Head of Payments & Compliance

Copello; Fareham; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A global payment solutions provider based in Fareham is seeking a Head of Payments and Payments Compliance. This leadership role involves driving the strategy across payment infrastructure, ensuring compliance with regulations, and mentoring a high-performance team. The ideal candidate has over 5 years of experience in payment compliance and risk management, as well as skills in leadership and fraud prevention. Competitive compensation packages are offered.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of senior-level experience in payment compliance, risk management, or global payment operations.
• Deep understanding of payment networks and compliance standards.
• Proven leadership in building high-performing teams across compliance or billing.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for payments and compliance functions.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with regulations and financial standards.
• Design and execute fraud prevention strategies.

Skills

Leadership

Payment compliance

Risk management

Fraud prevention

Project management

Data analysis

Job description

We facilitate millions of secure transactions globally, ensuring a frictionless experience for our customers while safeguarding against fraud and regulatory risk. As our growth accelerates, the integrity of our payment systems and adherence to global compliance standards are more important than ever.

We're seeking a Head of Payments and Payments Compliance to own and drive our global payments and compliance function. You’ll lead strategy and execution across payment infrastructure, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance, ensuring our systems are secure, efficient, and well-positioned for scalability. This is a leadership role where you’ll work cross-functionally and mentor a high-performance team.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

? Provide strategic leadership for the payments and payment compliance functions, aligning team efforts with overall business goals.

? Lead, manage, and mentor the Payments and Payments Compliance team and related payments personnel, fostering a high-performance culture.

? Drive continuous improvement across payment operations, compliance frameworks, and fraud prevention practices.

? Represent the payments and compliance domain in cross-functional leadership discussions and planning sessions.

Compliance & Regulatory Oversight

? Ensure ongoing compliance with card scheme regulations, government policies, and financial industry standards.

? Implement and maintain card processing compliance protocols, including ROSCA adherence and pre/post-charge communication requirements.

? Stay informed of regulatory and industry changes and assess their impact on business operations.

? Lead internal audits and collaborate with external stakeholders on compliance reviews and reporting.

Fraud & Risk Management

? Design and execute fraud prevention strategies, calibrating systems to balance risk reduction and order acceptance.

? Monitor transaction activity, chargebacks, and dispute trends; create risk models and proactive mitigation plans.

? Oversee the dispute resolution process, using robust data and documentation to defend chargebacks and reduce losses.

? Deliver regular risk and fraud performance insights to senior leadership.

Merchant & Payment Infrastructure Management

? Own relationships with merchant acquirers, processors, billing partners, and fraud tool providers.

? Oversee merchant account onboarding, optimisation, and compliance.

? Lead payment account splitting strategies to maximise conversion and reduce geographic and operational risk.

? Work closely with Finance to manage reconciliation, reserve release, and transaction forecasting processes.

Conversion Performance & Payment Innovation

? Monitor and analyse conversion and decline rates across all currencies and transaction types (initial, add-on, renewals).

? Lead the research, selection, and implementation of alternative payment methods aligned with regional needs.

? Build and execute a scalable payment innovation roadmap to support business growth.

? Collaborate with Analytics, Engineering, and Product teams to develop high-impact improvements in the payment flow.

What You’ll Bring

? 5+ years of senior-level experience in payment compliance, risk management, or global payment operations.

? Deep understanding of payment networks, card scheme regulations, PCI DSS, and global compliance standards.

? Proven leadership in building and scaling high-performing teams across compliance, fraud, or billing.

? Experience working with payment gateways, processors, fraud tools, and orchestration platforms.

? Strong project management, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

? Analytical mindset with a history of using data to drive decision-making and operational improvements.