Director, Payments Strategy & Transformation

TD Bank•New York, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Payments Strategy & Transformation will shape the enterprise payments agenda, connect strategic priorities to a multi-year transformation portfolio, and translate ambition into target-state capabilities, product and platform roadmaps, operating models, investment cases and executable delivery plans. The role will help drive modernization across payment initiation, processing, clearing, settlement, reconciliation and post-transaction services, ensuring the strategy addresses client outcomes, growth, efficiency, scalability, resilience, risk and regulatory obligations. Working across TD Bank and relevant enterprise partners in business, product, operations, technology, architecture, data, finance, risk and control functions, the Director will lead complex initiatives spanning payments strategy, transformation, platform consolidation and the creation of a multi-horizon roadmap for payment processing and post-transaction capabilities. The mandate includes wires, ACH and mass payments, real-time and instant payments, cross-border payments, SWIFT and ISO 20022, correspondent banking, liquidity and settlement, fraud and sanctions controls, APIs and ERP/TMS connectivity. This role requires the ability to structure ambiguous problems, define business and functional requirements, influence senior stakeholders, and drive disciplined execution in a global, matrixed environment.

Requirements

An undergraduate degree is required and 7+ years of relevant experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, product strategy or a comparable strategic role within payments, transaction banking, financial services or an adjacent industry.
Thought leader and strategic thinker with a strong understanding of the payment's ecosystem, product capabilities, business models, economics, revenue drivers and major market participants.
Demonstrated future-focused mindset on how to drive the business forward with effective influencing skills willing to bridge across different teams and functions to deliver quality results
Demonstrated ability to lead complex, enterprise-level initiatives end-to-end and drive progress across global, matrixed organizations.
Exceptional problem-solving skills with the ability to structure ambiguous issues, perform rigorous analysis and convert findings into practical recommendations.
Excellent presentation and writing skills, including the ability to independently develop high-quality materials for senior executives and Boards.
Executive presence and strong interpersonal skills, with a record of building trusted relationships, challenging assumptions and influencing stakeholders without direct authority.
Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines and maintain meticulous attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.
A collaborative and inclusive leadership style, with the ability to provide clear guidance, coach colleagues and raise the quality of team output.
Strong knowledge of end-to-end payment flows and major payment rails, including ACH, Fedwire, CHIPS, SWIFT, RTP/FedNow and relevant Canadian or global clearing systems, together with clearing, settlement, liquidity, reconciliation and correspondent-banking concepts.
Demonstrated experience defining payment strategies and leading modernization involving ISO 20022, real-time or cross-border payments, platform replacement or consolidation, data and API enablement, legacy decommissioning and target operating model implementation.
Working knowledge of payment risk and control requirements, including sanctions and AML screening, fraud and credit-push fraud monitoring, cyber and data risk, operational resilience, scheme compliance, regulatory reporting, change governance and audit readiness.
Comfortable working in ambiguous and changing circumstances, able to navigate complex situations independently and determine what issues require escalation, what to resolve and how to make suggestions for improvement.

Nice To Haves

Experience with digital assets, real-time payments or other emerging payment capabilities is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Own high-priority payments strategy and transformation engagements from problem definition and workplan development through recommendation, implementation planning and execution oversight.
Translate business objectives and client payment needs into target-state capabilities, process flows, product roadmaps, business requirements, prioritized backlogs and delivery artifacts.
Establish and govern business, functional and non-functional payment requirements across, pre-processing, processing, clearing, settlement and post transaction reporting and servicing.
Ensure payment requirements address applicable scheme, clearing and regulatory obligations, including ISO 20022 message and structured-data standards, SWIFT and domestic rail requirements, sanctions and AML controls, fraud monitoring, data retention, operational resilience, cybersecurity, privacy and auditability.
Lead strategic design for wires, ACH and mass payments, real-time and instant payments, cross-border services, request-to-pay, confirmation or pre-validation of payee, rich remittance data, payment tracking and exception management, while evaluating emerging capabilities such as tokenized deposits and digital assets.
Partner with leaders across business, product, operations, engineering, design, risk, compliance and legal to align priorities, resolve dependencies and advance transformation outcomes.
Conduct in-depth research to support complex analyses of market demand, market dynamics, competitive positioning, emerging payment models and technologies which could impact the future of payments (e.g., digital assets) to identify strategic choices and growth opportunities.
Prepare clear, compelling presentations, memoranda and decision materials for C-suite executives and Boards, synthesizing key issues, evaluating options and articulating actionable recommendations.
Design and lead executive workshops and working sessions, challenge established assumptions constructively and build consensus across diverse stakeholder groups.
Coordinate investment priorities, resources, milestones, risks and interdependencies to reduce duplication, address technical and operating debt and accelerate delivery of reusable capabilities.
Establish transformation governance, stage gates, key performance and risk indicators, and benefits-realization disciplines covering client adoption, revenue, transaction growth, straight-through processing, speed, availability, exception and repair rates, fraud losses, cost-to-serve and platform decommissioning.
Support current-state assessment, process re-engineering, migration and cutover strategy, testing, operational readiness, client and colleague change management, and transition to sustainable business-as-usual ownership for new payment capabilities.
Maintain a current view of the payments and transaction banking landscape and periodically refine strategic priorities in response to material industry, regulatory, technology and competitive developments.
Serve as a trusted strategic advisor who balances facilitation, influence and content leadership while ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy.
Coach and develop junior team members, provide clear direction and maintain high standards for analytical rigor, communication and quality of work product.