Payments Director

Paciolan • Irvine, CA

8d • $160,000 - $215,000

About The Position

We are seeking a Director of Payments to lead Paciolan’s payments strategy, operations, and partnerships with a clear mandate to drive growth of payments capabilities. The role will focus on expanding flexibility for clients, improving margin performance, and identifying new revenue opportunities. The Payments leader must bring deep payments knowledge combined with strong commercial and product acumen. They will act as a trusted advisor to leadership, a key liaison with corporate functions, and a strategic partner to our clients. This is a rare opportunity to drive transformation in a high-scale, high-visibility environment where payments directly impact fan experience, client economics, and company growth. Paciolan is the leading live events platform that connects fans to sports, concerts, and theatrical events that they love. We are the trusted technology partner for College Athletics Power Five Conferences and world-famous venues in the arena and performing arts verticals. We revel in waking up every day to solve the industryʼs most complex problems with innovation that makes every live event memorable for over 120M people Learfield is a leading media and technology services company in intercollegiate athletics since 1972. The company unlocks the value of college sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform with innovative content and commerce solutions. Learfield services includes licensing and multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and social media; data analytics; ticketing, ticket sales and professional concessions expertise; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems.

Requirements

• 8+ years of professional experience, with at least 5 years working in payments, fintech, or related financial services.
• Strong understanding of payment processing models (merchant of record, payfac, platform partnerships).
• Proven success managing PSP/acquirer relationships and negotiating contracts.
• Experience balancing compliance (PCI, AML, fraud) with client service and business growth.
• Excellent cross-functional leadership skills; able to work with product, tech, finance, and client teams.
• Analytical thinker with ability to model economics and articulate tradeoffs.

Responsibilities

• Payments Strategy & Roadmap Define and execute payments strategy in alignment with platform modernization initiatives. Drive ongoing strategic decisions and payment product changes that can deliver incremental revenue and client value.
• Partnerships & Vendor Management Lead relationships with PSPs, acquirers, card networks, fraud/risk vendors, and emerging payment providers. Negotiate commercial terms to improve economics, reliability, and flexibility.
• Client Experience & Revenue Impact Ensure seamless client onboarding, settlement, and reporting across all payments flows. Partner with Revenue and Client Success teams to deliver value-added payment services that drive client retention and adoption. Optimize payment economics and identify opportunities for incremental revenue.
• Risk, Compliance & Operations Partner with finance, security and legal teams for PCI compliance, fraud/risk management, and regulatory requirements. Build scalable processes for dispute resolution, reconciliations, and settlement accuracy.
• Cross-Functional Leadership Serve as payments subject-matter expert for Product, Technology, Finance, and Client Services. Provide regular updates to senior leadership and act as the internal “voice of payments.”

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• High visibility role with exposure to senior leadership.
• The opportunity to modernize a critical function at the heart of live events.
• A collaborative, client-focused culture within a market-leading company.
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Health Savings Account, Life Insurance and Other Insurance Plans, Flexible Paid Time Off (minimum 10+ days annually), including Parental Leave, 20 Paid Holidays, 401(k) + Match, and Short/Long Term Disability.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed