Senior Manager of Programs (Global Expansion and New Initiatives)

Affirm, Inc.; Ottawa; Remote; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote-first compensation structure

Spending wallets for tech, food, and生活

Mental healthcare programs

Parental leave: 18 weeks + transition

Job summary

Affirm, Inc. is seeking a seasoned leader to own and evolve the customer operations strategy for a global portfolio. You will steer cross‑functional programs, build scalable operating models, and drive performance across markets, products, and channels.

You will lead a diverse team of program managers, partner with product, engineering, analytics, risk, and operations, and shape governance to ensure consistent service delivery and continuous improvement across international customers.

Qualifications

• Strong strategic and operational leadership required.
• Experience leading global, cross‑functional teams.
• Proven ability to translate ambiguity into structured programs.
• Background in financial services, payments, or merchant operations.
• PMP or Lean Six Sigma certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the global customer operations strategy and roadmap.
• Lead and develop a multi-discipline team of program managers.
• Define and implement scalable operation models across markets.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Analytics, and Risk.
• Establish governance and reporting across regions.
• Drive continuous improvement and cost efficiency.

Skills

Leadership

Program management

Strategic planning

Change management

Cross-functional

Global expansion

Fraud operations

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

PMP Certification

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Job description

• The Operations team delivers seamless customer experiences and enables new product capabilities while ensuring operational excellence. The team owns strategy, planning, technical execution, customer service, fraud operations, process design, quality, training, and program management
• We drive efficiency, resolve issues quickly, and scale operations as the business grows. Our goal is to deliver seamless support while maintaining high standards and reducing risk
• As we scale into new products, partners, geographies, and channels, we need an exceptional leader to own the strategy of how our servicing operating model evolves globally
• In this role you’ll set the customer operations strategy for a portfolio of complex, cross-functional expansion programs, lead a team of program and process managers, and be accountable for adapting the servicing model to new and differentiated products across markets
• In addition, you will be the leader who represents operations across international business teams providing transparency into performance and partnering across product, engineering, and operations to help drive continuous improvement in service delivery for international customers
• You’ll own a portfolio that spans a multitude of international servicing landscapes — launching, testing and learning in operations, and scaling geo expansions, new product scaling, and new channel expansion — and you’ll build the standards, methods, and team that make those programs repeatable at global scale via playbooks
• Own the strategy and roadmap for how Customer Operations scales to support global expansion — new products, merchants/partners, geo launches, and channels — translating ambiguous, undefined business direction into structured programs and clear operating plans
• Establish and modify the team’s operational objectives, policies, procedures, and work plans; define the methods, frameworks, and success criteria used to run initiatives across regions
• Lead, coach, and develop a team spanning two or more disciplines (e.g., program management and service delivery via process/continuous improvement); oversee professionals and, where applicable, other people leaders; delegate assignments and ensure effective execution
• Drive the strategy and success of large-scale, cross-area programs for operations— merchant/geo launches, automation and efficiency programs, new-product scaling — managing scope, schedule, budget, dependencies, and risk across a complex, multi-market servicing landscape
• Partner in lock step with Product, Engineering, Analytics, Risk, Training, Knowledge, and Service Delivery leads to run cross-functional discovery and scoping, coordinate planning, and oversee dependencies through the full program lifecycle
• Build alignment across mid- to senior-level leaders cross-functionally; influence outcomes in complex or sensitive situations while strengthening those relationships
• Own portfolio-level governance (working groups, weekly/monthly business reviews) to drive awareness, issue resolution, and decision-making; be accountable for decisions that affect team, program, and overall business results over a medium-term (1yr+) horizon and that can carry company-wide effects
• Own post-launch operational performance for the global international operations portfolio and set up rituals and roles to support global business teams with transparent performance and improvement plans across servicing and operations
• Serve as a recognized subject-matter expert and thought leader on the global servicing operating model; build networks and represent Customer Operations on broader, organization-wide initiatives
• Champion an analytical, data-driven culture within the team and across Product, Analytics, Engineering, and the broader business
• Develop communication and change-management plans for the portfolio, and own the processes for logging and tracking risks, issues, actions, and dependencies
• Represent the unique customer servicing needs of global customers at scale across core operations

Benefits

• Compensation: We have a simple, flexible, and transparent remote-first compensation structure so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family
• Spending Wallets: Access tech, food, lifestyle, and family planning wallets for your expenses
• Supportive Communities: Get involved with our employee resource groups and community groups
• Remote-first Workforce: If your role is remote, you can set up shop anywhere in your home country
• Generous Time Off: Take the time you need when life happens
• Health Benefits: Get a plan that fits your needs
• Mental Healthcare: Take care of your mind with great mental health programs
• Parental Leave: Birth and non-birth parents get 18 weeks’ paid leave. Plus, a 4-week return-to-work transition program, at full base pay
• Away Days: We offer 20 company-wide paid days off—which help our teams collectively pause to recharge
• Learning & Development: Engage in exciting learning programs to level up your growth

The ideal candidate pairs strong business acumen and judgment with the ability to lead teams, shape ambiguous problem spaces into clear operating plans, and influence senior partners across the companyA deep passion for growing international businesses and working to understand the localization needs for customer experience and being able to implement with scale and efficiency will be keyThis role requires deep expertise in the customer/merchant servicing space and a strong grounding in financial servicesStrong knowledge of how shared services operate; experience in services, operations, and/or salesBroad, cross-disciplinary expertise and a strong understanding of how the wider organization and market operate, complemented by deep functional knowledge of customer care, fraud, and/or merchant operations (processes, systems, and key metrics)Proven ability to work on unique, poorly defined problems that lack strategic direction — evaluating intangibles, applying conceptual thinking, and creating the approach and evaluation criteriaSound judgment to make discretionary decisions with significant latitude, balancing research, creativity, and business impactExperience delivering programs across multiple geographies or markets strongly preferred; consumer lending or financial services background strongly preferred12+ years of relevant experience, including 5+ years leading teams and/or managing other managers or senior professionalsDeep program and process management expertise (PMP and/or Lean Six Sigma Black Belt a plus), with a track record of defining methods and standards not just applying themDemonstrated ability to influence and build alignment among diverse, senior stakeholders in complex or sensitive situationsExperience building and scaling global customer experience operations and working in global environments across cultures and geographiesSelf-starter with a strong sense of urgency, accountability, and results orientation, and a genuine enthusiasm for developing people and building new capabilities