Senior Manager, Programs - Global Expansion and New Initiatives

Affirm; Minneapolis (MN); Remote; USD 173,000 - 233,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage for you and dependents

ESPP (employee stock purchase plan)

Flexible time off

Tech and wellness stipends

Job summary

Affirm is seeking an experienced leader to own the strategy of its global customer operations servicing model. You\'ll guide cross-functional expansion programs, build scalable playbooks, and lead a multi-discipline team to deliver operational excellence for international customers.

You will partner with Product, Engineering, Analytics, Risk, and Training to drive performance, standardize processes, and push for continuous improvement across markets and channels.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of relevant experience, including 5+ years leading teams and/or managing other managers or senior professionals.
• Experience building and scaling global customer experience operations and working in global environments across cultures and geographies.
• Deep program and process management expertise (PMP and/or Lean Six Sigma Black Belt a plus).
• Broad, cross-disciplinary expertise with knowledge of customer care, fraud, and/or merchant operations.

Responsibilities

• Own the strategy and roadmap for how Customer Operations scales to support global expansion – new products, merchants/partners, geo launches, and channels.
• Establish and modify the team\'s objectives, policies, procedures, and work plans; define methods and success criteria across regions.
• Lead and develop a team spanning multiple disciplines; oversee professionals and, where applicable, other leaders; delegate assignments.
• Drive the strategy and success of large-scale cross-area programs for operations – launches, automation, and new-product scaling across a multi-market servicing landscape.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Analytics, Risk, Training, Knowledge, and Service Delivery leads to run cross-functional discovery and planning.
• Build alignment across mid- to senior-level leaders cross-functionally and influence outcomes in complex situations.
• Own portfolio-level governance and drive awareness, issue resolution, and decisions affecting teams and programs over a 1yr+ horizon.
• Own post-launch operational performance for the global international operations portfolio and set up rituals to support global teams.
• Serve as a subject-matter expert on the global servicing operating model and represent Customer Operations on broader initiatives.
• Champion an analytical, data-driven culture across Product, Analytics, Engineering, and the business.
• Develop communication and change-management plans and track risks, issues, actions, and dependencies.
• Represent the unique customer servicing needs of global customers at scale across core operations.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Global operations

Program management

Stakeholder alignment

Job description

At Affirm, we exist for the moments that matter- giving people a clear, predictable way to pay over time, with no hidden fees, no surprises, and no tradeoffs on what matters most.

About The Operations Team

The Operations team delivers seamless customer experiences and enables new product capabilities while ensuring operational excellence. The team owns strategy, planning, technical execution, customer service, fraud operations, process design, quality, training, and program management. We drive efficiency, resolve issues quickly, and scale operations as the business grows. Our goal is to deliver seamless support while maintaining high standards and reducing risk.

About The Role

As we scale into new products, partners, geographies, and channels, we need an exceptional leader to own the strategy of how our servicing operating model evolves globally. In this role you'll set the customer operations strategy for a portfolio of complex, cross‑functional expansion programs, lead a team of program and process managers, and be accountable for adapting the servicing model to new and differentiated products across markets. In addition, you will be the leader who represents operations across international business teams providing transparency into performance and partnering across product, engineering, and operations to help drive continuous improvement in service delivery for international customers. The ideal candidate pairs strong business acumen and judgment with the ability to lead teams, shape ambiguous problem spaces into clear operating plans, and influence senior partners across the company. A deep passion for growing international businesses and working to understand the localization needs for customer experience and being able to implement with scale and efficiency will be key.

This role requires deep expertise in the customer/merchant servicing space and a strong grounding in financial services. You'll own a portfolio that spans a multitude of international servicing landscapes – launching, testing and learning in operations, and scaling geo expansions, new product scaling, and new channel expansion – and you'll build the standards, methods, and team that make those programs repeatable at global scale via playbooks.

