Payment Operations Manager

EML Payments

EML Payments is a global leader in the fintech space. Headquarters is in Brisbane Australia, offices are located around the world including USA and Europe. Our mission is to create awesome, instant, and secure payment solutions that connect our customers to their customers, anytime, anywhere, wherever money is in motion. Our Purpose is to inspire transformative digital change for our customers and communities.

About the role

• The Payment Operations Manager is the local representative for the global Payment Operations team, in Australia, with responsibility for local service delivery and partner relationships and of operational activities across card schemes (Visa, Mastercard and eftpos) and associated payment partners (current and future) for services such as BPAY, NPP and acquiring.  Alongside partner relationship management, you’ll balance hands-on BAU with delivery of technical and scheme/partner operational change, ensuring payments are reliable, well-controlled, and compliant.
• You will play an active role in structured partner governance, including participation in service reviews, SLA performance reporting, and driving alignment to EML’s objectives.  This is a hands-on role that mixes day-to-day problem solving with building better ways of working, bringing clarity, structure, and a calm, solutions-focused approach to complex challenges.

What you'll do

• Oversee regular operational activities, reporting, and requirements for payment schemes (Visa/Mastercard/eftpos), providing escalation support and SME guidance.
• Ensure adherence to scheme rules, operational standards, and mandatory change programs.
• Support BIN setup, program configuration, and lifecycle management.
• Monitor scheme performance and operational risks, developing and reporting KPIs for leadership visibility and continuous improvement.
• Lead operational deliverables and readiness for program launches, network integrations, migrations, and technical change, coordinating Technology, Product, Compliance and external providers to ensure smooth go-live and BAU handover.
• Manage and/or provide oversight on scheme‑related EMV and chip compliance activities, such as coordination of chip profile updates and chip waiver requests with the schemes.
• Manage operational escalations with card schemes and payment partners, coordinating incident resolution and ensuring follow-ups are completed.
• Support operational delivery across the broader payments ecosystem (acquiring partners, processors, and service providers), ensuring reliable performance and timely issue resolution.
• Support partner governance (MBRs/service reviews) by providing performance/SLA inputs, capturing actions/decisions, and tracking follow-ups to closure.
• Mentor and develop junior colleagues through coaching, structured knowledge-sharing and review of key deliverables, building capability and consistency across the team.
• Define, document, and implement operational payment processes aligned with scheme rules and regulatory standards.
• Oversee assurance documentation and audits, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and scheme requirements.
• Contribute to payment-related projects, including regulator-driven or scheme-driven initiatives.

Qualifications:

Knowledge of and skills in:

• Prepaid and debit products, and the associated funding and transaction flows
• Operational project management with a focus on execution and process improvement
• Strong understanding of card network operations, including BIN management and implementations, prepaid/debit card program requirements, transaction routing and more
• Proven vendor or relationship management experience
• Familiarity with acquirers, processors, and non‑card payment partners would be advantageous 

Ability to:

• Negotiate with partners and vendors, driving operational and strategic outcomes that align with business objectives
• Manage complex relationships across issuers, acquirers, card networks and service providers
• Ensure program compliance with network rules, reducing risk and improving performance
• Deliver to tight timelines while managing multiple priorities
• Communicate clearly with partners, stakeholders and internal teams
• Work independently and stay hands-on in execution
• Lead cross-functional delivery without direct authority, driving partner outcomes
• Apply a practical, solutions-focused approach to operational issues
• Operate effectively in a global payments environment across varied regulatory and operational contexts

What We Offer:
If you love what you do, you should love where you do it. We appreciate that everyone’s different and has their own preferences of where and how to work. We genuinely believe in the power of regular face-to-face interactions in building close connections with our teams, but we also strongly believe people can work effectively remotely. This means that combining both is the key to success.

• Competitive Salary: We offer a competitive salary package commensurate with your skills, experience, and industry standards.
• Short-Term Incentive (STI) Opportunity: You will have the opportunity to participate in our short-term incentive program, based on performance targets and business objectives.
• Flexible working culture where you’re empowered to work in a way that suits your lifestyle, anywhere.
• Leave Programs: Enjoy benefits such as the Take 5 extra annual leave program, Birthday leave, and 2 days of volunteer leave per year.