
- Serve as a key internal communicator, ensuring agent program targets and milestones are aligned with broader business goals
- Partner with Flex Pay Commercial teams to ensure up-to-date knowledge of Agent solutions for the broader partner portfolio
- Support other Commercial teams as needed on training
- Work closely with Customer Service to enhance operational processes and enable effective agent support
- Partner with Fraud Operations to monitor program activity and proactively mitigate risk
- Lead, develop, and retain the agent program team by setting clear goals, establishing accountability frameworks, and delivering consistent performance feedback
- Build and execute individualized development plans for each team member, identifying skill gaps and creating targeted opportunities for growth
- Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and results-oriented team culture that drives engagement and retention
- Set clear team priorities and manage workload distribution, ensuring resources are allocated effectively across concurrent initiatives
- Serve as an escalation point for team members on complex partner issues, providing coaching and guidance to build problem-solving capability
Our take
Most credit cards don't encourage the owner to pay down their debt. The longer it takes to pay off the balance, the more money lenders are set to make. Upgrade is an online lender and card issuer doing things differently. The company offers personal loans and credit cards, but with a fixed instalment structure and a set number of equal payments. This ensures the balance reduces every month.
The company believes this model reduces default rates, as borrowers are forced to pay down rather than maintain their debt, and it encourages a greater commitment to repay the balance. Further, by combining the ease of a Visa card with the fixed payments and decreased rates of a personal loan, Upgrade sets itself apart from competitors.
In 2021, Upgrade launched its mobile banking and debit card to onboard new customers and increase loyalty. The fixed-rate nature of the company's cards is expected to be of use to customers in future years in an environment of rising rates. Off the back of impressive growth milestones in 2025, the company raised $165 million in Series G funding, raising its valuation to $7.3 billion, a comfortable position for a future IPO.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
18% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
Oct 2025
$165m
SERIES G
Nov 2021
$280m
SERIES F
Total funding: $712m
Company benefits
- Stock option plan
- 100% paid coverage of medical, dental and vision insurance
- Flexible PTO
- Opportunities for professional growth and development
- Paid parental leave
- Health & wellness initiatives
Company HQ
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Renaud Laplanche
(Co-Founder & CEO)After an MBA at London Business School, Renaud spent 5 years as an Associate at Clearly Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and co-founded MatchPoint. They then left Oracle after a year to co-found Lending Club in 2006 and co-founded Upgrade in August 2016.
Adelina Grozdanova
(Co-Founder & Head of Investor Group)Adelina started their career with 6 years at Morgan Stanley after a degree at Princeton. They left banking in 2012 to join Lending Club as VP, and after 3 years co-founded Upgrade, serving as Head of Investor Group since 2016.
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