Our mission is to make higher education accessible and affordable for everyone. We empower students with financial support and supercharge their ability to pay down their debt, so they can get on the right financial track, fast.

We build tools that help people feel in control of their financial future, including:

Private student loans - low rates, people-first service, and flexible payments.
Student loan refinancing - break free from high-interest rates or monthly payments.
Scholarships - access to thousands of scholarships to help students pay less.

Earnies are committed to helping students live their best lives, free from the stress of student debt. If you’re as passionate as we are about our mission, read more below, and let’s build something great together!

The Senior Director, Partnerships Marketing position will report to our Chief Marketing Officer.

As the Senior Director, Partnerships Marketing, you will:

Develop and execute Earnest’s new partner strategy, building data-driven business cases and implementing a structured sales funnel to drive acquisition and meet KPIs.
Optimize existing partner performance through strategic placements, co-brand campaigns, product integrations, and competitive analysis to maximize volume and efficiency.
Lead and grow a high-performing partnerships team by setting clear goals, driving professional development, and fostering a results-oriented culture.
Align cross-functional teams by securing leadership buy-in, collaborating with product and engineering on integrations, and ensuring accurate partner marketing representation.
Leverage data and analytics to refine attribution models, track performance, and build accurate growth forecasts tied to revenue targets.
Act as the voice of the customer, ensuring Earnest capitalizes on partner platform opportunities and maintains a strong competitive position.

About You:

10+ years of experience in affiliate and partnership marketing, including strategy, execution, and performance measurement.
5+ years of leadership experience, with a track record of building high-performing teams and scaling affiliate partner portfolios.
Bachelors - Marketing, Business, Economics, Engineering or other related
Expertise in attribution models, marketing funnel measurement, experiment design, and data-driven decision-making.
Strong ability to source, negotiate, activate, and expand strategic marketing partnerships for growth and efficiency.
Experience in forecasting, budgeting, and optimizing acquisition strategies to drive revenue and automation.
Excellent executive communication skills, with the ability to present strategy, performance insights, and pipeline updates to leadership.

Even Better:

Established track record of Fintech Partnerships leadership and existing list of relationships

Where:

This role will be based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
While you’ll enjoy the flexibility of remote work, we also love to see our Earnies face-to-face! We ask you to join us at our Oakland office for 3 consecutive days a month for team collaboration and some fun. Its a chance to connect, share ideas, and maybe even grab some coffee together!

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A little about our pay philosophy: We take pride in compensating our employees fairly and equitably. We are showcasing a range of your potential base salary. The successful candidate’s starting pay will also be determined based on job-related qualifications, internal compensation, and budget. This range may be modified in the future.

Pay Range

$192,000—$217,000 USD

Earnest believes in enabling our employees to live their best lives. We offer a variety of perks and competitive benefits, including:

Health, Dental, & Vision benefits plus savings plans
Mac computers + work-from-home stipend to set up your home office
Monthly internet and phone reimbursement
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
401(k) plan to help you save for retirement plus a company match
Robust tuition reimbursement program
$1,000 travel perk on each Earnie-versary to anywhere in the world
Competitive days of annual PTO
Competitive parental leave

What makes an “Earnie” culture:

Drivers – Drivers are satisfied by making things happen, not coming along for the ride. They feel a strong sense of ownership for their projects and teams and demand high standards from themselves and others.
Humility – Humble team players check their egos and consider the team’s needs above their own. They are self-aware of their strengths and opportunities for improvement.
Growth Mindset – People with a growth mindset approach challenges and failures as learning opportunities. They seek feedback to improve, give feedback to others, and genuinely want to perform well.

At Earnest, we are committed to building an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging enables us to move forward with our mission. We are dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team and encourage anyone to apply if your experience is close to what we are looking for.

Earnest provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or genetics. Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for the position in a manner consistent with the Fair Chance Ordinance.