Director, Technology Lead (Payment Systems)

SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION Singapore Branch; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A global banking institution is seeking an experienced IT Manager specializing in payment systems for its Singapore branch. This role involves supporting the Regional Head of Payments in strategy formulation, overseeing the implementation of secure payment processing platforms, and leading stakeholder engagement. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of experience in banking, deep knowledge of payment systems, and excellent leadership skills. They must be adept in managing complex teams and partnerships to ensure operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years in banking or financial institutions with regional experience.
• Experience leading technology teams in payment systems.
• Deep understanding of payment processing and architecture.

Responsibilities

• Support Regional Head of Payments in strategy formulation.
• Oversee design and enhancement of payment processing platforms.
• Manage vendor relationships and ensure compliance.

Skills

Banking IT

Stakeholder Management

Payment Systems

Team Leadership

Communication

Risk Management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or Finance & Banking

Tools

Project Management tools

Payment Processing Technology

Job description

Responsibilities

• Support strategy: Support Regional Head of Payments in formulating IT strategies (including mid‑term plans) and drive/execute system programs in the Payments domain ensuring alignment with overall business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Design & Solutions: Oversee the design, implementation, and continuous enhancement of secure, scalable, and efficient payment processing platforms.
• Risk & Compliance: Collaborate closely with the Team Manager and senior stakeholders across IT, operations, risk, compliance, and business units to drive innovation and operational excellence in payment systems.
• Stakeholder Management: Lead stakeholder engagement, business requirements definition, solution design and implementation of new platforms or enhancements to existing platforms. Prepare and present regular reports and insights on payment system performance.
• People Management: Develop and maintain a high‑performing team (PMs, BAs, SAs) through mentoring and coaching & sustainable people management plan to maintain wellness of team members (including outside of Bank IT team).
• Production Stability: Oversee incident management and resolution processes, ensuring minimal disruption to payment services, and ensure right production support model covering the region.
• Vendor/Partner Relation Management: Oversee and manage subsidiaries/vendors the life cycle management, including necessary technology upgrades / vulnerability management for Payment systems defining right SLAs and tracking.
• Continuous Improvement: Champion continuous improvement and adoption of emerging payment technologies to maintain competitive advantage.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, or Finance & Banking.
• Min. 10 years in the banking / FI environment with 8 years’ experience in Investment or Corporate Banking Domains and regional (Asia Pacific) experience preferred.
• Extensive experience (typically 5+ years) in payment systems technology lead roles within banking or financial services.
• Deep understanding of payment processing architectures, ACH networks, payment gateways, and Security, Payment Regulations and Risk Frameworks in APAC region.
• Proven track record of managing complex technology teams and large‑scale payment projects for Financial Institutes, and efficiency improvements.
• Technical knowledge with experience in banking business process re‑engineering and solution design.
• Experience or understanding of solution architecture, design patterns and best practices in business‑technology solutioning.
• Strong strategic thinking, communication, and stakeholder management skills, and ability to prepare and present to senior managements including CIOs and business heads.
• Excellent communication skills and strong ability to steer / influence positive outcome effectively.
• Experience in managing external partners and vendors, and able to lead cross‑workstream(s) and offshore delivery team(s).
• Professional certification, such as PMP, ITIL/ITSM would be an advantage.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills.