Senior Operations Manager, Wire Transfers

Safra National Bank; United States; On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading private bank in the United States is seeking a Senior Operations Leader to oversee wire transfers and payments operations. This role requires at least 8 years of banking operations experience, specifically in wire transfer processes, and 3+ years in a leadership position. Responsibilities include managing daily wire operations, leading significant initiatives for system enhancements, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. The ideal candidate will have strong problem management expertise and excellent communication skills.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in banking operations with deep experience in wire transfers.
• Strong understanding of wire controls and regulatory expectations.
• Proven track record in system/process enhancements.
• Expertise in root cause/problem management.
• Excellent executive communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own performance for wires and back office operations.
• Define operating procedures and manage expectations.
• Lead system enhancements and modernization initiatives.
• Govern root cause analysis for critical incidents.
• Represent operations in governance forums.

Skills

Banking operations experience

Wire transfers knowledge

Leadership in operations

Process enhancements

Regulatory compliance understanding

Job description

Safra National Bank of New York ("Safra National") is a nationally chartered U.S. Bank supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and member of the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). Headquartered in New York, with branches and offices in Florida, Massachusetts, California, and representative offices in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Panama, Safra National Bank is a leading private bank with a devoted team of relationship managers serving many sophisticated U.S. and international high net worth clients.

Position summary

Provides senior leadership for Internal & External Transfers functions including Safranet operations, including end-to-end execution, risk management, and continuous improvement. Oversees managers and teams responsible for daily wire processing (domestic and international), SWIFT messaging (as applicable), investigations/repairs, and back-office controls and validations. Sets multi-quarter roadmap aligned with strategy, drives system enhancements, and ensures the operation is scalable, compliant, and resilient.

Key responsibilities

Portfolio leadership and oversight

• Own overall performance for wires and back office: throughput, cutoffs, exception aging, repair rates, investigation timelines, and client satisfaction.
• Set operating cadence: daily/weekly performance reviews, capacity planning, risk reviews, and issue governance; ensure consistent execution across teams.
• Provide oversight and coaching to managers; set expectations, develop successors, and ensure strong frontline leadership coverage.
• Define and maintain operating procedures, approval limits, escalation paths, and segregation of duties across the portfolio.

System enhancements and strategic improvement

• Own the multi-quarter roadmap for wire and middle office modernization: straight-through processing, queue tooling, message automation, and control uplift.
• Partner with Technology to define requirements, prioritize enhancements, and ensure resilient design (availability, monitoring, auditability).
• Lead major initiatives (new wire platforms, SWIFT changes, sanction screening enhancements, workflow/case tooling, interface upgrades).
• Establish benefits tracking and ensure realized outcomes (capacity, error reduction, faster repairs, reduced operational losses).

Root cause analysis, controls, and regulatory readiness

• Ensure strong compliance and control environment across wires: sanctions screening, callbacks/verification, dual control, approvals, and audit evidence.
• Sponsor and govern root cause analysis for critical incidents (missed cutoffs, duplicate/erroneous wires, screening failures, client-impact events).
• Maintain KRIs/KPIs and risk dashboards; elevate emerging risks and ensure corrective/preventive actions are implemented and sustained.
• Lead exam/audit readiness for the portfolio; own remediation strategy and timelines for all issues within scope.

Stakeholder leadership and governance

• Represent wires and middle office in governance forums (change management, incident management, risk committees) with executive‑ready updates.
• Coordinate cross‑functional resolution with Treasury, Compliance, Fraud, IT, and Branch leadership; ensure clear ownership and rapid execution.
• Drive a culture of operational excellence, accountability, and client‑first decisioning while maintaining regulatory discipline.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in banking operations with deep experience in wire transfers and/or payments operations; 3+ years leading leaders (managers).
• Strong understanding of wire controls and regulatory expectations (e.g., sanctions screening/OFAC processes, verification/callback practices, audit evidence).
• Proven track record delivering system/process enhancements, leading UAT and cutover readiness, and improving operational resilience.
• Expertise in root cause/problem management and operational risk governance; experience owning audit/exam remediation.
• Excellent executive communication and ability to influence across Product, Technology, Risk, and Front Office leadership.

Preferred

• Experience with SWIFT operations and international payments investigations/repairs.
• Experience leading large‑scale modernization initiatives or platform migrations in payments.

Working conditions

• May require extended hours coverage during cutovers, incidents, or regulatory time‑sensitive events.

Safra National Bank of New York is an Equal Employment Opportunity