Financial Partnerships Specialist Skywards

Job Purpose

The Skywards Financial Partnerships team drives strategic collaboration with financial co-brand and points conversion partners to enhance member engagement and maximize partnership value. Focused on account relationship management, BAU operations, contract negotiations, and supporting marketing activations, the team ensures seamless execution of loyalty initiatives aligned with Emirates’ commercial and operational goals. Through data-driven insights and continuous process improvements, the team fosters strong, mutually beneficial relationships with partners to support Skywards’ growth ambitions.

As Financial Partnerships Specialist (Skywards), you will drive the performance of Skywards financial co-brand and points conversion partners and products, aligned with strategic, commercial, and operational objectives. Responsible for the day-to-day management and administration of Skywards financial partnerships, including the development and, execution, of business improvement activities, coordinating the tactical partnership marketing plan and addressing partnership operational needs to continuously improve member penetration and engagement per product and partner and extract maximum value from the partnership.

In This Role, You Will

• Support the Partnerships Manager with the sourcing and implementation of new loyalty partnership agreements according to the Financial Partnerships strategy and process, ensuring that all internal Emirates and Skywards stakeholders involved with implementation of such programs are accurately briefed and project-delivery focused according to the Skywards Department PMO process.
• Actively participate in contracting including negotiations and contract renewals with new and existing financial partners and provide input to the development of loyalty partnership contracts.
• Work with partners and Emirates Finance teams to ensure that all contractual payments are received according to payment terms throughout the duration of the partnership agreements. Manage any billing discrepancies, security/fraud concerns and cases, and partner queries in collaboration with the Skywards Partnerships support teams.
• Review partner performance against set targets to extract opportunities to drive growth. This will include helping the Partnership Manager build an annual joint calendar of activities per partner and managing milestones. Monitor the monthly and annual budget for all existing partners, identifying tactical, product, operation, process, and system support enhancement opportunities to increase revenue and to address negative forecast gaps.
• Work with Partnerships Activations team to manage tactical marketing/communications needs for partnerships within the assigned portfolio. This includes working with the partner to develop partnership promotions and providing relevant input for partner channel communications, newsletters, email, and app communications, emirates.com banner placements, and research surveys.
• Manage partnerships at an operational level to ensure the smooth running of all partner agreements. This will include following up on all service failures, contract SLAs, accounting and reconciliation issues, fraudulent activities, problem-solving and liaising with relevant departments within Emirates and within the partner organization to swiftly resolve all operational and customer service problems which relate to the partners.
• Work with Skywards Data Analytics team to provide accurate and regular reporting on Partner performance and campaign success for business updates to Partnerships team and Skywards Senior Leadership Team.
• Support in the design, development and implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enhance operational efficiency, ensure compliance with Emirates Skywards standards, and align with organizational goals. Involving cross-functional teams to ensure all stakeholders are informed and adhering to established protocols, while also monitoring and updating SOPs to adapt to evolving operational needs and risks.
  
  

Qualification

To be considered for this role, you must meet the below requirements:

• Degree or Honours (12+3 or equivalent) with 3+ years of commercial/sales experience.
• Experience in partnerships or account management, preferably managing financial institutions.
• Experience in loyalty, marketing, systems and operations management will be considered.
• Outstanding attention to detail and structured thinking, pertaining to operations, processes, and systems management.
• Demonstrated proficiency in analytical and numerical skills.
• Highly developed stakeholder management and interpersonal skills including empathy and communication.
• Strong negotiation skills with proven ability to persuade and influence decisions.
• Good grasp of financial industry and intellectual curiosity.
• Knowledge of marketing for above and below the line practices (incl. digital marketing).
• Track record of driving results through cross-functional collaboration.
  
  

Emirates Group, is an international organisation with employees from over 170 nationalities, we encourage applications from across the globe. Your application journey begins by applying via the Emirates Group Careers website. Please ensure your CV is up to date for our talent acquisition team to review your profile. If you meet the criteria of the role, you will then be invited to complete a HireVue video interview, to share more about your experience and your career aspirations. If you are shortlisted, you will then be invited to interview with our hiring managers. If you are successful, your recruiter will reach out to you with an offer and then our Onboarding team will ensure a smooth transition to your new role at Emirates Group.

Salary & benefits

Join us in a management role and enjoy an attractive tax-free salary. On top of our generous travel benefits, including discounted flights and hotel stays around the world, this managerial role also has an excellent leave and healthcare package. That’s on top of transport benefits, life insurance and more. Find out what it’s like to live and work in our fast-paced, cosmopolitan home city in the Dubai Lifestyle section of our website www.emirates.com/careers.

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