Director of Strategic Operations - Payment Network

Capital One; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 187,000 - 214,000; Full time

Job summary

Capital One is seeking a Director of Strategic Operations – Payment Network to lead the Business Development Support and Product Delivery teams across US & Canadian Markets Operations. This role drives operational transformation, modernizes delivery frameworks, and steers complex payment strategies.

The position focuses on end-to-end payment execution for EMV, transit, tokenization, digital wallets, and collaborations with diverse payment partners. Competitive incentives apply.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or military experience
• At least 8 years of operations, consulting, program or project leadership experience within the payments industry (including payment networks, merchant acquiring, issuing, or digital payments)
• At least 5 years of experience leading organizational change initiatives or process transformations
• At least 5 years of experience managing, partnering with, and influencing internal and external stakeholders
• 10+ years of deep payments industry experience, with demonstrated mastery of payment network rules, card schemes, and emerging digital payment rails
• 6+ years of experience leading continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, or similar frameworks)
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or Prosci Change Management certification

Responsibilities

• Lead Payment Transformation & Process Modernization: Serve as a visionary change agent by continuously evaluating end-to-end operational workflows, eliminating friction, and implementing agile delivery practices to accelerate product deployment across the payment ecosystem.
• Drive Advanced Payment Product Delivery: Champion execution strategies for complex, next-generation payment capabilities (EMV, Transit, ProtectBuy, tokenization, and digital wallet integration) across a network of diverse payment partners.
• Strategic Partner Engagement: Proactively cultivate and manage high-stakes relationships with internal business units and external network/fintech partners to align on growth initiatives and operational standards.
• Business Development & Growth Consulting: Partner with internal executives to evaluate market shifts, identify high-growth payment strategies, and translate complex industry requirements into actionable operational plans.
• Thought Leadership & Domain Expertise: Provide deep payments consulting across client engagement, regulatory/legal approvals, and technical feasibility assessments to guide senior leadership through evolving network rules and market innovations.
• Resource Strategy & Operational Scaling: Optimize resource capacity and operational infrastructure to sustain day-to-day payment reliability while dynamically scaling to support prioritized, high-growth initiatives.

Job description

Director of Strategic Operations – Payment Network

The Director of Strategic Operations – Payment Network will lead the Business Development Support (BDS) and Product Delivery teams - critical engines within US & Canadian Markets Operations. In this high-impact leadership role, the Director will act as a key change agent, driving operational transformation, modernizing delivery frameworks, and steering complex payment strategies. The BDS team delivers both strategic and tactical consulting expertise to unlock new market opportunities. The Product Delivery team leads the end-to-end execution and strategy for advanced payment solutions (including EMV, transit, 3-D Secure, and digital payments) across a complex ecosystem of global payment partners. The Director will serve as the primary operational and strategic liaison across internal and external stakeholders, leveraging deep payments expertise to challenge legacy processes, accelerate go-to-market execution, and drive measurable business results.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead Payment Transformation & Process Modernization: Serve as a visionary change agent by continuously evaluating end-to-end operational workflows, eliminating friction, and implementing agile delivery practices to accelerate product deployment across the payment ecosystem.
• Drive Advanced Payment Product Delivery: Champion execution strategies for complex, next-generation payment capabilities (EMV, Transit, ProtectBuy, tokenization, and digital wallet integration) across a network of diverse payment partners.
• Strategic Partner Engagement: Proactively cultivate and manage high-stakes relationships with internal business units and external network/fintech partners to align on growth initiatives and operational standards.
• Business Development & Growth Consulting: Partner with internal executives to evaluate market shifts, identify high-growth payment strategies, and translate complex industry requirements into actionable operational plans.
• Thought Leadership & Domain Expertise: Provide deep payments consulting across client engagement, regulatory/legal approvals, and technical feasibility assessments to guide senior leadership through evolving network rules and market innovations.
• Resource Strategy & Operational Scaling: Optimize resource capacity and operational infrastructure to sustain day-to-day payment reliability while dynamically scaling to support prioritized, high-growth initiatives.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or military experience
• At least 8 years of operations, consulting, program or project leadership experience within the payments industry (including payment networks, merchant acquiring, issuing, or digital payments)
• At least 5 years of experience leading organizational change initiatives or process transformations
• At least 5 years of experience managing, partnering with, and influencing internal and external stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of deep payments industry experience, with demonstrated mastery of payment network rules, card schemes, and emerging digital payment rails
• 6+ years of experience leading continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, or similar frameworks)
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or Prosci Change Management certification

Salary Information

• McLean, VA: $206,000 - $235,100 for Director Client Support
• Riverwoods, IL: $187,300 - $213,700 for Director Client Support

This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being.

Additional Information

Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level. This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.

No agencies please.

Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace.

Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City's Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia's Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.

If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at [e-mail]. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to [e-mail].

At Capital One, we're building a leading information-based technology company. Still founder-led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank, Capital One is on a mission to help our customers succeed by bringing ingenuity, simplicity, and humanity to banking. We measure our efforts by the success our customers enjoy and the advocacy they exhibit.