Director of Payment Operations

KCU • Bremerton, WA

13h • Hybrid

About The Position

Kitsap Credit Union is seeking a Director of Payment Operations for a hybrid role based out of their Bremerton office. This position is responsible for leading, directing, and guiding the Payment Operations team to ensure the effective modernization of Kitsap Credit Union's payment processing in alignment with the overall payments strategy. The role ensures the efficient and effective processing of ACH, wires, BillPay, and real-time payments in an innovative and compliant manner, including settlement and reconciliation. The Director will leverage deep technical knowledge and strong people leadership skills to position the team for growth.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in payment operations, with a deep understanding of ACH, wires, and real-time payments.
• 5+ years of supervisory experience with strong leadership and management skills, the ability to motivate and develop teams.
• Proven problem-solving, analytical and technical skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across functions and levels of the organization.
• Strong MS Office skills required, including the ability to use these to analyze and communicate complex data, issues, and solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite software.
• Demonstrates a high level of engagement and active collaboration contributing to a positive team environment.
• Understand, model, and represent KCU’s core values.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or relevant certification preferred.
• AAP or similar payment certification preferred.
• Experience in a credit union or financial institution preferred.

Responsibilities

• Implement strategies to optimize payment operations, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and compliance with regulations.
• Evaluate emerging payment trends and recommend strategies to ensure the future state of Payment Operations remains efficient and effective.
• Oversee the processing of ACH, wires, and real-time payments, ensuring timely and accurate execution.
• Monitor industry trends and regulatory changes to identify opportunities for process improvements and risk mitigation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement new payment products and services.
• Manage relationships with payment service providers and technology vendors.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of payment operations professionals, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.
• Develop and manage the payment operations budget, ensuring cost-effective operations.
• Provide regular reporting and analysis on payment operations performance to senior management.
• Accountable for the department’s quality, timeliness, and compliance in the development and execution of operational processes, including operational efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability utilizing KCU financial and staff resources.
• Negotiate SLAs with key internal business partners and assure compliance with regular reviews.
• Serve as Subject Matter Expert and provide professional advice to managers and VPs on payments risk, rules/regulatory compliance, and industry best practices.
• Accountable for reporting and compliance with payment regulations and KCU policies, related to ACH, wires, and Real Time Payments.
• Set Performance Measures for the department to include quantitative and qualitative targets with the objective to continually identify improvements to controls, resources utilization, and member experience.
• Evaluate vendor performance, SLAs, contractual commitments, and invoices.
• Lead the team in organization-wide and departmental projects, including assuring appropriate controls/risk mitigation, regulatory compliance, departmental impact assessment, development of procedural and staff training.
• Manage the performance of team members including regular performance coaching and feedback, performance evaluations, team member engagement, corrective actions, and identifying team member development opportunities.
• Develop and manage departmental annual budget, including explanations of monthly variances to budget.
• Use professional judgment and interpersonal skills to communicate with both executives and employees.
• Use data to address management concerns to highlight the best paths forward.
• Coordinate and ensure completion of testing and implementing disaster recovery and business continuity plans for payment operations.
• Understand, model, and represent KCU’s core values.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Free onsite parking
• Annual time off and sick time accrued
• 11 paid holidays
• 1 Personal Floating Day
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Short- and Long-term Disability, Life and AD&D Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Choice from a PPO medical plan or a High Deductible with a Health Savings Account
• 3% KCU funded Safe Harbor Contribution to your 401K
• KCU will match up to 2% of your 401K contributions
• All 401K contributions are 100% vested
• Potential annual incentive in all roles within Kitsap Credit Union
• Tuition reimbursement
• 8 hours of paid volunteer time off
• Discounts on KCU's products and services
• Unlimited ORCA transit access through KCU for less than $45 a year

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director