Client Implementation Manager (Card Issuing)

Lever, Inc.; Portugal; Remote; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work from India

Complex card issuing projects

International team exposure

AI-assisted delivery

Job summary

Lever, Inc. is partnering to fill a Client Implementation Manager (Card Issuing) role based in Portugal with a focus on end-to-end client implementations for card issuing programs.

You will be the primary client contact, coordinating delivery across engineering, product, and compliance teams, guiding configuration, API integration, testing, and go-live readiness. The role requires 3+ years in fintech implementation or client delivery, strong PM skills, and excellent English communication.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in fintech implementation or client delivery.
• Practical knowledge of card issuing, including BIN structures and lifecycle events.
• Understanding of card issuing platform configuration and technical integration.
• Working knowledge of REST APIs and technical onboarding processes.
• Strong organizational and project management skills for multiple implementations.
• Excellent written and spoken English with technical stakeholders.
• Confidence leading client-facing meetings and managing expectations.
• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills.
• High standards for documentation, compliance, and operational accuracy.
• Collaborative approach across engineering, product, compliance, risk, support and external partners.
• Curiosity about technology and fintech platforms, integrations, and digital products.
• Ownership and accountability to deliver projects from concept to delivery.
• Comfortable in remote, distributed environments across time zones.
• Experience with card issuing or issuer-processing platforms preferred.
• Experience with debit/credit/prepaid cards and related services.
• Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, Asana, Smartsheet is beneficial.
• Consultancy or professional services experience appreciated.
• PM certifications such as CSM, PRINCE2 Foundation, CAPM are advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Manage card issuing implementations end to end from kickoff through launch and closure.
• Build and maintain project plans, milestones, timelines, risks, and issues.
• Serve as primary client contact, providing clear progress updates and managing expectations.
• Lead kickoff meetings, progress reviews, post-launch discussions, and other touchpoints.
• Coordinate delivery across engineering, product, compliance, risk, support, and external partners.
• Guide clients through card program configuration including BIN ranges, product codes, and fees.
• Support technical onboarding covering issuing APIs, environments, credentials, and access.
• Coordinate dependencies with BIN sponsors, card schemes, and vendors including certification and fulfillment.
• Lead user acceptance testing with test plans, defects, and verification of results.
• Plan go-live activities with cutover readiness and go/no-go criteria.
• Ensure PCI DSS, SCA/PSD2, and card network rules are addressed in implementations.
• Maintain complete project documentation for audit and compliance.
• Facilitate smooth handovers to Support with knowledge transfer.
• Leverage AI tools to streamline planning and status updates while validating outputs.

Skills

Card issuing

REST APIs

Project management

Stakeholder management

English communication

Documentation

Problem solving

Ownership

Remote work

Client delivery

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Asana

Smartsheet

Job description

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Client Implementation Manager (Card Issuing) based in Portugal.

This role leads end-to-end client implementations for card issuing programs, from initial planning through launch and formal project closure. You will serve as the primary client contact, coordinating delivery across technical and business stakeholders. The position combines project management, card issuing expertise, technical onboarding, and regulatory awareness. You will guide clients through card program configuration, API integration, testing, certification, and go-live readiness. Working closely with engineering, product, compliance, risk, and support teams, you will identify dependencies and resolve issues before they affect delivery. The role suits someone who enjoys ownership, structured problem-solving, and delivering complex fintech projects in a remote, international environment.

Accountabilities

• Manage card issuing implementations end to end, from project planning and kickoff through launch, hypercare, and formal closure.

• Build and maintain project plans, milestones, timelines, dependency maps, risk registers, and issue trackers.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for clients, providing clear progress updates and managing expectations across stakeholders and competing priorities.

• Lead client kickoff meetings, regular progress reviews, post-launch discussions, and other implementation touchpoints.

• Coordinate delivery across engineering, product, compliance, risk, support, and other internal teams to maintain momentum and resolve blockers.

• Guide clients through card program configuration, including BIN ranges and structures, product codes, card profiles, limits, fees, and authorization parameters.

• Support technical onboarding covering issuing APIs, environments, system configuration, credentials, webhooks, and user access.

• Coordinate dependencies involving BIN sponsors, card schemes, card bureaux, and third-party vendors, including certification, personalization, production, and fulfillment.

• Lead user acceptance testing by preparing card lifecycle and transaction test plans, coordinating test card provisioning, tracking defects, and validating results.

• Coordinate go-live activities, including cutover planning, readiness checks, go/no-go criteria, and post-launch hypercare.

• Work with Compliance and relevant stakeholders to ensure implementations address applicable requirements, including PCI DSS, SCA/PSD2, and Visa and Mastercard rules.

• Maintain complete project documentation, meeting records, decisions, configuration details, status reports, and sign-offs to support audit and compliance requirements.

• Complete project handovers to Support, ensuring known issues, configurations, and relevant documentation are transferred effectively.

• Use AI tools and LLMs where appropriate to streamline project plans, meeting summaries, status updates, and documentation while validating outputs for accuracy.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in implementation, project management, or client delivery within fintech, banking, payments, or a related environment.

• Practical knowledge of card issuing, including card programs, BIN structures, card lifecycle events, authorization flows, and issuer processing concepts.

• Understanding of card issuing platform configuration, technical integration, and the dependencies involved in launching card programs.

• Working knowledge of REST APIs and technical client onboarding processes.

• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple implementations simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail.

• Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate effectively with technical teams, clients, and senior stakeholders.

• Confidence leading client-facing meetings, managing expectations, and communicating project risks and dependencies.

• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills, including the ability to investigate issues through to root cause.

• High standards for documentation, record-keeping, compliance, and operational accuracy.

• Collaborative approach and comfort working across engineering, product, compliance, risk, support, and external partners.

• Curiosity about technology, financial services platforms, integrations, and digital products.

• Strong sense of ownership and accountability, with a commitment to taking projects from concept through successful delivery.

• Comfortable working in a remote, distributed environment across multiple time zones.

• Preferred experience includes implementing card issuing or issuer-processing platforms, working for an issuer, BIN sponsor, processor, program manager, or card-focused fintech.

• Additional valuable experience includes debit, credit, prepaid, commercial, or virtual card products; scheme certification and BIN registration; digital wallets and network tokenization; settlement, reconciliation, disputes, and chargebacks.

• Familiarity with project and collaboration tools such as Jira, Confluence, Asana, or Smartsheet is beneficial.

• Consultancy or professional-services experience managing multiple clients is a plus.

• Project management certification such as CSM, PRINCE2 Foundation, CAPM, or equivalent is advantageous.

Benefits

• Remote working opportunity from India within a distributed international team.

• Consultant engagement focused on payments and fintech implementations.

• Opportunity to work on complex card issuing and financial-services technology projects.

• Exposure to cross-functional collaboration across engineering, product, compliance, risk, support, and external partners.

• Opportunity to work with multiple clients and varied card program configurations.

• Scope to develop expertise across card issuing, APIs, payment infrastructure, and fintech delivery.

• Opportunity to use modern AI and LLM tools to improve project delivery and operational efficiency.

• Collaborative environment emphasizing technical excellence, problem-solving, communication, adaptability, and ownership.

• Potential exposure to international payment schemes, vendors, processors, and other ecosystem partners.