What You’ll Do

• Own the strategy and roadmap for how Customer Operations scales to support global expansion – new products, merchants/partners, geo launches, and channels – translating ambiguous, undefined business direction into structured programs and clear operating plans.
• Establish and modify the team's operational objectives, policies, procedures, and work plans; define the methods, frameworks, and success criteria used to run initiatives across regions.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team spanning two or more disciplines (e.g., program management and service delivery via process/continuous improvement); oversee professionals and, where applicable, other people leaders; delegate assignments and ensure effective execution.
• Drive the strategy and success of large‑scale, cross‑area programs for operations – merchant/geo launches, automation and efficiency programs, new‑product scaling – managing scope, schedule, budget, dependencies, and risk across a complex, multi‑market servicing landscape.
• Partner in lock step with Product, Engineering, Analytics, Risk, Training, Knowledge, and Service Delivery leads to run cross‑functional discovery and scoping, coordinate planning, and oversee dependencies through the full program lifecycle.
• Build alignment across mid‑ to senior‑level leaders cross‑functionally; influence outcomes in complex or sensitive situations while strengthening those relationships.
• Own portfolio‑level governance (working groups, weekly/monthly business reviews) to drive awareness, issue resolution, and decision‑making; be accountable for decisions that affect team, program, and overall business results over a medium‑term (1yr+) horizon and that can carry company‑wide effects.
• Own post‑launch operational performance for the global international operations portfolio and set up rituals and roles to support global business teams with transparent performance and improvement plans across servicing and operations.
• Serve as a recognized subject‑matter expert and thought leader on the global servicing operating model; build networks and represent Customer Operations on broader, organization‑wide initiatives.
• Champion an analytical, data‑driven culture within the team and across Product, Analytics, Engineering, and the broader business.
• Develop communication and change‑management plans for the portfolio, and own the processes for logging and tracking risks, issues, actions, and dependencies.
• Represent the unique customer servicing needs of global customers at scale across core operations.

What We Look For

• 12+ years of relevant experience, including 5+ years leading teams and/or managing other managers or senior professionals.
• Experience building and scaling global customer experience operations and working in global environments across cultures and geographies.
• Deep program and process management expertise (PMP and/or Lean Six Sigma Black Belt a plus), with a track record of defining methods and standards – not just applying them.
• Broad, cross‑disciplinary expertise and a strong understanding of how the wider organization and market operate, complemented by deep functional knowledge of customer care, fraud, and/or merchant operations (processes, systems, and key metrics).
• Strong knowledge of how shared services operate; experience in services, operations, and/or sales.
• Experience delivering programs across multiple geographies or markets strongly preferred; consumer lending or financial services background strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to work on unique, poorly defined problems that lack strategic direction – evaluating intangibles, applying conceptual thinking, and creating the approach and evaluation criteria.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and build alignment among diverse, senior stakeholders in complex or sensitive situations.
• Sound judgment to make discretionary decisions with significant latitude, balancing research, creativity, and business impact.
• Self‑starter with a strong sense of urgency, accountability, and results orientation, and a genuine enthusiasm for developing people and building new capabilities.

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Base Pay Grade - N

Equity Grade - 9

Employees new to affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job‑related skills.

Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include equity rewards, monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents.)

USA base pay range (CA, WA, NY, NJ, CT): $195,000 - $255,000 USD.

USA base pay range (all other U.S. states): $173,000 - $233,000 USD.

Remote‑first with flexibility built in. Affirm is proud to be a remote‑first company. Most roles can be done from almost anywhere within the country of employment. Some positions may occasionally require in‑person work at an Affirm office, and a few are office‑based due to the nature of the work. All new hires will be invited to attend an in‑person onboarding experience.

Benefits Designed For You

• Health coverage at no cost: We cover 100% of premiums for employees and their dependents.
• Spending stipends: Monthly stipends support your tech setup, and the ability to choose health and wellness options that are right for you.
• Time off to recharge: Flexible time off and generous holiday calendars help you rest when you need to.
• Own a piece of what you build: Our employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets you buy Affirm stock at a discount.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive interview process, including accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need support, we’re happy to help.

For positions based in San Francisco or Los Angeles: Affirm considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.