Vice President, Pricing and Merchant Strategy

Get to Know Us Kafene is revolutionizing the lease-to-own space. We're the point-of-sale powerhouse making flexible lease-to-own accessible to everyone—prime and non-prime customers alike. Our secret weapon? Cutting-edge AI and machine learning that analyzes 20,000+ data inputs in real-time, empowering retailers across furniture, appliances, electronics, tires, and durable goods to say "yes" to more customers. The numbers tell our story: over $500 million in sales and counting. But we're just getting started. Our 150-person team spans NYC headquarters, Wilmington, and remote talent across the globe—all united by a culture that thrives on collaboration, innovation, and genuine support. We don't just talk about great workplace culture; we deliver it. That's why Built In named us a Startup to Watch https://www.linkedin.com/company/built-in/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_detail_base%3B2jXPbPYzTW6P2Su6%2BfrBvw%3D%3D and Forbes recognized us as one of the Best Startup Employers https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelpeachman/2023/03/07/meet-americas-best-startup-employers-2023/?sh=5a67d150410c. Ready to be part of the fintech revolution? Join us. ABOUT THE ROLE Kafene is a B2B2C fintech: we partner with retailers who offer our lease-to-own product to their customers at checkout. Merchants are our distribution channel, and our merchant strategy is a key driver of growth for Kafene. Kafene is seeking a Vice President of Pricing and Merchant Strategy to drive how we engage, manage, and build strong partnerships with those retail partners. This person will lead pricing and treatment strategies across our merchants. Reporting to the Chief Risk Officer, this is a critical role with high exposure at Kafene. You will lead a capable team and partner closely with sales, finance, operations, and leadership to drive sustainable, profitable growth. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own the strategic direction of pricing, merchant lifetime management strategy and merchant review and treatment process - Lead and develop a team of pricing and risk professionals, including senior individual contributors and analysts - Innovate, guide, and set analytical bar for the team's quantitative work in SQL, Python, statistical analysis like decision tree tools, and experimentation; review and pressure-test analyses and recommendations before they reach the broader business - Own merchant management, analytics and merchant reports; monitor and deploy portfolio-wide adjustments where necessary - Partner with the revenue team to develop the best engagement strategies while maintaining profitability - Partner with sales, operations and compliance to design experiments, track their results, and propose the recommendations - Present findings, trade-offs, and recommendations to senior leadership in a clear, data-driven manner WHAT YOU'LL BRING - 7+ years of experience in pricing, risk, or marketing strategy within lending, credit or LTO industry — with at least 2 years managing a team - Proven track record of developing innovative business solutions that drive measurable outcomes - Hands-on experience with decision-tree analysis tools such as Knowledge Seeker or Enterprise Miner; familiarity with SQL, Python and sigma reporting. - Experience managing senior IC talent, including people whose technical depth in a given area may exceed your own - Strong cross-functional communicator who can translate complex analysis for sales, finance, operations, and engineering, and adjust depth and framing by audience - Demonstrated ability to make a contested call and own the outcome — frames trade-offs cleanly and pushes back constructively against senior stakeholders when the data warrants it - Experience with merchant management or small business lending is a plus. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS - Base Salary: $225,000-260,000 - Healthcare: We prioritize your well-being by covering 80–90% of medical, dental, and vision insurance costs, including coverage for your spouse, children, and other depende