Global Partnerships Lead, Commerce

Block is one company built from many blocks, all united by the same purpose of economic empowerment. The blocks that form our foundational teams - People, Finance, Counsel, Hardware, Information Security, Platform Infrastructure Engineering, and more - provide support and guidance at the corporate level. They work across business groups and around the globe, spanning time zones and disciplines to develop inclusive People policies, forecast finances, give legal counsel, safeguard systems, nurture new initiatives, and more. Every challenge creates possibilities, and we need different perspectives to see them all. Bring yours to Block.
The Role
The Commerce Global Partnerships team at Block leads commercialization and business development for our commerce payment products, Cash App Pay and Afterpay. Our ambitious team drives go-to-market strategy for our commercial products, builds effective relationships with the largest players in the payments, finance, and technology industries, and drives critical results across the business. We are looking for an experienced Partnerships and Business Development leader to lead a team of seasoned partnerships practitioners.
The Global Partnerships Lead, Commerce will partner closely with cross-functional leaders in every region in which we operate to drive the next phase of growth for Afterpay and Cash App Pay. You'll partner directly with our Product teams and collaborate with cross-functional colleagues in Sales, Account Management, Finance, Legal, Compliance and Engineering. You'll create strategy for programs and deals critical to Cash App and Afterpay success, innovate at the cutting edge of payments, and deliver direct and indirect revenue that will have a massive impact on the commerce business. Your scope will be global across North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
The ideal candidate will have an understanding of the economics of the payments space and deep knowledge of the payments ecosystem, and current trends that are reshaping the payments landscape. This individual should also have an understanding of what will be needed to properly resource a partner strategy, and work with stakeholders to develop a plan for ensuring the success of a partner. A deep sense of ownership, drive, entrepreneurship, creativity and a strong track record of establishing strong partner relationships are essential.
You Will

• Lead a high-performing team: Coach, support, and manage a team of seasoned business development professionals, and jump into negotiations and offer executive support where needed.
• Drive Afterpay and Cash App Pay distribution: Grow our channel partner strategy to deliver impactful results. You will look for new ways to invest in and nurture 50+ global channel partners that are responsible for >50% of Afterpay and Cash App Pay's $XXB in gross payment volume. You will also drive new end-to-end partner outreach and negotiations to deliver maximum distribution of our payments products.
• Design scalable programs: Build partnership programs that both achieve our goals and meet our partners' objectives, recognizing that "signing the deal" is just step one of a good partnership.
• Sell: Develop and deliver powerful pitches that educate prospective partners on the value of Cash App and Afterpay. Effectively influence senior decision makers at the largest payments companies in the world. Negotiate hard yet pragmatically, using data and principles to inform your approach.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives: Establish yourself as the go-to commercial voice for our business development efforts. Provide critical market feedback to improve our product. Drive efficiencies and improvements that accelerate our timelines, particularly with critical stakeholders in Risk, Compliance, Legal and Sales. Work well across organizational boundaries to get things done, unblock your team and achieve results, but do so in a way that builds rather than burns bridges.
• New growth channels: Identify new partnerships and vertical opportunities to drive step-change growth and future proof our business. Build business cases, identify partners, drive approvals in partnership with Product, Compliance and Risk teams, and design new commercial models to pursue targeted bets.

You Have

• 12+ years of business development experience, preferably at an innovative payments company.
• Experience managing a team of 5+, preferably in multiple markets.
• Passion for developing your people and creating a culture of collaboration, safety and uncompromising high performance.
• A demonstrated track record of success creating and scaling channel partnership programs, ideally in payments or fintech.
• A high familiarity and comfort with how product development works, preferably in payments. You hold your own pitching to technical stakeholders, and you have credibility with your internal product and engineering colleagues.
• Proven ability to build C-suite relationships and navigate external organizations both to identify internal champions and to influence decision makers. You are an expert negotiator with a strong understanding of commercial contracts and financial models.
• Sharp problem solving and communication skills. You're a killer sales person and strategic thinker who comes armed to internal and external conversations with the right data and analysis to make a convincing argument.
• Deep comfort operating in ambiguity and frequent change, while still delivering results.
• An unwavering obsession with the details.
• A hunger to tackle complicated and impactful business problems and build best-in-class products and partnerships programs.
• A scrappy and humble mindset. You roll up your sleeves to get deals over the finish line and you're not afraid to admit when you're wrong or when you don't know.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally

We're working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is an equal opportunity employer evaluating all employees and job applicants without regard to identity or any legally protected class. We will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.
We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible. Want to learn more about what we're doing to build a workplace that is fair and square? Check out our I+D page .
While there is no specific deadline to apply for this role, U.S. roles are typically open for an average of 55 days before being filled by a successful candidate. Please refer to the date listed at the top of this job page for when this role was first posted.
Block takes a market-based approach to pay, and pay may vary depending on your location. U.S. locations are categorized into one of four zones based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. The successful candidate's starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.
To find a location's zone designation, please refer to this resource . If a location of interest is not listed, please speak with a recruiter for additional information.
Zone A:
$239,600 - $359,400 USD
Zone B:
$239,600 - $359,400 USD
Zone C:
$239,600 - $359,400 USD
Zone D:
$239,600 - $359,400 USD
Use of AI in Our Hiring Process
We may use automated AI tools to evaluate job applications for efficiency and consistency. These tools comply with local regulations, including bias audits, and we handle all personal data in accordance with state and local privacy laws.
Contact us at [email protected] with hiring practice or data usage questions.
Every benefit we offer is designed with one goal: empowering you to do the best work of your career while building the life you want. Remote work, medical insurance, flexible time off, retirement savings plans, and modern family planning are just some of our offering. Check out our other benefits at Block.
Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) builds technology to increase access to the global economy. Each of our brands unlocks different aspects of the economy for more people. Square makes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers. Cash App is the easy way to spend, send, and store money. Afterpay is transforming the way customers manage their spending over time. TIDAL is a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs. Bitkey is a simple self-custody wallet built for bitcoin. Proto is a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we're helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.