Payments Governance Manager

Set the strategic direction for payments governance, balancing disciplined risk management with responsible business growth across products, regions, and regulatory environments

Lead and develop a multi-level team through clear priorities, coaching, performance management, and succession planning

Provide subject matter expertise on payments risk, payment network rules, and applicable regulatory and policy requirements impacting third-party payment processing

Direct the evaluation of issues, risk events, and control gaps by assessing materiality and root cause, defining mitigation plans, and driving timely escalation and closure

Own the governance framework for onboarding due diligence, assessments, periodic monitoring, evidence standards, quality assurance, documentation retention, and remediation tracking

Deliver a modernization roadmap to replace manual processes with scalable workflows, automation, analytics, and technology-enabled monitoring

Lead transformation programs end-to-end, including business case development, scope and resource planning, change adoption, and executive reporting

Use risk indicators, control results, and portfolio trends to identify vulnerabilities, prioritize interventions, and measure governance outcomes

Partner with product, technology, risk, fraud, credit, compliance, legal, sales, finance, and operations stakeholders to embed governance requirements across the client and product lifecycle

Advise senior stakeholders on risk posture, trade-offs, escalations, remediation plans, and readiness decisions with clear, structured communication

Promote a culture of ownership, integrity, continuous improvement, and constructive challenge to strengthen governance and controls

Leadership experience in payments, merchant acquiring, financial services, third-party risk, governance, operations, or another highly regulated environment

Experience leading complex, cross-functional programs from strategy through implementation, including governance, milestones, dependencies, and change management

Demonstrated ability to evaluate risk and control effectiveness, identify emerging risk themes, and drive appropriate escalation and remediation

Experience using data, key risk indicators, and trend analysis to generate actionable insights and influence decisions

Ability to partner effectively with technology teams to translate business and control requirements into implementable solutions

Demonstrated ability to communicate complex topics clearly to senior stakeholders, including through written materials and presentations

Demonstrated judgment and decision-making under pressure, including managing sensitive escalations and driving accountable resolution

Demonstrated people leadership, including coaching, talent development, and fostering an inclusive team culture

Willingness and ability to travel as needed ( TBD travel frequency/expectations)

Experience with payment facilitator, marketplace, staged digital wallet operator, business payment service provider, full liability submitter, or comparable third-party payment models

Knowledge of major payment brand program rules and acquirer obligations (for example, Visa and Mastercard)

Experience modernizing governance, risk, or operations through workflow technology, automation, artificial intelligence, analytics, or digital reporting

Experience designing or enhancing risk-based monitoring, issue management, control testing, due diligence, quality assurance, or remediation frameworks

Working knowledge of analytics and project delivery tools (for example, Alteryx, Tableau, Microsoft Project, or similar platforms)

Experience supporting regulatory examinations, audits, payment brand reviews, or senior governance forums

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in business, finance, risk management, technology, operations, or a related discipline