Operations Manager - Payments

Spencers Recruitment; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A growing payments company is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to take ownership of its operational function. This pivotal role involves managing all operational processes, overseeing merchant onboarding, and maintaining relationships with acquiring banks and partners. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in merchant services and should be confident in building operational processes. Offering a salary range of £55,000 - £65,000 plus commission, this full-time position is based in London with a hybrid option available.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a payments ISO or related environment.
• Solid understanding of onboarding and underwriting processes.
• Excellent stakeholder management capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Manage operational processes ensuring smooth merchant lifecycle management.
• Build and document operational workflows and procedures.
• Oversee merchant onboarding and manage risk compliance.

Skills

Experience in an ISO, PSP, acquirer, or merchant services environment

Understanding of merchant onboarding, underwriting, risk requirements

Experience with acquiring banks and payment partners

Strong operational mindset

Excellent communication skills

Attention to detail

Organisational ability

Ability to work independently

Job description

Operations Manager Payments

Our client, a growing payments company operating as an ISO (Independent Sales Organisation), is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to take full ownership of the operational function. This is a pivotal role and the company’s first dedicated operations hire. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in merchant services, a deep understanding of onboarding processes, and proven ability working with acquiring banks, partner providers, and payment platforms.

This position will suit someone who has previously worked in a payments ISO, acquirer, merchant services provider, or PSP, and who is confident managing day-to-day operations while building processes for scale.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Manage all operational processes across the ISO, ensuring smooth merchant lifecycle management from application to live processing.
• Build, refine, and document operational workflows, procedures, and SLAs.
• Act as the main operational point of contact internally and externally.

Merchant Onboarding & Underwriting

• Oversee merchant onboarding, ensuring all applications meet bank and scheme requirements.
• Manage underwriting checks, risk categorisation, KYC/AML verification, and escalations.
• Review and refine onboarding criteria with acquiring banks where required.

Bank & Partner Relationship Management

• Maintain strong working relationships with acquiring banks and third-party providers.
• Handle operational escalations, underwriting queries, and approval processes.
• Monitor service levels and ensure alignment between the ISO and banking partners.

Risk, Compliance & Scheme Alignment

• Monitor operational risk, fraud indicators, and compliance requirements.
• Ensure processes adhere to card scheme rules, ISO policies, PCI, GDPR, and internal standards.
• Manage operational aspects of chargebacks, disputes, and evidence submissions.

Skills and Experience

• Proven experience in an ISO, PSP, acquirer, or merchant services environment.
• Strong understanding of merchant onboarding, underwriting, risk, and scheme requirements.
• Experience working closely with acquiring banks and payment partners.
• Solid operational mindset with the ability to build processes from scratch.
• Excellent communication skills and the confidence to manage internal and external stakeholders.
• High level of attention to detail and strong organisational ability.
• Ability to work independently and thrive as the first operations hire.

Hours, Salary and Location

• Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 Plus Commission
• Hours: Full-time, Monday to Friday
• Location: London (hybrid option available)