Emerging Payment Products Manager

Payments Canada•Toronto, ON

6d•CA$105,750 - CA$176,250•Hybrid

About The Position

Emerging Payment Products Manager is a functional expert and player-coach role within the RTR Products team at Payments Canada, entrusted with driving the execution and advancement of complex product initiatives across the entire RTR portfolio. Operating as a senior member of the team, you will collaborate extensively across multiple cross-functional squads (Interoperability, Commercial Growth, and Platform Strength) to ensure alignment and foster an environment of product evolution and continuous improvement. Your contributions will be instrumental in advancing Payments Canada’s strategic vision and proactively shaping the future landscape of real-time payments in Canada.

Requirements

Expertise in developing and maintaining strategic roadmap, translating long-term vision into phased, actionable delivery plans.
Must possess the ability to think beyond the immediate launch, demonstrating an understanding of technical scalability, business case development, and long-term operating modes required to successfully grow, and evolve a product.
Demonstrate a strong P and L mindset by developing and defending robust business cases, which requires management and understanding of revenue drivers, operational expenditures (OPEX), transaction costs, pricing strategies, and the costs associated with onboarding and application processes.
Proficiency in defining critical success factors (CSF) and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure product performance.
Highly capable business acumen, with specific experience in digital, payment, and financial technologies.
Demonstrated ability to understand and articulate complex technical architectures, data models, and integrations.
Capable of engaging credibly with engineering leads regarding trade-offs and scalability considerations.
Knowledge of various project delivery methodologies.
Strategic and Analytical Thinker: Embraces complexity, thinks creatively, and understands the multi-faceted impacts of policy decisions. Demonstrates critical reasoning and analytical skills.
Exceptional Communicator: Possesses excellent verbal and written communication skills. Capable of distilling complex concepts, challenges, and performance metrics into clear, concise communications tailored for diverse audiences including peers, executives, external partners, ecosystem users, and regulators.
Effective Influencer and Conflict Mediator: Proven ability to mediate conflicts, particularly those arising between product priorities and resource capacity. A skilled influencer who can guide and collaborate effectively with cross-functional leaders.
Adaptive Leader and Mentor: Exhibits the ability to adjust leadership style based on the maturity and complexity of tasks and the individual needs of team members. Committed to mentoring team members, identifying skill gaps, and providing actionable feedback that fosters professional growth and increases autonomy.
Committed to Continuous Improvement: Dedicated to continuous learning, skills development, and professional growth.
Undergraduate degree in Business, Economics, Finance, or a related discipline.
Minimum of seven (7) to ten (10) years of progressive experience in product management, strategic business analysis, or leading end-to-end product services development, with a demonstrated track record of successfully launching products or initiatives, preferably in the financial services environment.
Proven aptitude and demonstrated experience in identifying market opportunities, developing multi-year strategies, and building scalable solutions to address user needs.
Strong familiarity with the payments landscape, including real-time payments solutions and services. This encompasses an understanding of their technical architectures, use cases, and potential impact on financial services, as well as current market trends, regulatory changes, and competitive forces.
Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with a track record of leading, executing, and delivering impactful cross-functional and cross-industry initiatives.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced and often ambiguous environment, demonstrating an entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit from conception to completion.
Experience in developing strategic initiatives and creating detailed roadmaps.
Demonstrated ability to lead, develop, and mentor individuals, including objective setting, providing feedback, and facilitating career development discussions.
Eligibility to successfully complete background checks that will be carried out by Payments Canada, including criminal, credit, identity, employment, and education checks.

Responsibilities

Analyze existing data and actively shape the direction of key product development and management files from their earliest stages.
Oversee the entire product lifecycle, from initial idea generation and market research to post-launch analysis and strategic decision-making for real-time payment initiatives.
Drive the early phases of product development, leveraging research, internal insights, member feedback, regulatory mandates, and stakeholder perspectives to uncover pain points and define compelling value propositions.
Assume ownership of the end-to-end process for resolving business issues and managing product delivery. This requires strict adherence to the stage-gate product development process, embedding compliance, business controls, and a strong risk management mindset (including the monitoring of Key Risk Indicators or KRIs) within the product's remit.
Successfully drive product strategy and big-picture thinking. This requires the ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy, demonstrating initiative and strategic foresight with minimal direction or oversight from senior resources. The successful candidate will be expected to independently identify trends, analyze market opportunities, and develop product roadmaps that align with the company's overall business objectives. This includes not only the conceptualization of new payment products but also the strategic evolution and enhancement of existing offerings.
Play a pivotal role in the annual corporate planning cycle, actively contributing to the strategic direction of real-time payments product management.
Drive the comprehensive development and submission of corporate planning business cases, articulating the strategic rationale, market opportunity, and projected impact of proposed initiatives. For unplanned pre-discovery or discovery phase initiatives, proactively drive their progression, identifying early opportunities for innovation and growth.
Liaise effectively with the Enterprise Management Project Office (EMPO) and relevant resource managers to accurately determine and secure necessary resourcing for all initiatives. This involves detailed planning and negotiation to ensure adequate allocation of personnel and expertise.
Prepare compelling and concise materials to seek and secure leadership approvals for proceeding with initiatives, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and strategic priorities.
Proactively build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with all internal divisions of Payments Canada, fostering a spirit of partnership and shared objectives.
Establish and sustain effective engagement with Payments Canada members, regulatory bodies, and other critical stakeholders across the broader payments ecosystem. This includes understanding their needs, concerns, and strategic priorities to ensure alignment and collaboration.
Represent Payments Canada as the RTR and Emerging SME and share expertise and thought leadership on working groups, forums, and other events.
Lead and coordinate ideation, special assignment or issue resolution workshops, as required, ensuring active participation from both internal teams and external stakeholders, fostering collaboration, gathering diverse perspectives, and driving consensus on key initiatives.
Mentor, coach, and provide constructive feedback to junior resources to foster their professional growth and development.
Establish and champion best practices and consistent standards for product documentation and overall team discipline. This includes defining templates, guidelines, and review processes to ensure high-quality and consistent outputs.
Coordinate and facilitate key stakeholder meetings, including those involving senior management and executive leadership. This encompasses a comprehensive range of responsibilities: schedule management, agenda planning, meeting material preparation, and minute taking.
Improve and optimize processes, fostering better relationships between different teams involved in the product, and ensuring alignment and securing buy-in across the organization.

Benefits

Flexible, hybrid (remote/office) environment.
Competitive compensation package, including annual variable bonus and defined contribution pension plan with employer matching percentage (if eligible).
Comprehensive health and dental benefit coverage, including mental health coverage, life insurance and a health spending account for you and your dependents (Permanent and temporary employees with contracts 12 months and over).
Paid time off: minimum four weeks paid vacation, sick and personal days, December holiday shutdown and cultural holiday observance days.
26 weeks of paid maternity and parental leave top-up (if eligible)
Rewards and recognition program.
Access to office gym facilities.
Internal and external professional development opportunities.
Fun team and organizational events.
Monthly all staff forums led by our Executive Leadership Team.