Analytics Lead

Job Description

Our Evp'S

About The Role

• Decline Analytics & Monitoring

• Pull and analyse daily and weekly decline data by code, MID, scheme, card type and time-of-day
• Classify all declines: issuer-side / acquirer-side / config / merchant data / 3DS failures
• Build and maintain an auth rate monitoring dashboard for the Auth Optimiser merchant portfolio
• Identify structural decline patterns versus one-off spikes and determine root cause
• Produce the Auth Rate Analysis Pack for every enterprise QBR — trends, benchmarks, top 10 decline codes, improvement plan
• Model revenue recovery: before/after auth rate comparisons and incremental TPV calculations

• Integration & Configuration Fixes

• Act as the primary interface between the analytics function and the Integration / Ecom Ops team
• Triage decline root causes that are config, data quality, tokenisation or 3DS-related
• Track all fix actions with owners and deadlines — hold the integration team accountable to agreed SLAs
• Validate improvements through post-fix data analysis before declaring resolution
• Escalate unresolved blockers to the integration lead — no action left without a status
• Issuer Engagement
• Identify the issuers generating the highest rates of false-positive declines across the merchant portfolio
• Prepare structured decline evidence packs for issuer engagement — data narrative, volume, trend, comparison to UAE benchmark
• Attend and lead the data portion of issuer engagement calls alongside the RM or Sales Director
• Track issuer commitments from each engagement and follow up until resolved
• Feed issuer outcomes and rule changes back into the merchant auth rate model

• Merchant & RM Support

• Brief RMs ahead of every QBR with the full auth rate picture and recommended talking points
• Attend QBRs with top-tier merchants to present the auth rate analysis and improvement plan directly
• Support RMs in price negotiation conversations by demonstrating the revenue value of NI's auth rate advantage
• Onboard new Auth Optimiser merchant engagements and manage the structured 90-day improvement programme

• Product & Process Development

• Own the Auth Optimiser SOP and keep it current as the service scales
• Feed insights on recurring decline patterns into the NI product roadmap (HPP, tokenisation, 3DS, wallet acceptance)
• Contribute to the commercial model for Auth Optimiser — success fee calculations, pricing proposals, case studies
• Build a library of merchant success stories and before/after evidence for use in sales processes

Qualifications

• 3–6 years of experience in payments, fintech or financial services in an analytics, operations or product role
• Strong understanding of card payment authorization flows: how transactions route, why they decline, the role of issuers and acquirers
• Proven experience with payments data analysis — comfort working with large decline datasets, building trend analysis and identifying root causes
• Experience working with or alongside relationship management or account management teams
• Strong written and verbal communication skills — able to present complex data to merchant CFOs and CTOs clearly
• Proficiency in Excel / data tools (SQL, Python or BI tools such as Tableau or Power BI are advantageous)
• Highly organised with strong project management skills — able to track multiple merchant engagements simultaneously

Desirable

• Direct experience with ecommerce payment gateways (NGO, MPGS, Adyen, Stripe, Checkout.com or similar)
• Experience in an acquiring or issuing processing environment
• Familiarity with Visa and Mastercard decline code frameworks and dispute resolution processes
• Experience engaging directly with issuing banks on operational payment issues
• Knowledge of 3DS, tokenisation and card scheme compliance requirements
• Arabic language skills are an advantage but not required

Competency

Analytical Thinking

Commercial Acumen

Stakeholder Management

Collaborative Working

Continuous Improvement