Program Manager - Rewards & Marketplace

Open Rewards provides a shop-local rewards platform enabling cities to influence local spending in real time. Today, more than 100 communities use Open Rewards to strengthen their local economies. As we prepare for our next stage of growth, we are looking for a highly analytical and entrepreneurial leader to help our partners maximize the impact of their programs.

We are funded by notable pre-seed and seed stage investors including the Alchemist Accelerator, Govtech Fund, and Stanford Impact Fund.

Role Description

You will own the growth and success of a portfolio of community rewards programs.

This is not a typical program manager role. You will act as a strategic advisor, marketplace operator, and growth leader - helping communities increase user adoption, engagement, local spending, and economic impact. You will analyze data, develop growth strategies, recommend incentive structures, identify opportunities for improvement, and work directly with community leaders to drive results.

Success in this role means helping communities achieve meaningful outcomes while developing repeatable playbooks that can be scaled across the Open Rewards network.

What You'll Do

Program Strategy & Growth

* Own the performance of a portfolio of city-sponsored rewards programs

* Analyze user behavior, transaction data, and marketplace trends

* Develop growth strategies to increase user acquisition, activation, retention, and local spending

* Design and recommend rewards campaigns, referral programs, seasonal promotions, district-based incentives, and merchant engagement initiatives

* Identify underperforming programs and create action plans to improve results

Marketplace Optimization

* Develop recommendations for rewards budget allocation and program design

* Identify opportunities to drive spending toward specific businesses, districts, events, or community priorities

* Monitor marketplace health and recommend interventions based on data

* Build repeatable frameworks and playbooks that improve program outcomes across communities

Partner Success & Strategic Advisory

* Serve as a trusted advisor to economic development leaders, city staff, and community partners

* Lead strategy discussions and present recommendations to stakeholders

* Conduct regular business reviews and growth planning sessions

* Help partners understand performance metrics and maximize the return on their investment

What We're Looking For

* 3+ years of experience in one or more of the following:

• Loyalty, rewards, cashback, card-linked offer, or incentive programs
• Marketplace, fintech, payments, or local commerce
• Consumer marketing, growth strategy

* Experience designing programs, campaigns, or initiatives that drive measurable behavioral change

* Strong analytical skills and comfort working with data

* Excellent communication and presentation skills

* Meticulous with details

* Ability to manage multiple stakeholders and priorities simultaneously

* Highly proactive, resourceful, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving startup environment

Open Rewards is building a new category at the intersection of local commerce, economic development, rewards, and fintech. You'll have the opportunity to shape how communities influence local spending and create measurable economic impact at scale. If this sounds exciting to you, we'd love to meet you.

This is a full-time remote position. You will report directly to the Founder/CEO.