Required Skills & Experience
Fintech, banking, payments, embedded finance, or similar relevant industry experience
- Strong technology orientation; needs to understand fintech business models rather than be a traditional commercial banker
- Proven ability to build and maintain relationships with fintech partners and internal stakeholders
- Ability to quickly establish a network and generate new fintech partnership opportunities
- Comfortable attending conferences, networking events, and industry events to build Academy Bank’s presence and surface opportunities
- Proven business development/sales ability with experience developing a pipeline and closing complex partnerships
- Ability to evaluate prospective fintech partners based on strategic fit, commercial opportunity, operating model, and risk
- Strong relationship/account management skills after a partnership is established
- Ability to understand a fintech’s product, technology, customer base, business model, decision-makers, and growth potential
- Strong communication and executive presence
- Experience influencing decision-makers and navigating complex partnership agreements
- Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills
- Comfortable operating in a regulated environment and balancing sales/growth with appropriate risk stewardship
- Ability to work cross-functionally with Program Management, Operations, Technology, Compliance, Risk, Legal, and governance stakeholders
- Comfortable in an externally facing, performance-driven sales role
Nice to Have Skills & Experience
Direct experience working at a fintech
- Experience at a bank supporting fintech, payments, embedded banking, or sponsor-bank relationships
- Payments industry experience
- Embedded Banking / Banking-as-a-Service experience
- Existing fintech industry network
- Experience selling or developing partnerships through industry conferences and networking rather than primarily cold calling
- Sponsor-bank experience
- Experience negotiating pricing and complex partnership agreements
- Experience managing fintech relationships from initial prospecting through onboarding and maturity
- Experience working with non-standard or emerging fintech business models
Job Description
Insight Global is looking for an Embedded Banking Relationship Manager to help grow Academy Bank’s Embedded Banking division by identifying, developing, closing, and managing strategic fintech partnerships. This is a highly external role, with approximately 70% of the position focused externally and 30% internally. The Relationship Manager will attend conferences, networking events, and other industry functions to build awareness of Academy Bank, develop a strong fintech network, and identify potential partners. Rather than relying heavily on traditional cold calling, this person will be expected to leverage industry relationships, referrals, networking, and conferences to surface opportunities. Once an opportunity is identified, this person will work to determine whether the fintech represents the right strategic, financial, operational, and risk fit for the bank. They will develop a deep understanding of the fintech’s business model, technology, products, customer base, leadership, and growth opportunity while helping move qualified relationships through the bank’s internal governance and approval processes. The role will own the commercial relationship and act as an account manager for assigned fintech partners, identifying opportunities to expand relationships while maintaining strong communication with the partner. Internally, this individual will coordinate closely with Program Management, Operations, Technology, Compliance, Risk, Legal, and governance stakeholders to support onboarding, program changes, escalations, and ongoing relationship management. Ultimately, this person needs to be equally comfortable selling externally and navigating a regulated bank internally. They should understand technology and fintech well enough to establish credibility with prospective partners while using sound judgment to determine which opportunities are worth pursuing.