Strategic Partner Management Associate

Operating within the Banking Foundations Domain, this Strategic Partner Management Associate role connects high-level strategy with day-to-day operational execution. You will act as a key liaison connecting external partners with internal stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Security, balancing senior external partner management with hands-on operational execution.

What you'll do

• Support Leadership on Executive Reviews (QBRs/HBRs): Prepare, facilitate, and follow up on high-stakes Quarterly and Half-Yearly Business Reviews with external strategic partners and internal domain leaders.
• Build, maintain, and present intuitive dashboards, performance metrics, and deep-dive analytical views to track vendor SLAs, quality metrics, and productivity trends to help leadership make informed decisions.
• Design, implement, and run monthly processes to gather multi-source invoice inputs, perform accounting reconciliations, and validate complex partner billing against contracted rates.
• Track invoice accuracy metrics, establish financial anomaly triggers, and support finance and procurement teams manage and resolve complex billing disputes with external vendors.
• Support procurement team in execution and oversight of Master Services Agreements (MSAs), ensuring ongoing compliance with Security, IT, Legal, Tax, Financial Invoicing, and Business Continuity Plans (BCP) standards.
• Conduct rigorous procurement procedures, risk assessments, and technical readiness evaluations to seamlessly onboard and offboard external technology and service providers.
• Act as the central interface for internal and external auditors, facilitating audit requirements and coordinating documentation, evidence collection, and remediations across external vendor stakeholders.

What you'll need

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, IT, or related quantitative field.
• 2–4+ years of hands-on experience in vendor management, strategic account management, BPO/ITO governance, or consulting/finance operations.
• Foundational accounting knowledge with experience in multi-source invoice reconciliation, cost tracking, and financial dispute resolution.
• Experience liaising with internal/external auditors or handling compliance, risk assessment, and/or regulatory reviews within tech or banking environments.
• Proven track record of managing cross-functional projects, designing structured workflows, and delivering under tight timelines.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills with ability to work cross-functionally across multiple business units with autonomy.
• Ability to distil informal customer and partner requirements into problem definitions, dealing with ambiguity and competing objectives.
• Fluency in English.

Nice to have

• Experience working for or with retail banks, neobanks and fintechs.
• Lean/Six Sigma experience or certification.
• International travel capability (up to 20%).

What they offer

• Competitive personal development budget and work from home budget.
• Discounts to fitness, wellness memberships, language apps and public transportation.
• Premium N26 bank account subscription and access for friends and family.
• Vacation days vary by location with an additional day of annual leave for each year of service.
• Relocation package with visa support.