Strategic Payments & Operations Director

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

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.