Cards Manager Operations

ING Italia; Lombardia; Hybrid; EUR 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Smart Working

Meal vouchers and corporate restaurant

Health insurance and Accident coverage

Pension fund and welfare plan

Training and development opportunities

Birthday day off (#doyourbirthday!)

Free water & coffee at the office

Job summary

ING Italia is seeking a Cards Operations Manager to lead end-to-end card lifecycle operations across debit, credit, prepaid and business cards. You will own governance, risk controls, and performance, coordinating with Product, IT, Data, Risk, Compliance and other teams to ensure high-quality service and regulatory alignment.

You will drive transformation with AI-enabled analytics, automation and data-driven decision making, while fostering a customer-centric, collaborative culture and managing

Qualifications

• Significant experience in cards, payments or banking operations.
• Proven leadership in teams and governance.
• Fluency in Italian and English, both written and spoken.
• Deep knowledge of card lifecycle, disputes and fraud-related processes.
• Ability to apply AI literacy to improve operational decision-making and productivity.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible leadership to Cards Operations and set clear priorities.
• Own end-to-end integrity, efficiency and customer outcomes of card operations.
• Own the operational risk and control framework and drive remediation of gaps.
• Act as Operations reference for card-related matters in cross-functional initiatives.
• Maintain governance for Cards Operations and coordinate incident resolution and remediation.
• Contribute to transformation with automation, analytics and AI-enabled operations.
• Ensure governance of outsourced activities and third parties.

Skills

Leadership

Card operations

Operational governance

Data analytics

AI literacy

Regulatory compliance

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Engineering, Law or a comparable discipline

Tools

Analytics tools

Automation tools

Generative AI

Job description

ING Bank N.V. is looking for a Cards Operations Manager

Activities

• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of the end-to-end operating model for ING payment card products, covering debit, credit, prepaid and business cards across their full lifecycle.
• Govern the operational value chain for card issuance, activation, maintenance, blocking, replacement, disputes, chargebacks, compromised cards and customer servicing, ensuring clear ownership and effective execution.
• Oversee the control environment, reconciliations, service requests, exception management and remediation of material data or processing misalignments.
• Monitor service quality, volumes, backlogs, incidents and operational performance through data-driven governance, advanced analytics and AI-enabled insights, translating evidence into operational priorities and measurable improvement plans.
• Coordinate with Product, IT, Data, Risk, Compliance, Anti-Fraud, Customer Care and other Operations teams, ensuring that operational requirements and the responsible adoption of AI are considered in process changes, regulatory initiatives and card-related programmes.
• Manage the governance of external providers and processors, including service reviews, SLA/KPI performance, escalations, resilience and continuity requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible and inclusive leadership to Cards Operations, setting clear priorities, allocating capacity effectively and building the capabilities required for sustained performance.
• Hold end-to-end accountability for the integrity, efficiency and customer outcomes of card operations, ensuring performance against service commitments, internal policies, regulatory obligations and customer‑protection standards.
• Own the operational risk and control framework, defining risk appetite‑aligned priorities, ensuring control effectiveness and driving timely remediation of gaps, incidents and systemic weaknesses.
• Act as the Operations point of reference for card‑related matters, contributing operational expertise to cross‑functional initiatives, transformation programmes, audits and risk assessments.
• Maintain the governance framework for Cards Operations, coordinating the resolution of critical incidents, systemic risks and customer‑impacting issues, and supporting cross‑functional remediation to strengthen operational resilience, protect customers and improve business performance.
• Contribute to the transformation roadmap for simplification, automation, advanced analytics and AI‑enabled operations, identifying valuable use cases and supporting their responsible implementation to improve customer outcomes, productivity, control effectiveness and operational continuity.
• Ensure effective governance of outsourced activities and third parties, holding providers accountable for performance, information security, operational resilience, regulatory compliance and exit readiness.
• Foster a customer‑led, collaborative and accountable culture, translating ING values and the Orange Code into day‑to‑day leadership, operational practices and measurable outcomes, while supporting the development of digital, data and AI capabilities across the team.

Required skills

• Significant experience in cards, payments or banking operations, with a proven track record in team leadership, operational governance and delivery of business outcomes
• Demonstrated ability to manage critical situations, set priorities under pressure and address significant operational, customer and reputational impacts
• Degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Engineering, Law or a comparable discipline
• Fluency in Italian and strong command of English, both written and spoken
• Deep knowledge of payment‑card operations, the end‑to‑end card lifecycle, disputes and chargebacks, fraud‑related processes, operational risk, controls and third‑party governance
• Strong understanding of card‑processing and banking platforms, combined with practical AI literacy and experience using analytics, automation and generative‑AI capabilities to enhance operational decision‑making, service quality and productivity
• Strong leadership, influencing and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with Operations, Product, IT, control functions and senior stakeholders around shared priorities
• Strategic, data‑driven and AI‑enabled mindset, with the ability to identify practical use cases, assess value and risk, and translate operational evidence into clear priorities and measurable improvements
• Sound understanding of responsible AI principles, including data quality, model risk, explainability, privacy, human oversight and regulatory considerations in a banking environment
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity, exercise sound judgement and manage effective escalation and coordination across complex organisational environments

Contract offer

Working hours: Full time (37 hours per week)

Applicable Collective Labour Agreement: National Collective Labour Agreement for employees in the credit sector (NCLA)

Starting annual base salary: 60.000€

Variable remuneration: in line with the applicable remuneration policies (with a target based on the role, outcomes linked to the Group, Business line/function and individual performance)

Our compensation approach is built on objective, gender-neutral criteria aligned with the role’s core requirements. That said, we believe talent goes beyond any framework: your total reward package will be tailored to reflect your unique experience, skills, and potential, ensuring we fully recognize the value you bring.

The benefits of joining ING

• Flexible Smart Working
• Competitive base salaries and performance‑based bonuses
• Meal vouchers and corporate restaurant and bar
• Health insurance and Accident insurance
• Pension fund and welfare plan
• Diverse cultures & Innovative mindsets
• International Environnent and Talent Program
• Commitment to sustainability
• Lots of training development opportunities to help you grow
• Lots of moments dedicated to physical and mental well‑being
• A special day off when it is your birthday: we call it #doyourbirthday!
• And of course, we can’t forget free water & coffee at the office!

About ING

ING offers many opportunities to build a diverse and rewarding career. You will be joining an international innovative digital bank, the first in Italy to adopt a fully flexible smart working model, and you will be working in a stimulating environment where you can grow both as an individual and as a professional. Our purpose - empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business - represents our belief in people’s potential. We don’t judge, coach or to tell people how to live their lives. We empower people and businesses to realize their own vision for a better future.

#doyourthing is our brand direction with us each and every day. It is how we articulate our purpose and our promise to make banking frictionless to the world.

‘do your thing’ is about people being free to live the life they want to live, knowing that they will make their world a little better for it.

Our Commitment

Diversity is a fundamental element of our corporate culture, and we are fully committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment, based on mutual respect and the value of diversity, offering equal job opportunities to all qualified candidates.