Head of Payments

You know payments operations don’t have to mean constant firefighting. As Head of Payments, you’ll take a mission-critical function that’s been under-resourced and reactive, stabilise it, and then lead the strategic transformation the business has been waiting for. Our client is a fast-growing, FCA-regulated EMI with global reach; this role exists now because volumes are increasing, the current team is stretched, and they need a calm, technically strong leader to build an automated, scalable payments operation. You’ll join at a pivotal moment, with the mandate to fix what’s fragile today while designing what payments should look like for the next stage of growth.

What You'll Do

• Take end-to-end ownership of the payments function, ensuring reliable daily execution across Faster Payments, SEPA, ACH, Fedwire and international schemes.
• Lead the transition from manual, high-touch processing to automated, API-driven workflows that scale as transaction volumes grow.
• Build, mentor and support a settled, high-performing team, developing managers and analysts and raising engagement after a period of instability.
• Balance hands-on operational leadership with strategic transformation, prioritising improvements while keeping service levels and controls rock solid.
• Partner closely with Product, Technology, Finance, Risk and Compliance to define future payment capabilities and deliver change without disruption.
• Act as senior escalation point for complex, high-value or time-critical transactions, using your calm approach to maintain client confidence.
• Shape the future operating model, performance metrics and culture of payments, with direct visibility to the senior leadership team.

What You'll Bring

• Experience as a Head of Payments or a Senior Payments Manager in an EMI, bank or payment institution, ready to step up.
• Deep operational knowledge of multiple payment rails, including Faster Payments, SEPA and other domestic and international schemes.
• A strong technical mindset with proven success driving automation, working with APIs and improving systems to reduce manual work.
• Track record of leading and nurturing operational teams through change, creating collaborative, accountable and supportive cultures.
• Comfort operating both strategically and hands-on, especially in environments where processes, people and structures are still maturing.
• A calm, relationship-focused leadership style: you listen, build trust and focus on sustainable improvement rather than blame.

What's On Offer

• The chance to stabilise a mission-critical function and then lead the automation and transformation agenda with strong executive backing.
• Significant autonomy to design the operating model, build the team and embed modern payment technologies and processes.
• Hybrid working with around three days per week in a central London office.
• Benefits package, details on application.

If you’re a Head of Payments who wants to turn a stretched, reactive operation into a scalable, automated and high-performing payments function, this is the moment to step in.