Payment Strategy Manager - Remote

GENERAL SUMMARY:

The Payment Strategy Manager at Vantage West Credit Union is a forward-thinking professional responsible for driving the strategic direction, innovation, and roadmap for digital payment solutions. This role focuses on the vision, prioritization, and evolution of the credit union's payment ecosystem, and manages the entire lifecycle of various payment methods, including RTP, FedNow, Wire Transfers, ACH, Crypto and Card-based systems. The Payment Strategy Manager ensures alignment with business objectives and member needs, collaborating with cross-functional teams and external partners to lead product discovery, competitive analysis, and roadmap planning, using data to guide innovation and investment in future-ready payment solutions The Payment Strategy Manager will lead the payments vision by partnering with multiple departments (Lending, Deposit Operations, IT, Risk Management, Compliance, Marketing, and Member Experience).

Salary range is $71,805.29-$94,244.45. Job Grade, EX 14. Final salary is dependent on candidate's experience and qualifications.

Remote work is not available for candidates residing, or planning to reside in: CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, HI, ME, MA, MD, MN, NJ, NY, OR, PA, PR, RI, WA.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Minimum Education & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Technology, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent progressive experience.
• Minimum 4 years of experience in universal payments or financial services




• To include 2 years experience developing strategy and/or roadmaps for financial services.

Minimum Knowledge & Skill Requirements:

• Proven ability to develop and execute strategic product roadmaps, including feature prioritization, long-term planning, and cross-functional alignment.
• Knowledge with Agile methodologies and tools.
• Outstanding communication, presentation, and leadership skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the ability to multitask effectively in a high-paced, highly visible role.
• Ability to develop, monitor, and analyze KPIs to measure the effectiveness of payment strategies, providing insights and recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of end-to-end customer experience integration and dependencies.
• Ability to lead process improvement projects, manage product backlogs, and prioritize activities to ensure alignment with product strategy and business goals.
• Experience in working closely with cross-functional teams and external vendors to deliver high-quality payment solutions.

COMPETENCIES:

• Problem Solving
• Functional/Technical Skills
• Process Management
• Customer Focus
• Decision Quality
• Strategic Agility & Planning
• Adaptability and Continuous Learning

WORKING CONDITIONS/ENVIRONMENT:

This job requires the employee to sit or stand for extended periods of time. Infrequent lifting up to 25 lbs.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Must comply with all aspects of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). .

MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES AND TASKS:

• Product Strategy & Vision: Define and champion a long-term payments strategy and roadmap that positions Vantage West Credit Union as a leader in digital financial services. Align payment innovations with enterprise goals, regulatory trends, and member needs.
• Strategic Planning: Drive strategic planning for new payment capabilities and evaluate emerging trends to shape innovation and investment decisions (e.g. BNPL, embedded finance, digital currencies, etc.)
• Collaboration & Leadership: Work closely with cross-functional teams during product visioning and concept development.
• Product Lifecycle Management: Manage the entire product lifecycle, from ideation to launch and beyond, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with business objectives. Continuously assess value and prioritize stories, epics, and themes to maximize product impact.
• Market Research & Innovation: Conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify opportunities for innovation and improvement in digital payment offerings.
• Product Roadmap & KPIs: Develop and monitor KPIs tied to product performance, adoption, and ROI, using data insights to guide strategic pivots and feature investments..
• User Experience & Improvement: Continuously make improvements and fixes to the product to enhance the customer experience, ensuring product designs are user-friendly and aligned with business goals.
• Process Improvement & Automation: Lead process improvement projects and identify opportunities to leverage automation and AI/ML technologies to streamline operations and optimize payment strategies.
• Vendor & Partner Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with external vendors and partners, negotiate contracts, and ensure optimal service levels.
• Change Management: Champion change management principles by leading training initiatives and ensuring seamless transitions during system updates, integrations, or migrations.
• Cryptocurrency: Research and analyze the potential impacts and value propositions of offering cryptocurrency-related services, including technical requirements, security considerations, and regulatory challenges.

Performs other duties as assigned

About Us:

At Vantage West, we pride ourselves on fostering a vibrant learning environment where curiosity and growth are at the heart of everything we do. Together, we are not just building a successful company; we are cultivating a community where everyone can thrive.

Benefits And Perks:

* Health Coverage - We offer medical, dental and vision coverage for you and your dependents. Other benefits include: life insurance, flexible spending accounts, pet insurance, Team Member Assistance Program (EAP), and Corporate Care Solutions (Backup Child and Adult Care Services).

* Paid Time Off and Holidays - Work-life balance is a focus with generous paid time off, with additional time given for sick days, paid holidays, and 16 hours of paid time to participate in our community volunteer program. We also offer enhanced paid military leave and paid maternity/paternity leave.

* Retirement Savings - Generous 401k Plan.

* Development Activities - We focus on continuous growth by encouraging Job Shadowing and Personal Development Plans, which leads to a 40+% annual internal promotion rate.

* Tuition Reimbursement - We have partnered with the University of Arizona Global Campus to offer eligible full-time employees 100% tuition coverage towards an online Bachelor's or Master's Degree.

Equal Opportunity Employer Veterans Disabled