Payment Optimisation Manager

Our client is a global media and information-services company who empower people to understand and tackle the critical challenges and changes facing the world. Through analytical rigour, global expertise and evidence-based insights they enable individuals and organisations to make sense of these shifts and chart a course through them.

Reporting to the Head of Customer Retention, the Payment Optimisation Manager will be responsible for ensuring optimised processes and contractual arrangements are in place to secure the acceptance of online payments for our global subscription business.

You will be an expert in card payment processing. You'll hit the ground running with a proven track record of product management, specialising in managing payment gateway-related products and authentication products such as 3D Secure. Experience with products driven by data and predictive modelling would be an advantage.

Responsibilities will include:

• Support the Head of Customer Retention in executing the customer-led renewal strategy to increase retention rates and lifetime value
• Manage relationships with payment service providers, gateways, acquiring partners and payment aggregators including negotiation of commercial terms and contracts and outreach to card schemes where necessary
• Analyse monthly transaction data from acquiring platforms to develop strategy, in conjunction with the retention team to reduce decline rates and friction
• Continuously develop and produce global reports detailing key payment KPIs for actionable insight
• Develop payment processes to maximise efficiency whilst maintaining regulatory and legislative compliance
• Liaise with technology and retention team to help manage payment projects from design through to rollout
• Regularly monitor transaction data to ensure any significant increases in payment failures and rejections are flagged early
• Maintain database of merchant identification numbers
• Conduct ongoing market analysis to keep abreast of the latest trends in payment optimisation

Who you are:

• Experience with the card payment industry; optimising recurring payment acceptance rates, improving new transaction approval rates and knowledge of card scheme rules.
• Deep understanding of the nuances between different card schemes, issuers, countries etc
• Knowledge of regulations affecting card and electronic payments (e.g. latest iteration of PCI/DSS, PSD2, Network Tokenisation, etc.)
• Proven ability to identify and recommend improvements that demonstrate ROI
• Dealt with international payment methods (local credit cards, bank transfers, etc.) and has an awareness of emerging alternative payment mechanisms (APM’s such as digital wallets & open banking transfers).
• Good attention to detail and confidence in monitoring and analysing large volumes of data
• Good written and oral communication skills
• High level of professionalism and personal integrity
• Strong communication skills
• Prior success in developing and optimising payment processes
• Ability to manage stakeholder needs
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills 
• Pro-activeness and responsiveness