Director of Partnerships (UGC & Creator Marketing)

About Cardiff

Cardiff lends to small businesses. Since 2004 we've funded more than $12 billion across the country, to businesses in logistics, healthcare, construction, professional services, and plenty in between. We're building our own underwriting technology, and we still answer the phone; our customers need capital fast, and they want a straight answer from a person who can actually help.

Location: Remote (U.S.)

Employment Type: Full-time

Department: Marketing

• Reports to: Chief Marketing Officer

About the role

We are seeking a strategic, executive-level Director of Partnerships to lead and scale our creator acquisition, influencer relations, and performance-driven content ecosystem. In this leadership role, you will bridge relationship management and performance marketing, spearheading high-impact creator partnerships and direct-response content pipelines.

You will own the overarching partnership strategy: negotiating high-value contracts, securing scalable usage rights, directing the continuous production of performance UGC, and unlocking new channel opportunities to diversify paid media spend across Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and emerging ad platforms.

What you'll do

Partnership Strategy, Creator Sourcing & Pipeline Leadership

• Design and execute the overarching creator partnership roadmap to consistently feed direct-response assets into paid acquisition channels.
• Oversee creator discovery, relationship management, and community-building across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
• Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) for creator onboarding, sample seeding, product fulfillment, and asset turnaround times.
• Build long-term ambassador relationships with top-performing creators to secure predictable, ongoing content pipelines.

Contract Negotiation, Commercials & Legal Governance

• Own enterprise-level deal negotiation, establishing competitive compensation models (flat-rate, performance-based, rev-share) that prioritize profitability.
• Secure multi-channel usage rights, perpetual licensing, whitelisting/creator licensing access, and exclusivity terms in coordination with legal counsel.
• Manage the partnership and creator production budget, tracking asset-level ROI and driving down customer acquisition costs through creative volume and efficiency.

Creative Direction & Asset Production Pipeline

• Collaborate with Performance Media, Brand, and Creative Strategy teams to translate quantitative insights into high-converting briefs, hooks, and storyboards.
• Enforce strict quality assurance on direct-response fundamentals: 3-second hook retention, clear problem-solution framing, audio/visual clarity, and strong calls-to-action (CTAs).
• Direct external creators and internal post-production editors on asset iteration (hook swaps, pacing adjustments, alternate B-roll, mashups) to maximize creative longevity.

Paid Media Alignment & Spend Diversification

• Direct the digital asset library (DAM) architecture to ensure seamless access to b-roll, native cuts, and raw assets for paid media buyers.
• Regularly review ad performance metrics (Thumbstop Rate, Hold Rate, CTR, ROAS, CPA) to identify creative fatigue and inform future partnership casting.
• Spearhead creative format diversification, engineering tailored UGC assets to scale spend into secondary channels like YouTube Shorts, Pinterest, and programmatic video networks.

Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years of experience leading creator partnerships, influencer programs, or UGC production, with significant experience in a high-growth direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand or performance marketing agency.
• Leadership & Commercial Acumen: Proven track record of managing substantial marketing budgets, negotiating complex licensing agreements, and driving measurable revenue growth.
• Direct-Response Expertise: Deep command of performance marketing metrics, consumer psychology, hook mechanics, and creative testing frameworks.
• Legal & Compliance Literacy: Strong understanding of IP law, digital copyright, FTC disclosure compliance, and digital advertising rights management.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to liaise between creative, growth marketing, finance, and legal teams to align partnership output with broader business goals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience scaling paid creator whitelisting strategies across Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Spark Ads, and Google/YouTube.
• Working knowledge of video editing workflows and creative asset management systems.
• Established industry network of creator agencies, managers, and top-tier UGC creators.perience and attributes of the ideal candidate

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary from $135,000+, with room above it for the right person
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) plan
• Flexible PTO and observed holidays
• Remote-first, with support for your home-office setup
• Direct access to leadership and to the problems that matter

Cardiff, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.