Payment Operations - Senior Manager - Cards and Real-Time Payments

Golden 1 Talent Acquisition Team•Sacramento, CA

About The Position

You lead enterprise‑wide card and real‑time payment operations by setting strategy and direction across debit, credit, ATM, and real‑time payment platforms, ensuring reliable performance, regulatory compliance, and exceptional member experiences across all channels. You are a strategic operations and payments leader who leverages data, industry insights, vendor partnerships, and emerging payment technologies to design, optimize, and continuously improve scalable card and real‑time payment capabilities that support growth, security, and innovation. You partner cross functionally and with senior leaders to align payment operations with organizational objectives, translating performance data, risk considerations, and market trends into actionable strategies that drive operational excellence, member satisfaction, and long term value.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in related field or equivalent work experience required
7+ years progressively responsible management and supervisory experience within a credit union or financial institution overseeing card and/or payment functions required

Responsibilities

Report and perform direct support duties and functions to the Vice President – Payments & Fraud for all card and real-time payment operation related processing.
Assist the VP in developing and analyzing alternatives and implementing new programs, products, and services.
Prepare periodic verbal and written updates of departments for management.
Provide assistance as requested by VP, other departments or staff team members.
Monitor and review product and service performance and make recommendations for improvements.
Attend and participate in project management teams to support all credit union departments.
Provide direction to managers in the current fulfillment of their responsibilities, their leadership execution, personal development, development of staff, production direction including best practices, meeting and exceeding member and internal staff needs, responding to production challenges including those associated with card compromises, fraud trends, fraud strategies, plastic card innovations, card-based payment systems, and vendor relationships.
Correspond to members representing Senior Management. Identify, investigate, and respond to member concerns.
Maintain a thorough understanding of state and federal laws and regulations related to credit union compliance including bank secrecy and anti-money laundering laws appropriate to the position.
Foster a positive and engaging work environment for each team member by promoting skill development, coaching for improvement and growth, inspiring others through your words and actions, ensuring positive employee morale throughout Golden 1, and embracing our mission, vision, and core values.
Ensure senior management is immediately informed of any credit union performance issues, coordinate with internal stakeholders for resolution, and inform Credit Union staff of any member or staff impacts in a timely manner.
Review, analyze, and take appropriate actions on all procedural recommendations and compliance findings for efficiency and soundness.
Direct the development of managers and supervisors through training, guidance, and coaching. Direct the managers on annual budget preparation and reporting, and variance reporting.
Direct and provide professional communications to all staff and management to ensure staff maintains a current knowledge on credit union policies, procedures, and strategic goals.
Analyze and project staffing needs. Interview and hire managers and other direct reports and prepare their performance appraisals.
Perform project management duties. Research, analyze and prepare project forms for project approval process. Oversee or directly manage all new and on-going projects related to card products and real-time payment services.
Attend conferences, and review industry information related to card payment systems enhancements and forward direction in order to develop new products/projects based on current and future needs.
Maintain current working knowledge of department practices, procedures and interact with department supervisors and staff. Monitor timely compliance with Federal Reserve Bank, Fiserv Card Services, Mastercard, VISA, NOW Network, and other rules and regulations that pertain to cards and real-time payment systems. (Reg E, Reg Z, Reg II, Credit Card Act, and general banking rules, among others).
Review, recommend, and negotiate vendor contracts. Prepare Requests for Proposal (RFP) or Requests for Information (RFI) and evaluate vendor responses to provide recommendations on potential service relationships.
Manage vendor relationships by monitoring service level agreements, holding performance meetings, and writing scope of work documents to obtain cost proposals for enhancements and changes. Maintain and develop a professional network with vendors and other credit union management teams.
Monitor internal policy and procedural controls to safeguard the assets of Golden 1. Monitor/oversee the operational performance of payment systems to provide quality member service. Prepare annual budgets. Manage actual expenses to variances and provide detailed explanation of all variances over/under the accepted limits