Lead Business Operations & Project Management (UPI & RuPay)

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI); Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is seeking a seasoned Team Leader for Project Management and Business Operations in Mumbai. You will lead a back-office focused team handling UPI and RuPay operations, ensuring smooth payments, high service quality, and regulatory compliance.

You will drive end-to-end project delivery, manage stakeholder expectations, and coordinate with IT, risk, product, and banks to optimize processes and performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field as stated.
• MBA is an added advantage as per the job ad.
• Experience leading teams in payments or banking operations is required.

Responsibilities

• Lead Team Leadership & People Management for UPI/RuPay operations and back-office tasks.
• Oversee end-to-end project management from back-office perspective with cross-functional alignment.
• Ensure regulatory compliance, SLA adherence, and process improvements.
• Monitor transaction trends, resolve issues, and coordinate with banks, TPAPs, PSPs, and partners.
• Coordinate system changes with Technology, Product, Risk and conduct readiness checks.
• Maintain governance with NPCI/RBI guidelines and audit readiness.
• Develop analytics dashboards and MIS; translate data to actionable insights.
• Represent operations in discussions with banks, partners and internal teams.
• Drive initiatives to improve user experience, efficiency, and risk reduction.

Skills

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Analytical mindset

Decision making

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering/Finance

MBA (preferred)

Job description

Job Responsibilities

We are looking for an experienced and proactive Team Leader Project Management and Business Operations The candidate will primarily lead Project Management role with regards to handling all requirement of the partners from Back-office perspective and will oversee the daytoday functioning of UPI and RuPay operations.

The ideal candidate will lead a team responsible for Project Management, i.e manage the project end to end from Back Office perspective. Smooth payment operations, ensuring high-quality service delivery, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement of operational processes

1. Team Leadership & People Management

• Lead, mentor, and manage the Business Operations team handling UPI and RuPay operations.
• Allocate tasks, review team outputs, monitor performance, and ensure timely issue resolution.
• Build operational capability through training, knowledge sessions, and continuous feedback.

2. Project Management Skills

• Working knowledge of UPI ecosystem (NPCI, PSP banks, TPAPs, issuers, acquirers)
• Awareness of transaction flows, reversals, disputes, chargebacks, and settlements
• Dependency management across IT, operations, compliance, vendor, and NPCI teams
• Managing escalations and stakeholder expectations
• SOP creation and updates for UPI back-office activities
• Preparing: BRDs / FRDs, UAT signoff documents, Compliance & audit documentation
• Basic understanding of SQL / data analysis is an added advantage
• Coordinating UAT, signoffs, production rollouts
• Tracking post-release issues and stabilization
• Influencing teams without direct reporting authority
• Decisionmaking under operational pressure

3. UPI & RuPay Operations Oversight

• Supervise end-to-end clearing and settlement operations for UPI and RuPay, including settlement to domestic and international partners.
• Ensure operational SLAs, TATs, and service benchmarks are consistently met.

4. Transaction Monitoring & Issue Resolution

• Review and analyze transaction trends, declines, and exceptions identified by the team.
• Drive decline reduction initiatives with banks, TPAPs, PSPs, and international partners.
• Act as the primary escalation point for operational issues and incidents.

5. Payment System Maintenance & Coordination

• Work closely with internal Technology, Product, and Risk teams to manage system enhancements, updates, and change requests.
• Conduct periodic operational readiness checks and support new feature deployments.

6. Regulatory & Compliance Governance

• Ensure strict adherence to NPCI, RBI, and internal regulatory guidelines.
• Maintain compliance documentation, process notes, SOPs, and audit readiness.
• Support internal and external audits with timely data and clarifications.

7. Data Analytics & Business Insights

• Oversee preparation of analytical dashboards, MIS, and operational reports.
• Translate data insights into actionable recommendations for product, business, and senior leadership.
• Identify opportunities for automation and process optimization.

8. Stakeholder Management

• Represent Business Operations in discussions with Banks, TPAPs, international partners and internal cross-functional teams.
• Conduct periodic performance reviews with stakeholders and ensure alignment on operational KPIs.
• Ensure effective communication of updates, incidents, and insights to senior management.

9. Strategic Initiatives

• Support strategy formulation to optimize UPI & RuPay transaction volumes.
• Work on initiatives to improve customer experience, merchant acceptance, and partner performance.
• Lead operational projects focused on scalability, efficiency, and risk reduction.

Skills & Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Finance, or a related field.
• A postgraduate degree (MBA preferred) is an added advantage.

Experience

• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in payment systems, digital payments, or banking operations.
• Minimum 5+ years of team leadership or supervisory experience.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of UPI, RuPay, and real-time payment systems.
• Experience with transaction processing, settlement operations, dispute handling, and operational risk.
• Familiarity with RBI/NPCI guidelines, compliance standards, and data security norms.

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication, stakeholder handling, and presentation skills.
• Strong leadership, decision-making, and conflictresolution abilities.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage deadlines, and drive team accountability.
• Analytical mindset with a focus on operational excellence and continuous improvement.