Payments Oversight Senior Operations Manager (FTC)

Closing date: Wednesday 13th May, 10am

About Starling

At Starling, we are on a mission to provide people with a fairer, smarter, and more human alternative to traditional banks. We are building a leading digital bank, driven by fast technology, fair service, and honest values. Our vision is to create a banking industry that serves everyone, which we accomplish by developing best-in-class proprietary technology, offering an exceptional customer experience, and establishing a strong, sustainable business.

Our five core values – Listen, Keep It Simple, Do The Right Thing, Own It, and Aim for Greatness – are at the heart of everything we do, guiding our strategy and shaping our culture. We're a branchless, largely paperless bank, committed to responsible banking, sustainability, and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

Hybrid working: All Starling colleagues spend a minimum of 10 days per month in the office with flexibility to work the rest from home.

The Opportunity

This is a 9 month fixed-term contract opportunity. The Payments Oversight Senior Operations Manager will be responsible for owning end to end Operational oversight and assurance of effective and efficient execution of all manual payment processing and control activities, ensuring adherence with the Bank’s Payment Policy.

This role requires a strong understanding of the Bank’s payments ecosystem, operational risk management, and the ability to drive continuous improvement in the Operations payment functions.

The successful candidate will act as the primary point of contact for the Bank’s Payment policy owner regarding operational performance, efficiency and controls, working closely with Operations management to deliver.

Key Responsibilities

Policy Implementation & Oversight

• Operational Advocacy: Represent the Operations team’s needs to the Policy Owner to ensure that policy is executed efficiently and effectively in Operations.
• Policy Translation: Responsible for ensuring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) align to the Bank’s Payment Policy
• Monitoring: Regularly reviewing manual payment workflows to ensure they align with Policy requirements and adhere to internal and scheme SLAs
• Oversight Management: Acting as the lead Operational contact for internal and external reviews regarding manual payment processes and controls.

Oversight & Assurance

• Contributing to the Risk and Control self assessment process, specifically for the Operations payments lifecycle.
• Investigating "near misses" or actual payment errors performing root-cause analysis, and implementing fixes.
• Develop KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRIs (Key Risk Indicators) to report on the effectiveness of manual payment operations to senior management.
• Continuously review Operational payments procedures to optimise, driving efficiency and removing the need for manual intervention where possible
• Act as the primary contact between Payments Policy owners and Operations Leaders for all Payment Policy deliverables

Requirements

• Strong operations knowledge and experience, coupled with technical payment scheme understanding.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills to work with both operations & non-operations policy/product teams.
• Ability to translate policy and process changes into operational requirements.
• Good regulatory knowledge.

Benefits

Why Join Starling?

• Make an Impact: Work on projects that directly shape the future of banking and improve the financial lives of our customers. Starling is technology-led, and you'll have the freedom to accomplish your goals in innovative ways.
• Culture of Excellence: Be part of a collaborative, empowered, and forward-thinking team. We encourage experimentation, ownership, and a relentless focus on "doing the right thing.”
• Growth and Development: We are committed to your professional growth, offering opportunities to learn new technologies, take on new challenges, and own interesting things from day one.
• A Bank That Cares: We're a Living Wage employer, committed to flexible working, and dedicated to creating a fair, open, and safe working environment with compassion and inclusion at its core.
• Comprehensive Benefits: We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, including:
• Company-enhanced salary sacrifice pension scheme (7% employer contribution)
• Private Medical Insurance with Vitality including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton.
• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Life Insurance at 4x your salary.
• 16 hours of paid volunteering time a year.
• Ability to buy or sell annual leave.
• Generous family-friendly policies.
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• Incentivised refer a friend scheme
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work, Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships and Electric Vehicle (EV) leasingOur Commitment to Equality

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. When you provide us with this information, you are doing so at your own consent, with full knowledge that we will process this personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice. By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank will collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we will process, where we will process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.