Regional Head of Merchant Services Operations

JOB DESCRIPTION

Summary/ Objective

The Group Head of Merchant Services Operations is a pivotal role responsible for overseeing and leading the local onboarding function, quality assurance function, support services function, and fraud & transaction monitoring function. The primary objective of this role is to ensure that the merchant onboarding and activation processes are efficient, compliant with company policies and regulatory standards, and that all transactions are processed securely while fraudulent activities are proactively detected and prevented.

The Group Head will be directly involved in transaction monitoring and fraud prevention activities, playing a hands-on role in identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks associated with fraudulent activities. This includes implementing robust fraud detection mechanisms, overseeing monitoring systems, and taking swift action to address suspicious activity to protect the company and its merchants.

To achieve these objectives, the Group Head of Merchant Services Operations will:

• Manage and Develop Teams: Lead, develop, and support teams across onboarding, quality assurance, support services, and fraud monitoring functions.
• Set Targets and Monitor Performance: Establish clear goals for the teams, track performance metrics, and identify areas for improvement to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Ensure Compliance: Oversee processes to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, card scheme rules, and internal policies.
• Drive Collaboration: Work closely with IT, compliance, risk, and sales departments to align onboarding and fraud monitoring processes with the company’s overall strategic objectives.
• Enhance Processes: Continuously review and improve onboarding workflows, transaction monitoring frameworks, and fraud detection tools to keep up with evolving threats and industry best practices.
• Monitor Transactions and Prevent Fraud: Actively oversee fraud detection systems, analyze transaction data, and implement preventive measures to safeguard merchant and company interests.

The role demands a proactive and strategic leader with a keen eye for detail, strong analytical skills, and a commitment to maintaining the highest standards of operational efficiency and security. By combining leadership capabilities with deep involvement in operational functions, the Group Head of Merchant Services Operations will play a critical role in ensuring the seamless activation of merchants, the secure processing of transactions, and the prevention of fraudulent activities.

Essential Functions

The essential functions of a Group Head of Merchant Services Operations role include:

1. Overseeing the Local Onboarding Function:
   1. Ensuring that the local onboarding team is adequately trained and adheres to the company’s standards and guidelines.
   2. Managing the performance of the local onboarding team by setting targets and goals and monitoring their progress towards achieving them.
   3. Identifying areas for improvement and implementing solutions to enhance the onboarding process.
   4. Ensuring that onboarding activities are compliant with regulatory requirements and aligned with the company’s policies and procedures.
2. Managing the Quality Assurance Function:
   1. Developing and implementing quality assurance policies and procedures.
   2. Conducting regular quality checks to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, company policies, and standards.
   3. Identifying areas of weakness in the onboarding process and implementing solutions to improve quality.
   4. Providing feedback to local managers and their teams to improve their performance and adherence to quality standards.

3. Managing the Support Services Function:
   1. Overseeing the team responsible for configurations for existing merchants and the activation of PSP merchants.
   2. Ensuring that the support services team is adequately trained and adheres to the company’s standards and guidelines.
   3. Monitoring the performance of the support services team and ensuring that they meet their targets and goals.
   4. Identifying areas for improvement in the support services process and implementing solutions to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

4. Managing the Fraud & Transaction Monitoring Function:
   1. Developing and implementing fraud and transaction monitoring policies and procedures.
   2. Ensuring that the fraud and transaction monitoring team is adequately trained and adheres to the company’s standards and guidelines.
   3. Monitoring the performance of the fraud and transaction monitoring team and ensuring that they meet their targets and goals.
   4. Identifying and mitigating fraud risks, ensuring that transactions are processed securely and accurately, and taking swift action to address fraudulent activities.

5. Collaborating with Other Departments:
   1. Working closely with IT, compliance, and sales teams to ensure that onboarding and transaction processes are aligned with the company’s overall strategy and objectives.
   2. Reporting regularly to senior management, providing updates on performance, progress towards targets, and key operational insights.

6. Leadership and Reporting:
   1. Serving as a key point of contact for senior management, providing detailed reports and analysis on the performance of the onboarding, quality assurance, support services, and fraud & transaction monitoring functions.
   2. Leading and motivating cross-functional teams to achieve operational excellence, while fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
   3. Acting as a strategic advisor to management, ensuring operational decisions align with the broader goals of the organization.

Competencies

1. Leadership: The ability to lead and manage teams, set clear expectations, motivate team members, and provide feedback and coaching to improve performance.
2. Strategic thinking: The ability to think strategically and develop plans to achieve business goals and objectives. This includes identifying areas for improvement, developing solutions, and implementing strategies to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
3. Communication: The ability to communicate effectively and build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. This includes the ability to articulate complex information in a clear and concise manner and adapt communication style to different audiences.
4. Problem-solving: The ability to identify problems, analyze data, develop solutions, and implement strategies to improve processes and performance.
5. Collaboration: The ability to collaborate with other departments and stakeholders to achieve common goals. This includes the ability to build strong working relationships, resolve conflicts, and work effectively in a team environment.
6. Technical knowledge: The ability to understand and apply technical knowledge related to merchant onboarding, activation, transaction processing, fraud prevention, and risk management.
7. Attention to detail: The ability to pay attention to detail and ensure that processes are compliant with regulatory requirements and aligned with company policies and procedures.
8. Project management: The ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritize tasks, and ensure that projects are delivered on time and within budget.

Role Key Performance Indicator KPIs:

1. Merchant onboarding cycle time: The time it takes to onboard a merchant from initial contact to activation.
2. Quality assurance compliance: The percentage of merchant onboarding and transaction processing activities that meet company quality standards and comply with regulatory requirements.
3. Fraud detection rate: The percentage of fraudulent transactions that are detected and prevented by the fraud and transaction monitoring team.
4. First-time approval rate: The percentage of merchant applications that are approved on the first attempt without requiring additional documentation or follow-up.
5. Support services turnaround time: The time it takes to respond to and resolve merchant support requests.
6. Employee engagement: The level of engagement and satisfaction of team members, as measured through surveys or other feedback mechanisms.
7. Compliance with regulatory requirements: The percentage of onboarding and transaction processing activities that comply with relevant regulations and standards.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

These are full-time positions, and regular hours of work and days are Sunday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m

Travel

If needed

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.