Senior Payments Manager

loveholidays; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company pension contributions at 5%

Individualised training budget

Discounted holidays for you and family

25 days of holidays per annum (+8 PH)

Cycle to work scheme

Buy/sell annual leave

Job summary

loveholidays is seeking a Senior Payments Manager to lead commercial relationships with payment providers and drive terms, pricing, and strategic decisions across markets. You will collaborate with Product, Engineering, and business leads to optimise payment operations and drive value.

Leveraging deep regulatory knowledge and a strong network, you will negotiate contracts, monitor fees, and stay ahead of industry trends to differentiate our payment capabilities globally.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in managing Payments commercial relationships.
• Knowledgeable about the payments ecosystem and stakeholders across Europe.
• Strong commercial insight to identify and realise business opportunities.
• Extensive network to resolve unknowns and drive value.
• Experience building best-in-class payments journeys with cost control.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day relationships with payment partners and sign or amend agreements.
• Negotiate pricing and run weekly calls and reviews to identify opportunities.
• Administer accounts to support internal controls and minimise risks.
• Provide recommendations to optimise payment operations across markets.
• Build strong relationships with business owners to scale operations.
• Ensure regulatory compliance across local and international requirements.
• Forecast, budget, and monitor payment processing fees.
• Stay current with industry trends and competitor offerings.

Skills

Payments relationships

Negotiation

Regulatory awareness

European payments

Vendor management

Payments strategy

Communication

Leadership

Cost control

Customer experience

Job description

Why loveholidays?

At loveholidays - we trailblaze together. We’re on a mission to open the world to everyone, giving our customers’ unlimited choice, unmatched ease and unmissable value for their next getaway. Our team is the driving force behind our role as our customers’ personal holiday expert - the smart way to get away.

We’re using progressive tech to drive cutting-edge innovation and open the world to everyone. Within our Commercial and Support teams, you'll find a place to accelerate your growth by actively seeking learning opportunities and carving your own path. You'll create impact for our future by owning projects and shaping the business strategy to reach shared goals, all within our enhanced international community of collaborative and passionate teams.

About the team:

The Payments function has been recognised as a strategic area for the business, with the capacity to significantly impact key metrics: conversion rates, cost reduction, compliance, customer satisfaction and retention.

The Senior Payments Manager at loveholidays will report into the Head of Payments and will have the opportunity to influence the future structure of the team as it continues growing.

Given the cross-functional nature of payments, you will work very closely with the dedicated Product and Engineering functions responsible for Payments, as well as a multitude of internal and external stakeholders.

The impact you’ll have:

The role will be primarily responsible for establishing new and managing existing commercial relationships with our payment providers, agreeing new contracts, improving terms and conditions and ensuring they are able to offer us the products, features and services we need so we continue to meet customer needs across markets and across the different payments touch points:

• New, as part of the checkout journey

• Scheduled, between having booked and travel, when customers have opted for a payment plan

• Customer, when customers make ad-hoc payments through our app or the Manage My Booking portal.

The Senior Payments Manager is an expert in the Payments Industry with in-depth knowledge of the different aspects of this industry: commercial, product, technical, regulatory, and will support - and deputise for - the Head of Payments in guiding the company through key decisions as we expand internationally.

In addition, this role is also responsible for maximising the incentive generated by payments on VCCs when paying direct suppliers.

Your day-to-day:

• Manage day to day relationships with our payment partners, and be a key liaison between internal and external.

  • Manage the process to sign new or amend existing agreements

  • Negotiate pricing

  • Run weekly calls, QBRs, identify and track areas of opportunity

  • As Admin of these accounts, support internal controls to minimise risks.

• Working closely with key internal stakeholders, combined with your in-depth knowledge of the industry and experience in previous similar roles, provide recommendations in terms of how to further optimise our customer payment operations, whilst ensuring alignment with the organisation's overall objectives.

• Build robust relationships with business owners in Managing, Selling, and Scaling operations. The Senior Product Manager - Payments will be a key ally.

• Keep the company informed of compliance with local and international regulatory requirements.

• Support the Head of with the forecast, budget and actual monitoring of payment processing fees, which is the largest component of the Variable Costs line in our P & L .

• Stay up to date with industry trends and innovation, bringing this knowledge in-house and raising internal awareness of changes in this area.

• Stay up to date with competitor offerings in terms of payments, steering the company through ways to differentiate ourselves.

• Leverage relationships with external technical suppliers, vendors and partners to align them with our own goals and get the most out of our agreements

• Manage and improve the operational efficiency of our VCC supplier payments, maximising acceptance and incentives.

• Teach the company about the payments industry, key trends, evolution, and the impact it could generate in the business if done right, or wrong!

Your skillset:

• Track record in managing Payments commercial relationships, negotiating and improving terms.

• Knowledgeable in the payments ecosystem, main stakeholders and drivers, not only for card payments but also for alternative forms of payments, ideally across Europe.

• Outstanding commercial insight and be able to identify and realise business opportunities.

• Extensive network and ability to find the answers for any unknown elements.

• Experience in building best in class payments journeys, balancing great customer experience whilst reducing costs and keeping fraud in check.

• Ability to translate how the company works and what it needs to external partners in order to find solutions to our needs.

• Due to the growth trajectory that loveholidays is on, it is fundamental that this candidate has previous experience within a fast paced/high growth business – for example, sectors such as FMCG, e-commerce or technology.

• Relentless attention to detail

• Hands on as required and very diligent to continue to drive value accretion.

• Detailed understanding of what good looks like in terms of process and reporting.

• Excellent organisational and leadership skills.

• Outstanding communication and interpersonal abilities.

Desirable:

• Previous travel experience is an advantage.

The interview journey:

1. First stage with Talent - 30 mins

2. Second stage with Head of Payments - 60 mins

3. Third stage: Case study

4. Final stage: VP Commercial Finance - 45 mins

Perks of joining us:

• Company pension contributions at 5%.

• Individualised training budget for you to learn on the job and level yourself up.

• Discounted holidays for you, your family and friends.

• 25 days of holidays per annum (plus 8 public holidays) increases by 1 day for every second year of service, up to a maximum 30 days per annum.

• Ability to buy and sell annual leave.

• Cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan and eye care vouchers.

At loveholidays, we focus on developing an inclusive culture and environment that encourages personal growth and collective success. Each individual offers unique perspectives and ideas that increase the diversity and effectiveness of our teams. And we value the insight and potential you could bring on our continued journey.