Paze Senior Director Merchant Sales

Early Warning (Zelle); Scottsdale (AZ); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Early Warning's Paze unit seeks a Senior Director, Business Development - Merchant to define and lead the merchant BD strategy, targeting strategic enterprise merchants, and building the sales capabilities needed to expand merchant acceptance and usage.

You will lead a team of merchant BD professionals, align with Product, Marketing, Channel Partnerships, and Risk, and drive multi-year plans, complex negotiations, and measurable commercial outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Defines and leads the merchant business development strategy, operating model, priorities, and performance objectives for Paze.
• Develops and executes annual and multi-year sales plans focused on acquiring strategic enterprise merchants and expanding Paze acceptance and usage.
• Leads, develops, and holds accountable a team of merchant business development professionals responsible for pipeline generation, opportunity development, negotiation, and merchant acquisition.
• Establishes trusted, influential relationships with senior and executive decision-makers across merchant payments, finance, digital, product, technology, marketing, eCommerce, and related functions.
• Serves as executive sponsor and senior commercial lead for the most strategic, complex, or high-value merchant opportunities.

Skills

Merchant strategy

Executive leadership

Sales planning

Pipeline management

Negotiation

Cross-functional partnering

Job description

At Early Warning, we've powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle, Paze, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment.

Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

The Senior Director, Business Development - Merchant is responsible for defining and leading the merchant business development strategy for Paze. This role leads the acquisition of strategic enterprise merchants, establishes senior executive relationships across the merchant and payments ecosystem, and builds the sales capabilities, operating practices, and cross-functional alignment required to expand merchant acceptance and usage of Paze. The Senior Director leads a team of merchant business development professionals and is accountable for developing the functional sales strategy, prioritizing target segments and accounts, managing complex sales opportunities, and delivering measurable commercial results. The role works closely with Product, Marketing, Channel Partnerships, Customer Integration, Relationship Management, Finance, Legal, Risk, and Technology to align merchant needs with Paze priorities and support successful merchant launches. This role serves as a senior commercial leader and market representative for Paze, using merchant, competitive, and industry insight to influence go-to-market strategy, product direction, sales execution, and long-term growth.

Essential Functions

• Defines and leads the merchant business development strategy, operating model, priorities, and performance objectives for Paze.
• Develops and executes annual and multi-year sales plans focused on acquiring strategic enterprise merchants and expanding Paze acceptance and usage.
• Leads, develops, and holds accountable a team of merchant business development professionals responsible for pipeline generation, opportunity development, negotiation, and merchant acquisition.
• Establishes trusted, influential relationships with senior and executive decision-makers across merchant payments, finance, digital, product, technology, marketing, eCommerce, and related functions.
• Serves as executive sponsor and senior commercial lead for the most strategic, complex, or high-value merchant opportunities.
• Communicates the strategy, value proposition, and vision of Paze to merchant executives and other industry stakeholders, creating alignment and commitment across complex decision-making groups.
• Leads complex commercial discussions and negotiations involving strategic, financial, operational, product, technology, implementation, and contractual considerations.
• Develops merchant segmentation, account prioritization, coverage models, and resource allocation practices that focus the team on the highest-value opportunities.
• Establishes scalable sales processes, pipeline governance, forecasting practices, performance measures, and operating rhythms that improve execution, visibility, and accountability.
• Conducts regular pipeline, forecast, and performance reviews with executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Partners with Channel Partnerships and reseller organizations to develop coordinated account strategies and expand merchant reach through direct and indirect sales channels.
• Collaborates with Product, Marketing, Customer Integration, Relationship Management, Technology, Finance, Legal, and Risk to resolve barriers, manage dependencies, and improve the merchant sales and implementation experience.
• Anticipates changes in merchant priorities, payment technology, competitive conditions, eCommerce practices, and market dynamics, and adapts the merchant go-to-market strategy accordingly.
• Provides actionable merchant, customer, and competitive insights that inform product strategy, marketing priorities, implementation practices, and the Paze roadmap.
• Develops business cases, sales strategies, executive presentations, and recommendations for new market opportunities, merchant segments, partnerships, or commercial models.
• Leads cross-functional initiatives to improve merchant acquisition, contracting, onboarding, launch readiness, and post-sale transition.
• Ensures merchant opportunities, stakeholder interactions, forecasts, agreements, and supporting records are accurately maintained in the designated customer relationship management platform.
• Builds a high-performing leadership and sales talent pipeline by recruiting, coaching, differentiating performance, providing actionable feedback, and developing future l