Consulting Manager – Business Systems Analyst (BFSI Payments)

Cognizant; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 81,000 - 128,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus PTO

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking a Manager, Consulting – Business Systems Analyst (BFSI Payments) in a hybrid role based in Toronto. You will bridge business and technology, translating payments workflows into clear requirements and leading end-to-end initiatives for SWIFT, CREST Clearing, CHAPS Direct Clearing.

You will mentor junior BSAs, drive UAT, and ensure compliance with regulatory needs while coordinating across delivery teams and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IS/Business/CS or related field.
• 8+ years as a Business Systems Analyst in financial services/payments.
• Manager-level experience with payments platforms and stakeholder collaboration.
• Strong background in financial institution payments including SWIFT.

Responsibilities

• Elicit and translate payments and clearing workflows into BRDs, user stories, and flows.
• Liaise between business and tech teams; support sprint planning, backlog, and UAT.
• Perform integration analysis and data mapping across SWIFT, CREST, CHAPS, and related systems.
• Support design and enhancement of payments/clearing solutions and vendor evaluation.
• Plan and execute UAT with scripts, defects, and business sign-off.
• Lead and mentor junior BSAs; coordinate cross-workstream dependencies.

Skills

Payments domain

SWIFT

Data analysis

Agile/Scrum

Waterfall

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Systems / Business Administration / Computer Science

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Azure DevOps

Job description

Cognizant Consulting is more than Cognizant's consulting practice—we're a global community of 5,000+ experts dedicated to helping clients reimagine their business. Blending deep industry and technology advisory capabilities, we create innovative business solutions for Fortune 500 clients. And now, we're looking for our next colleague who will join us in shaping the future of business. Could it be you?

About the role

As a Manager, Consulting – Business Systems Analyst (BFSI Payments), you will play a critical role in bridging our client's financial institution payments business teams and technology partners. You will translate complex payments and clearing business needs into clear functional system requirements, support platform enhancements, and ensure payments technology solutions effectively enable the client's clearing and settlement strategies across SWIFT, CREST Clearing, and CHAPS Direct Clearing.

You will be a valued member of a cross-functional consulting team, working closely with the client's payments and operations stakeholders, technology and engineering partners, and delivery teams to support end-to-end payments and clearing initiatives.

In this role, you will:

• Elicit, document, and manage business and functional requirements, translating financial institution payments and clearing workflows—such as SWIFT messaging, CREST securities settlement, and CHAPS Direct Clearing processing—into BRDs, user stories, use cases, and process flows.
• Act as the primary liaison between business and technology teams, supporting sprint planning, backlog grooming, and UAT to ensure payments and clearing platforms meet evolving regulatory and business needs.
• Perform system integration analysis and data mapping across payments platforms, ensuring accurate data flow between SWIFT, CREST Clearing, CHAPS Direct Clearing, and downstream settlement, reconciliation, and reporting systems.
• Support the design and enhancement of payments technology solutions, including gap analysis, vendor evaluation, and definition of system requirements for clearing, settlement, and payment processing capabilities.
• Plan and execute User Acceptance Testing (UAT), including test scripts, defect tracking, and business sign-off, to validate system changes against payments objectives and regulatory/compliance requirements.
• Lead and mentor junior BSAs and coordinate cross-workstream dependencies as a Consulting Manager on the engagement.

What you must have to be considered

• Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, Computer Science, or a related field
• 8+ years of experience as a Business Systems Analyst within financial services / BFSI payments environments (Manager-level experience required)
• Strong background in financial institution payments, including hands-on experience with SWIFT
• Specific experience with CREST Clearing and CHAPS Direct Clearing
• Strong experience with requirements management and documentation (e.g., JIRA, Confluence, Azure DevOps)
• Hands-on experience working in Agile/Scrum and Waterfall delivery models
• Solid data analysis skills, including the ability to validate and map data across payments and clearing systems

These will help you succeed

• Experience supporting large-scale payments transformation programs at Tier 1 banks or financial institutions
• Exposure to ISO 20022 migration and other payments messaging standards
• Ability to analyze and optimize end-to-end clearing and settlement processes and identify automation opportunities
• Strong communication skills and comfort working with both business stakeholders and technical teams
• Prior consulting experience leading client-facing workstreams

Work model

We strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role's business requirements, this is a hybrid position based in Toronto, ON, requiring 3 days per week in the office. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs.

Salary and Other Compensation

The annual salary for this position is between $81,000 – 128,000 CAD, depending on experience and other qualifying factors.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.

Benefits

Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Diversity & Inclusion / AODA Statement

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process, in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. If you require accommodation, please let your recruiter know.