Vice President, Marketing and Partnerships; opens window

Grad Bridge Vice President, Marketing and Partnerships Newark, DE
· Full time Company website Apply for Vice President, Marketing and Partnerships

The VP of Marketing and Partnerships will lead Grad Bridge’s go-to-market strategy across strategic partnerships, direct-to-consumer, brand, performance marketing, and school-facing marketing. This executive will be responsible for building awareness, driving qualified demand, developing high-impact referral and distribution relationships, and helping position Grad Bridge as a trusted partner across the higher education and private student lending ecosystem.

Grad Bridge is an innovative fintech redefining access to higher education financing. Backed by $20 million in Series A funding led by Acorn Investment Partners, a portfolio company of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, we’re building a first-of-its-kind platform that helps qualified students who fall just below traditional approval cutoffs secure the funding they need to finish their degrees. With national reach and plans to open our Delaware headquarters in 2026, we’re growing a mission-driven team to shape the future of student lending.

This role requires a rare combination of strategic thinking and execution. The right candidate will be equally comfortable shaping the company’s market narrative, building a scalable marketing engine, managing external relationships, and rolling up their sleeves to launch campaigns, support partnerships, and track results. The VP of Marketing and Partnerships will work cross-functionally with leadership across product, credit, compliance, operations, finance, and external partners to support growth in a highly regulated environment.

• Design and execute campaigns that drive awareness, lead generation, and conversion across owned, earned, paid, and partner channels
• Monitor funnel performance and key KPIs including traffic, inquiries, lead capture, application starts, conversion, cost per lead, cost per funded loan, and channel ROI
• Own optimization of customer acquisition cost and other unit economics to support efficient, scalable growth
• Manage the marketing budget with discipline, ensuring investment decisions align with performance goals and company cost targets
• Test, optimize, and scale marketing programs using a data-driven approach, including audience segmentation, campaign performance analysis, and testing
• Partner closely with analytics and operations teams to improve attribution, reporting, and decision-making

• Develop and manage strategic partnerships that can expand Grad Bridge’s reach and referral volume
• Lead relationship development with referral partners, affiliates, schools, industry associations, and other ecosystem participants
• Support partnership structuring, launch planning, joint go-to-market coordination, and ongoing performance management
• Serve as a senior external-facing representative of Grad Bridge with prospective and existing partners
• Develop partner enablement materials including presentations, one-pagers, FAQs, training materials, and launch communications

• Develop and lead Grad Bridge’s integrated marketing strategy in support of company growth objectives
• Refine and strengthen Grad Bridge’s brand positioning, messaging, and value proposition across key audiences
• Build a thoughtful market presence that reinforces trust, credibility, and differentiation in the private student loan market
• Oversee content strategy, website messaging, thought leadership, PR support, social media, email marketing, and marketing collateral
• Help strengthen Grad Bridge’s visibility across emerging channels, including AI-driven search and discoverability environments

• Partner with Compliance and Legal to ensure marketing and partner activities align with regulatory expectations and internal standards
• Collaborate with Product, Credit, and Operations to align go-to-market plans with product capabilities, underwriting strategy, and customer experience goals
• Work with Finance and…