Sr Manager, Strategic Partnerships

Intro

Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board!

Why you'll love this job

The Sr Manager, Strategic Partnerships will lead the strategic development, execution, and performance management of non-air, non-bank third-party partnerships. This role is responsible for driving commercial success, managing partner relationships, and leading cross-functional initiatives that support the long-term growth of the AAdvantage program.

What you'll do

As noted above, this list is intended to reflect the current job but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced.  Management will modify the job or require other tasks be performed whenever it is deemed appropriate to do so, observing, of course, any legal obligations including any collective bargaining obligations.

 

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive strategy for non-air, non-bank partnerships, aligning with broader AAdvantage and enterprise goals.

• Manage all commercial aspects of existing and future partnerships, including contract negotiations, performance tracking, and full P&L ownership.

• Identify and evaluate new partnership opportunities that drive incremental value, diversify revenue streams, and enhance the member experience.

• Develop and lead high-impact projects from ideation through execution, including business case development, stakeholder alignment, and executive-level communications.

• Partner with internal teams (e.g., Marketing, Legal, Finance, Technology, Operations) to ensure seamless execution of partnership initiatives and integration into the AAdvantage ecosystem.

• Shape and maintain a forward-looking roadmap for partnership growth, incorporating market trends, member insights, and competitive intelligence.

• Build and refine scalable processes, tools, and governance frameworks to support efficient partnership management and long-term business sustainability.

• Mentor and develop team members, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement within the partnership function.

All you'll need for success

Minimum Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field; MBA preferred

• 7+ years of experience in partnership management, strategy, or business development

• Proven track record of managing complex projects and delivering results

 

Preferred Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience

• Airline related experience

• Graduate level education in relevant field

• 7-10 years successful partnerships and financial analysis experience

 

Skills, Licenses & Certifications

• Excellent strategic planning that balances potential and achievability.

• Strong financial acumen with experience owning P&L responsibilities

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

• Experience in loyalty programs or travel industry preferred

• Strong negotiation skills that lead to mutually beneficial deals

• Ability to accurately diagnose known and unknown business needs and translate needs into opportunities and appropriate offerings.

• Effective leveraging of value delivered to increase mutual value.

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office to include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.

• Strong knowledge of and ability to implement value-based airline partnerships, particularly FFP relationships.

• Proven ability to successfully leverage internal resources and to lead cross-functional teams outside of a formal reporting structure.

• Strong executive level presence and impact.

What you'll get

Feel free to take advantage of all that American Airlines has to offer: 

• Travel Perks: Ready to explore the world? You, your family and your friends can reach 365 destinations on more than 6,800 daily flights across our global network.
• Health Benefits: On day one, you’ll have access to your health, dental, prescription and vision benefits to help you stay well. And that’s just the start, we also offer virtual doctor visits, flexible spending accounts and more. 
• Wellness Programs: We want you to be the best version