--- title: 'Strategic Clients & Partnerships Manager, Americas at Ascenda' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-clients-partnerships-manager-americas-ascenda-new-york-d6s0vvtjkesz' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-11' --- # Strategic Clients & Partnerships Manager, Americas at Ascenda - **Company:** Ascenda - **Location:** New York, NY - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-08-06 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11 - **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/ascenda-loyalty/am9icG9zdDoEnAaUXHJZ0MWfCD4qd6d7 ## Job description Great to Meet You! We are Ascenda Ascenda powers the growth of leading financial services brands worldwide with premium rewards programs that differentiate their products, drive profitable customer behaviors, and create sustained engagement. We are behind the world-class rewards propositions of major banks and fintechs around the globe, including brands like American Express, Capital One, Brex, Revolut, Ramp, HSBC, Bank of New Zealand, Virgin Money (Australia), Bradesco (Brazil), ANZ (Australia), HDFC (India) and many others. We are a thriving global Loyalty-as-a-Service company and experiencing rapid expansion. Join our dynamic finance team as one of its earliest leaders, contributing to the development of our financial planning strategies as we strive for hypergrowth. Our team spans 20 cities worldwide, with dual headquarters in Singapore and New York, totaling 200 team members. The Role: Strategic Clients and Partnerships Manager, Americas Working hybrid from our New York office, you will support the Director and VP of Strategic Clients and Partnerships, Americas, in delivering key initiatives across our portfolio of banking, fintech and loyalty partners. Partnering closely with clients, loyalty partners, and cross-functional teams, you will coordinate complex commercial initiatives, manage high-impact loyalty and rewards campaigns, and help execute strategic priorities that drive client growth, engagement, and long-term success across the Americas. This includes collaboration with Ascenda’s team of Partnership Managers, Marketing, Product and Strategic Clients. You will play a pivotal role in growing Ascenda’s brand and footprint across the Americas region. This is your opportunity to take end-to-end responsibility for driving forward a thriving technology business in a buzzing market. ## Your Impact - Support the Director and VP of Strategic Clients and Partnerships (Americas), in managing and growing Ascenda’s existing portfolio of airline, hotel and loyalty program partners across our full suite of loyalty solutions - Support the successful execution of client initiatives and marketing campaigns by coordinating cross-functional deliverables, managing day-to-day operational requests and escalations; and ensuring seamless delivery across Customer Service, Technology, Marketing, Legal, and Product teams to drive client and partner success - Measure and analyze the performance of Ascenda’s partnerships and marketing campaigns, develop insights and advise clients on options to improve performance - Participate in business reviews with the Director and VP of Strategic Clients and Partnerships, Americas and senior management teams both internally and externally - Support the development of new products and strategic opportunities ## Who You Are - Bachelor’s degree in any discipline - 5+ years of experience in B2B partnerships, marketing, or client-facing roles such as account management - Strong client and stakeholder management skills with a collaborative and influential leadership style that drives high performance, fosters innovation and engenders a positive team culture - Strong marketing and analytical skills to lead cross-functional teams in developing and executing joint campaigns with clients & partners - Experience within airline / hotel / loyalty / financial services is a big plus - Ability in project management and a proven track record of efficiently handling multiple projects and campaigns simultaneously, ensuring timely completion with high quality - Comfortable with numbers, strong ability to monitor and analyze performance, develop insights and tell compelling stories - Cultural sensitivity and an ability to develop strong relationships with partners and clients from different cultures and backgrounds in the Americas region - Ability to navigate and work fluidly within a fast-paced and changing work environment is a must - Strong alignment with Ascenda’s core values of growth mindset, hands-on ownership, supportive collaboration, and radical simplicity - Willing to take initiative and work independently The salary range for this position is between $95,000 to $120,000 per year, depending on experience and location. Why Join Ascenda? Ascenda offers the unique opportunity to lead in the loyalty ecosystem space, shaping the future of rewards programs. We are passionate, we keep things simple, we focus on results, we work together & we innovate! We have a rewarding working place that provides a: - Competitive salary and benefits - Travel benefits - Flexible working environment - Comfortable working environment - Diverse and friendly working culture. - High growth environment & exponential career development - Mobile & flexible work environment - Competitive compensation - Travel perks & Employee rewards Ascenda is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We thank