Director of Mortgage Lead Acquisition & Affiliate Partnerships

Rate is one of the nation’s top retail mortgage lenders, delivering a seamless, tech-driven experience that helps customers reach their homeownership and financial goals. Founded in 2000 and based in Chicago, Rate is licensed in all 50 states and D.C. and has helped over 2 million homeowners with a wide range of loan products, competitive rates and personalized service. With 5,000+ employees across 300+ offices and 12+ subsidiaries, Rate’s Loan Officers rank among the best in the country. From purchases and refinances to tapping into equity, Rate makes financing faster, simpler and less stressful. Our technology — including Same Day Mortgage, the Rate App, FlashClose℠, MyAccount and the Language Access Program — has earned recognition from HousingWire, Scotsman Guide, NerdWallet, the Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business. Learn more at rate.com.

Job Title: Director of Mortgage Lead Acquisition & Affiliate Partnerships

We are seeking a Director of Mortgage Lead Acquisition & Affiliate Partnerships to grow profitable loan production through purchased leads and performance-based partnerships. This leader will own the strategy, economics, and day-to-day performance of our affiliate and aggregator channels across mortgage products, including purchase, refinance, home equity, and second liens.

The right candidate knows how to buy more than lead volume. They can evaluate source quality, negotiate strong partner terms, and work across marketing and sales to turn leads into funded loans at an efficient cost.

Responsibilities

• Build and scale relationships with mortgage lead aggregators, rate-table publishers, comparison sites, and other affiliate partners.
• Own lead-buying budgets, pricing, volume commitments, and partner negotiations across CPL, CPC, and other performance-based arrangements.
• Evaluate partners by the full funnel: lead quality, contact rate, credit pulls, applications, locks, funded loans, revenue, and cost per funded loan.
• Set buying strategies by product, geography, loan amount, credit profile, and other performance segments.
• Partner with lead allocation, sales, and operations teams to improve routing, speed to contact, follow-up, and conversion.
• Test new partners and placements, scale profitable sources, and reduce spend where lead quality or funded loan performance falls short.
• Monitor lead validity, duplicate rates, returns, consumer experience, and adherence to company compliance requirements.
• Develop clear forecasts and performance reporting that connect partner spend to funded loan production and return on marketing investment.
• Lead and develop the affiliate acquisition team while providing regular recommendations to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in mortgage lead acquisition, affiliate marketing, aggregator partnerships, or a closely related performance marketing role.
• Proven experience buying and optimizing mortgage leads against funded loan outcomes.
• Strong relationships across mortgage publishers, aggregators, comparison platforms, and affiliate networks.
• Experience negotiating lead pricing, volume, placement, data access, and partner performance terms.
• Fluency in mortgage funnel metrics and the ability to identify where lead quality, routing, or sales execution is affecting results.
• Strong analytical and financial judgment, with experience managing significant acquisition budgets.
• Ability to work closely with sales, operations, analytics, finance, and compliance teams.

Applications are accepted on an on-going basis.

The company offers a comprehensive benefits program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; critical care insurance; personal accidental insurance; commuter benefits; pet insurance; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program); and other supplemental benefits (e.g., legal planning assistance; identity theft protection; wellness resources).

To apply, please submit your resume and application via LinkedIn.

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Rate is an Equal Opportunity Employer that welcomes and encourages all applicants to apply regardless of age, race, sex, religion, color, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital or parental status, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy or other reason protected by law