Project Manager | Cards & Payments

act digital; Lisboa; Hybrid; EUR 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

act digital is seeking an experienced Project Manager with a strong Cards & Payments background to lead complex initiatives in a financial services environment. You will own projects from planning to delivery, coordinating Business, Technology, Operations, and external stakeholders to ensure on-time, on-budget results.

The role requires hands-on knowledge of card products, payment processes, and the broader cards ecosystem, with end-to-end ownership of initiatives and clear governance across

Qualifications

• Mandatory: Professional experience in Project Management.
• Mandatory: Previous experience within Cards is mandatory.
• Strong understanding of card-related business processes and operations.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience managing projects from planning through implementation.
• Strong stakeholder management capabilities.
• Strong knowledge of Project Planning, Governance, and Reporting.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects related to Cards and Payments from end to end.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary business and technology teams.
• Translate business objectives into clear project plans and deliverables.
• Manage scope, timelines, risks, dependencies, and priorities.
• Ensure effective communication between all project stakeholders.
• Support the successful delivery of strategic initiatives within the Cards domain.
• Monitor milestones and governance, ensuring documentation and reporting integrity.
• Identify and mitigate project risks, issues, and dependencies.

Skills

Project Management

Cards domain

Stakeholder management

Team coordination

Project planning

Governance

Project reporting

Analytical skills

Tools

Agile

Job description

What We're Looking For

We are looking for an experienced Project Manager with a strong background in the Cards & Payments domain to lead and coordinate projects within a complex financial environment.

You will take ownership of projects from planning through delivery, working closely with Business, Technology, Operations, and external stakeholders to ensure initiatives are delivered within the agreed scope, timeline, budget, and quality standards.

This role is ideal for someone who combines strong project management capabilities with hands-on knowledge of card products, payment processes, and the broader cards ecosystem.

As a Project Manager, you will:

• Lead projects related to Cards and Payments from end to end.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary business and technology teams.
• Translate business objectives into clear project plans and deliverables.
• Manage scope, timelines, risks, dependencies, and priorities.
• Ensure effective communication between all project stakeholders.
• Support the successful delivery of strategic initiatives within the Cards domain.

Project Management

• Manage projects throughout the complete delivery lifecycle.
• Define project scope, objectives, milestones, and deliverables.
• Build and maintain detailed project plans.
• Monitor execution against agreed deadlines and objectives.
• Coordinate different workstreams and project contributors.
• Ensure appropriate project governance and reporting.

Cards & Payments

• Lead initiatives within the Cards and Payments ecosystem.
• Apply strong functional understanding of card-related processes when coordinating projects.
• Work with stakeholders across Business, Operations, IT, and other relevant functions.
• Understand project dependencies affecting card products and services.
• Identify operational or business impacts associated with project changes.
• Identify project risks, issues, and dependencies.
• Define and monitor mitigation actions.
• Escalate critical issues when necessary.
• Anticipate potential delivery constraints and proactively manage them.
• Ensure stakeholders maintain visibility over risks and project status.

Stakeholder Management

• Act as a central point of contact for assigned projects.
• Coordinate business and technical stakeholders.
• Facilitate project meetings, workshops, and steering sessions.
• Communicate project progress, risks, decisions, and dependencies clearly.
• Manage stakeholder expectations throughout the project lifecycle.

Governance & Reporting

• Prepare project status reports and management updates.
• Track milestones, actions, risks, and key decisions.
• Organize and facilitate project governance meetings.
• Maintain clear and accurate project documentation.
• Ensure decisions and responsibilities are appropriately followed up.

Delivery & Continuous Improvement

• Support teams in resolving blockers affecting project delivery.
• Ensure the quality and readiness of project deliverables.
• Contribute to improvements in project management practices.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes and improve delivery efficiency.

Mandatory Requirements

• Professional experience in Project Management.
• Previous experience within Cards is mandatory.
• Strong understanding of card-related business processes and operations.
• Experience managing projects from planning through implementation.
• Strong stakeholder management capabilities.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong knowledge of:
• Project Planning
• Governance
• Project Reporting
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.

Experience in several of the following areas would be particularly relevant:

• Cards
• Payments
• Card Issuing
• Card Acquiring
• Card Transactions
• Authorization
• Clearing & Settlement
• Card Operations
• Payment Processes

The critical sourcing filter for this position should remain actual professional experience in Cards, rather than generic banking experience.

Nice to Have

• Experience within Banking, Financial Services, FinTech, or Payments.
• Exposure to large transformation or migration projects.
• Experience coordinating Business and IT teams.
• Knowledge of Agile project delivery.
• Experience within international or complex enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with regulatory or compliance topics related to financial services.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication.
• Strong organization and prioritization.
• Leadership and ownership mindset.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Results-oriented approach.
• Comfortable working under pressure and managing changing priorities.
• Collaborative attitude across Business, Technology, and Operations teams.
• Work on projects directly connected to the Cards & Payments ecosystem.
• Take end-to-end ownership of high-impact initiatives.
• Collaborate with Business, Technology, and Operations stakeholders.
• Apply specialized Cards knowledge while strengthening your project leadership expertise.
• Work in a flexible hybrid environment.
• Contribute to initiatives with direct impact on financial products and customer experiences.