you for your understanding that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews. Ready to power growth for the financial services industry? Apply now! Together, we'll redefine what's possible. ## About Ascenda ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Ascenda delivers loyalty-as-a-service, powering rewards programs and customer engagement for leading financial services brands through a global, API‑connected rewards ecosystem. - **Entity Type**: Private (Growth Equity stage; last disclosed round $7M from Claret Capital Partners in 2015) - **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States (office also in Singapore) - **Founded**: 2014 (originated as Kaligo Solutions in 2013) - **Founders**: Not publicly disclosed (CEO: Kyle Armstrong) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Financial technology (fintech) / Loyalty & Rewards Infrastructure - **Target customers**: Banks, fintechs, digital wallets, and financial services brands (B2B, enterprise) - **Mission statement**: “Deliver loyalty as a service, and make customer engagement effortless for leading brands, with the world’s most connective rewards ecosystem.” ## Products & Services - **End‑to‑End Rewards Platform**: An API + white‑label UI that gives banks a complete rewards program “in a box”. Includes rewards calculation and trigger‑based campaign engine, rewards currency ledger, user‑facing rewards portal, and a broad marketplace of rewards content (gifts cards, merchandise, travel booking, points exchange, carbon offset, crypto, purchase eraser, cash out to digital wallets, premium benefits). Type: SaaS/API. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private) - **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue estimated at $50M (source: company profile database) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Claret Capital Partners (lead investor); strategic partners include Hilton Honors, HSBC, Capital One, American Express, Virgin Money Australia. - **Growth Signals**: - Announced strategic partnership with Hilton Honors (Sep 2025) - Hired Abeer Bhatia as President of Strategy & Growth (Jul 2025), former senior roles at American Express, Chase, Wells Fargo - Active job postings: 14 as of search date; yearly job posting trend +40% - Workforce distributed across 12 countries; technical staff ~24% of total ## Competitive Advantages - **Two‑sided network effect**: Connects financial institutions to a global network of merchant, travel, and content partners through a single API – creates switching costs and scaling benefits. - **White‑label + API approach**: Banks can embed a fully branded rewards experience without building from scratch, reducing time‑to‑market. - **Deep industry relationships**: Long‑standing deals with major global banks (HSBC, Amex, Capital One) and recent win with Hilton demonstrate trust and incumbency. ## Strategic Focus - **Current priorities**: Expanding the lifestyle merchant network (pets, fitness, beauty, wellness, gaming) through a VP of Lifestyle Content Business Development role; deepening partnerships in the Americas; scaling the technical platform (hiring Senior DevOps, Platform Engineers) and enabling personalized, data‑driven rewards. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Described as a “Most Loved Workplace®”; emphasis on building deep customer relationships. Hybrid/office policy (NYC HQ with on‑site presence expected; also Singapore offices). - **Engineering culture**: Technical team makes up ~24% of workforce; roles include Senior Analytics Engineer, Senior DevOps, Software Engineers, and Platform Engineering – suggests a modern cloud‑native, microservices environment. - **Notable perks & growth**: Opportunity to work on loyalty infrastructure used by top global financial brands; recent hires from Amex, Chase, Wells Fargo indicate a high‑caliber peer group; cross‑functional collaboration between product, engineering, design, and business development. - **Talent sources & alumni**: Many employees come from American Express, DBS Bank, Standard Chartered, and local Singapore institutions; alumni move to PayPal, OCBC, Visa, TikTok, Shopee – signaling strong talent mobility. ## Sources 1. [LinkedIn – Ascenda](https://linkedin.com/company/ascenda-loyalty) 2. [Built In – Ascenda](https://builtin.com/company/ascenda) 3. [Built In – Ascenda Jobs](https://builtin.com/company/ascenda/jobs) 4. [Most Loved Workplace – Ascenda](https://mostlovedworkplace.com/companies/ascenda/) 5. [CBInsights – Ascenda](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/ascenda-1) ## Other roles at Ascenda - [DevOps Engineering Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/devops-engineering-manager-ascenda-singapore-5krzp70w6rfx) — Singapore - [Strategic Clients & Partnerships Executive, Americas](https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-clients-partnerships-executive-americas-ascenda-new-york-9qykgr1dbfht) — New York, NY - [General Counsel (5-Month Fixed-Term Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/general-counsel-5-month-fixed-term-contract-ascenda-united-states-avys65jb6qpr) — United States - [VP Lifestyle Content, Business Development](https://feeny.ai/job/vp-lifestyle-content-business-development-ascenda-new-york-a39qjfhnydfh) — New York, NY - [Customer Service Executive (1 Year Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-service-executive-1-year-contract-ascenda-singapore-868xwrvysbr9) — Singapore