Director, Strategic Planning

Worldpay • Cincinnati, OH

1d

About The Position

We’re looking for a Director, Strategic Planning, to join our ever-evolving team and help us unleash the potential of every business. The Partner Program Manager – Payments is responsible for building, managing, and scaling indirect partner programs supporting Agent, ISO, and Full‑Service payments partners. This role owns the full partner lifecycle—from recruitment and onboarding through enablement, performance management, and compliance—driving merchant acquisition, transaction volume, and long‑term residual revenue while ensuring strict adherence to regulatory and risk requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience
• 5+ years of experience in payments, merchant services, or fintech partner/channel management
• Direct experience managing Agent/ISO and/or Full‑Service payments partners
• Strong understanding of acquiring models, merchant pricing, commissions, and residual revenue structures
• Proven ability to manage partners in a regulated, risk‑sensitive environment

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with payment gateways, POS platforms, or integrated software vendors (ISVs)
• Familiarity with CRM, PRM, underwriting, and commission management systems
• Experience supporting high‑volume merchant portfolios and national ISO partners
• Strong financial acumen with comfort analyzing margin and partner economics

Responsibilities

• Design and manage Agent/ISO and Full‑Service partner programs, including tiering, commission structures, residuals, incentives, and volume thresholds
• Define partner roles across referral, resale, and full merchant‑of‑record or servicing models
• Optimize programs to increase merchant acquisition, processing volume, and portfolio retention
• Support recruitment and activation of high‑quality Agent/ISO and Full‑Service payments partners
• Manage end‑to‑end onboarding including contracts, underwriting requirements, pricing models, and system provisioning
• Ensure partners understand merchant onboarding workflows, underwriting expectations, and time‑to‑activation standards
• Develop payments‑specific enablement materials covering products such as card acquiring, gateways, POS, terminals, ACH, BNPL, and value‑added services
• Train partners on pricing models, margin management, residual economics, and competitive positioning
• Partner with Sales teams on co‑selling strategies, deal support, and complex merchant opportunities
• Track partner performance using key payments metrics such as merchant count, approvals, processing volume, net revenue, and residual growth
• Conduct regular partner business reviews (QBRs) focused on pipeline, conversion rates, and portfolio health
• Identify upsell and cross‑sell opportunities across hardware, software, and ancillary payments services
• Ensure partners comply with payments regulations and standards, including underwriting policies, KYC, AML, PCI DSS, and brand requirements
• Partner with Risk, Legal, and Operations teams to support audits, merchant reviews, and issue resolution
• Monitor chargeback trends, fraud exposure, and partner adherence to acceptable use policies
• Collaborate with Product, Operations, Risk, Finance, and Marketing to align partner strategy with payments capabilities
• Support MDF programs, co‑branded marketing, and field engagement activities
• Act as the internal voice of the partner, driving feedback into product and process improvements

Benefits

• EEOC Statement
• Reasonable accommodations will be provided for individuals with qualified disabilities both during the hiring process, as well as to allow the individual to perform the essential functions of the job, if hired.

What This Job Offers

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