Sr. Customer Success Manager - Merchants

Early Warning® • Chicago, IL

32d • $135,000 - $185,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses. Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment. Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship. Overall Purpose The Sr. Customer Success Manager - Merchants is a senior strategic leader responsible for building strong relationships with a portfolio of key strategic Paze merchant partners. The leader holistically owns and manages the merchant relationships to drive acceptance, awareness, optimization, and support the overall strategic engagement with Paze merchants. The role oversees merchant relationship health, building strong cross-functional relationships with customers, and collaborates across Paze and Paze partners, to enable Paze strategies and success at the senior executive level, ensuring these partnerships grow and thrive over time. The Sr. Customer Success Manager - Merchants plays a key role in delivering strong team and individual results in a high-growth environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Marketing or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Typically 8+ years of experience in payments, financial services, fintech, customer success, strategic account management, business development, or related client-facing roles.
• Proven success managing and growing strategic merchant or partner relationships, driving adoption, engagement, retention, and revenue growth.
• Strong consultative selling, negotiation, and commercial acumen, with the ability to identify opportunities, build business cases, influence senior decision-makers, and advance complex initiatives.
• Experience developing and executing strategic account plans and growth strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Deep understanding of the payments ecosystem, including merchants, issuers, processors, networks, digital wallets, and eCommerce payment solutions.
• Strong analytical and financial acumen, with the ability to evaluate opportunities using quantitative and qualitative insights, develop business cases, conduct market and competitive analysis, and track performance against key business objectives.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and executive stakeholder management skills, including experience influencing C-suite leaders and navigating complex, matrixed organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, collaborate cross-functionally, and drive execution in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and results-oriented, with a track record of managing ambiguity and delivering results with minimal oversight.
• Ability to travel as needed to support merchant meetings, business reviews, conferences, and industry events.
• Must successfully complete applicable background check and drug screening requirements.

Responsibilities

• Proactively builds and expands executive relationships across strategic merchants, channel and issuer partners, and internal stakeholders to drive adoption, growth, and long-term partnership value.
• Owns merchant success and commercial growth outcomes, including activation, transaction volume, checkout performance, consumer adoption, campaign effectiveness, and overall relationship health.
• Develops and executes strategic account growth plans, identifying opportunities to deepen engagement, increase utilization, and accelerate business results.
• Serves as a trusted advisor and growth partner, articulating Paze’s value proposition, influencing strategic decisions, negotiating agreements, and securing stakeholder commitment.
• Demonstrates strong sales acumen by identifying expansion opportunities, building business cases, overcoming objections, and driving initiatives that increase merchant investment and adoption.
• Collaborates across Product, Marketing, Risk, Technology, Operations, Finance, Legal, as well as Channel and Issuer-facing teams to remove barriers, unlock growth opportunities, and deliver merchant outcomes.
• Leads post-integration account management, proactively monitoring performance, identifying risks and opportunities, conducting business reviews, and driving action plans to maximize results.
• Represents the voice of the merchant by translating feedback, performance insights, and market trends into recommendations that strengthen the customer experience and support business growth.
• Leverages deep expertise in customer success, relationship management, and the payments ecosystem to differentiate Paze, strengthen competitive positioning, and deliver measurable business impact.
• Maintains disciplined portfolio management through accurate Salesforce tracking and effective coordination of contractual, incentive, and operational commitments.
• Upholds risk management, data security, and ethical business practices while enabling sustainable growth and protecting the integrity of Paze and its partners.

Benefits

• Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

What This Job Offers

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