Payments Systems Techno-Functional Lead | IT People Gulf | Abu Dhabi, UAE

IT People Gulf; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 661,000 - 881,000; Full time

Job summary

IT People Gulf in Abu Dhabi seeks a Payments Systems Techno-Functional Lead to own the core payment systems governance, end-to-end project delivery, and regulatory change initiatives. The role requires 10+ years in banking/payments and a deep understanding of the UAE domestic payments ecosystem.

No coding is required, with a focus on delivery, governance, and stakeholder management. The candidate will drive roadmaps, coordinate with vendors and internal teams, ensure regulatory compliance, and

Qualifications

• Minimum 10+ years in banking/payments or related tech.
• Strong knowledge of UAE domestic payments ecosystem.
• No coding required; strong requirements facilitation.

Responsibilities

• Owns payment systems governance and end-to-end delivery.
• Clarifies business requirements with stakeholders and documents roadmaps.
• Oversees architecture, controls, and regulatory change initiatives.
• Leads vendor coordination and cross-functional collaboration.

Skills

UAE payments ecosystem

Stakeholder management

Regulatory change management

Vendor coordination

Solution design oversight

End-to-end project delivery

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Banking/CS/IS/Engineering

Tools

Jira

Confluence

ServiceNow

Job description

Position Summary:

Driving advanced payment systems architecture, UAE domestic payment ecosystems, and financial technology governance in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, IT People Gulf is actively seeking an experienced Payments Systems Techno-Functional Lead for a permanent full-time professional engagement (Immediate to 10 days notice required; UAE based candidates preferred). In this vital techno-functional leadership role, you will take full operational, tactical, and technical ownership of the bank’s core payment systems, requirements facilitation, stakeholder roadmapping, regulatory change management, solution design oversight, and end-to-end project delivery. Bringing 10+ years of progressive professional experience in banking, payments, financial services, or regulated payment-system ownership, you will empower an elite financial institution to achieve uncompromised operational resilience, seamless regulatory compliance, and superior payment transaction efficiency. This prestigious career opportunity offers competitive remuneration, senior executive exposure, and professional growth within a leading global technical recruitment and consulting enterprise.

Detailed Job Description:

As a Payments Systems Techno-Functional Lead supporting IT People Gulf on a professional basis in Abu Dhabi, UAE, you will take full operational, tactical, and technical ownership of payment systems governance, stakeholder coordination, end-to-end project delivery, and vendor management. Your day-to-day responsibilities include serving as the primary techno-functional lead for the bank’s payment systems with a strong command of the UAE domestic payments ecosystem, collaborating closely with business stakeholders to clarify and document complex business requirements, shaping technology roadmaps, priorities, and regulatory change initiatives, providing technical and functional oversight of performance, risk, controls, and management reporting, supporting solution design, testing, and issue resolution (note: programming or coding skills are not required), managing end-to-end project delivery implementations including internal stakeholder coordination and vendor team supervision, and interacting directly with talent acquisition teams like Sarita Sakhare at IT People Gulf. Furthermore, you will manage application requirements by submitting your updated CV via direct email to [e-mail].

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and govern the bank’s core payment systems infrastructure with expert mastery of the UAE domestic payments ecosystem.
• Collaborate proactively with business stakeholders to clarify, elicit, and document rigorous functional and technical requirements.
• Shape and execute technology roadmaps, strategic priorities, and business transformation initiatives.
• Support critical regulatory updates, scheme rule adjustments, settlement procedures, and business process changes.
• Provide comprehensive technical and functional oversight of system performance, risk controls, and executive management reporting.
• Drive solution design evaluation, user acceptance testing (UAT), and rapid issue resolution without requiring coding or programming skills.
• Manage end-to-end project delivery implementations, milestones, and deployment schedules.
• Coordinate internal stakeholders, business units, and external vendor teams to ensure seamless project execution.
• Enforce rigorous governance standards, reconciliation protocols, and data flow controls across all payment channels.
• Maintain meticulous project documentation, architectural diagrams, stakeholder meeting records, and operational runbooks.

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Banking, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• Minimum of 10+ years of progressive professional experience in banking, payments, financial services, or related technology.
• Proven background in regulated payment-system ownership, product management, digital transformation, or financial governance.
• Strong, demonstrable operational knowledge of the UAE domestic payments ecosystem, functionally (payment flows, scheme rules, settlement, reconciliation, regulatory requirements) and technically (system architecture, integration, interfaces, data flows, controls).
• Solid technical understanding required for solution design, testing, and issue resolution (note: programming or coding skills are not required).
• Strong requirements facilitation, delivery management, risk control, and senior stakeholder management skills.
• Hands-on project delivery experience managing end-to-end implementations and vendor coordination in a mixed techno-functional role.
• Mandatory immediate availability to 10 days notice period.
• Mandatory UAE residency or local availability for professional operations in Abu Dhabi (UAE-based candidates preferred).

Nice-to-Have Skills:

• Professional banking and payments certifications such as Certified Payments Professional (CPP) or Project Management Professional (PMP).
• Prior professional working experience supporting Tier-1 central banks, commercial banking institutions, or regional payment gateways in the GCC.
• Hands-on familiarity with ISO 20022 messaging standards, SWIFT global payments, and real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems.
• Experience utilizing enterprise agile tracking and IT service desk platforms (Jira, Confluence, ServiceNow).
• Active participation in regional banking forums, payments working groups, or financial technology associations.

Application Information:

• Recruiter: IT People Gulf Recruitment Division
• Contact Name: Sarita Sakhare (Technical Recruitment Lead)
• Email: [e-mail]
• Company Website: https://www.itpeoplegulf.com
• Salary/Rate: Market Competitive / Executive Banking Technology Package
• Work Schedule: Professional Operations (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
• Deadline: Open until filled (Urgent Abu Dhabi Payments Systems Lead Opening)
• Notice Period: Immediate to 10 Days Required (Mandatory)
• Contract Duration: Permanent / Full-Time Employment

Recruitment Pro Tip:

When applying for this Payments Systems Techno-Functional Lead position with IT People Gulf in Abu Dhabi, ensure your resume explicitly highlights your UAE domestic payments expertise, end-to-end project delivery tenure, and immediate-to-10-day availability status.