Payments Director

Starling Bank

. Lead the Payments function and ensure payments services operate safely, reliably and in line with regulatory and scheme obligations .

Posted 10/13/2026full-timeLondon • United KingdomLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates extensive leadership in managing payments functions, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and effectively overseeing payment risks and third-party relationships. Possesses deep knowledge of payment services, operational resilience, and stakeholder management within a regulated financial services environment.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Payments Risk ManagementRegulatory ComplianceStakeholder ManagementOperational ResilienceLeadership in Payments

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Payments ServicesPayments SchemesRisk ManagementGovernanceContingency PlanningRoot Cause AnalysisIncident ManagementSupplier Performance ManagementRegulatory RequirementsPayment Networks

Soft Skills

LeadershipStakeholder CommunicationConstructive ChallengePragmatismTeam Development

Industry Keywords

Financial ServicesBankingFintechPayments ProviderRegulated Environment

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead the Payments function and ensure payments services operate safely, reliably and in line with regulatory and scheme obligations
Provide oversight and control of the Bank’s payments ecosystem
Lead the Payments team and ensure payment risks are understood and appropriately managed
Ensure regulatory and scheme requirements are met
Govern critical third-party relationships
Work across Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance and the wider business
Provide ownership and leadership when issues arise
Ensure payment risks across the payments estate are identified, assessed and effectively managed
Oversee payment scheme and network relationships, including Mastercard
Manage supplier and third-party performance, governance, risk and escalations
Provide senior leadership for payment incidents from identification through resolution
Oversee stakeholder communication, root cause analysis and remediation
Ensure payment services are resilient and recoverable, including contingency arrangements and testing
Assess risk and control implications of changes to products, platforms, regulation, schemes and suppliers
Provide reporting on payment risks, incidents, supplier performance, compliance and emerging issues
Lead and develop a high-performing payments team
Report to the Chief IT Control Officer

Requirements

What you’ll need

Significant leadership experience within payments, ideally within a bank, fintech, payments provider or similar regulated financial services environment
Strong understanding of the payments landscape and risks associated with delivering critical payment services
Ability to operate at the intersection of technology, operations, risk and regulation
Deep knowledge of payment services, payment schemes and associated regulatory requirements
Strong experience of payments risk management, controls and governance
Experience managing relationships with card schemes, payment networks, processors and other critical third parties
Strong understanding of technology and operational risk within a regulated environment
Experience leading responses to significant payment or technology incidents and driving effective remediation
Knowledge of operational resilience and management of critical services and third-party dependencies
Strong stakeholder management skills and credibility with senior leaders, suppliers, schemes and external parties
Ability to provide constructive challenge while remaining pragmatic and commercially aware
Proven experience leading and developing teams in a fast-moving environment

Benefits

Comp & perks

33 days holiday (including public holidays, which you can take when it works best for you)
An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
Annual leave is increased with length of service
Option to buy or sell up to five extra days off
16 hours paid volunteering time a year
Salary sacrifice
Company enhanced pension scheme
Life insurance at 4x your salary
Group income protection
Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth, including mental health support and cancer care
Partner benefits including discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
Generous family-friendly policies
Incentives refer a friend scheme
Perkbox membership with retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
Cycle to Work initiative
Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships
Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing
Hybrid working with office attendance a minimum of 1 day per week
16 hours paid volunteering time a year