Senior Manager, Payments & Risk Operations

Forfirm; Ticino; On-site; CHF 190,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Forfirm is seeking a senior, client-facing leader to own the bank's payments platform. You will oversee projects, daily operations, governance, and vendor coordination, combining banking domain knowledge with application ownership and people management.

Based in Switzerland's financial ecosystem, this on-site role requires 7+ years in banking, a degree in Economics/Finance/CS, and fluency in Italian and English (German/French a plus).

Qualifications

• 7+ years in banking, with a focus on payment systems.
• Experience managing IT/banking projects in structured environments.
• Autonomy on client premises and ability to coordinate with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Manage payments platform projects end-to-end: requirements, design, vendor coordination, UAT, releases.
• Oversee configurations and interfaces between core systems and service bureaus; ensure payment flows are continuous.
• Provide second-level support, analyze issues, coordinate incident resolution with vendors.
• Support regulatory compliance and audits related to payments (ISO 20022, AML controls).
• Plan team capacity, supervise daily activities, and report status to the department head.

Job description

Role Purpose

This is a senior, client-facing role responsible for the team managing the bank's payments platform, covering its projects, daily operations, and governance. It combines banking domain knowledge with application ownership, project management, people management, and vendor coordination.

The person in this role is the internal reference point for payment process evolution, platform management, functional support, compliance and operational controls, and coordination with external vendors and internal stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Project Management

Manage projects in scope end-to-end: requirements gathering, functional analysis, solution design, vendor coordination, UAT, release planning, and post-release stabilization. Lead regulatory and project initiatives related to payments, and coordinate with other Organization teams when their projects touch on payments topics.

Application Management

Oversee configurations, parameters, flows, and interfaces between Olympic, Atlas, and the service bureau. Ensure continuity and quality of payment flows (SIC, euroSIC, SEPA, SWIFT).

Functional and Operational Support

Provide second-level support to internal users, analyze functional and operational issues, coordinate incident resolution with vendors, and support critical operations and escalations.

Compliance

Support implementation of regulatory requirements related to payments (ISO 20022, SIC/SIX, SWIFT, AML controls, operational and accounting compliance) and support internal/external audits.

Team Management

Plan team capacity, priorities, and workload. Supervise daily team activities, ensure SLAs and internal processes are met, support staff development, and manage external consultants. Report to the department head on status, risks, and issues.

Requirements

Seniority

Senior profile expected to operate with autonomy on client premises, acting as a trusted point of reference for the bank's internal stakeholders. Full-time on-site presence is required.

Background

Degree in Economics, Finance, Computer Science, Management Engineering, or equivalent experience. 7+ years in banking, with a focus on payment systems, and demonstrated experience managing IT/banking projects in structured environments.

Technical Skills

Strong knowledge of banking payment processes and Swiss regulatory frameworks. Familiarity with standard project management tools. Experience with Swiss core banking systems is a plus.

Soft Skills

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills under time pressure. Good communication skills across IT, Operations, Compliance, Risk, auditors, and vendors. Able to lead mixed internal/external teams with a results-oriented approach. Precise, discreet, and reliable on deadlines.

Languages

Italian: fluent. English: fluent. German or French: a plus.