Sr. Manager, International EMV Implementation

The Chip Center of Excellence team within Global Products and Solutions develops, manages and implements complex advanced payment products across Discover Financial Services. These products are based on technologies such as EMV and Contactless (i.e. NFC). EMV is a specification for secure transactions between cards with integrated chips (chip cards), POS terminals capable of reading chip cards, issuers and acquirers. The EMV specifications broadly and significantly impact the payment ecosystem from card issuing to merchant acquiring. D-PAS is Discover Financial Services’ EMV-compliant payment specification.This position requires an innovative, strategic, and creative leader who will successfully transform the way our EMV deployment team operates within our complex global landscape. The person will own creation and execution of an updated global EMV implementation strategy for D-PAS in EMEA, APAC, and LATAM, as well as for Canada and Mexico. As D-PAS is the baseline technology that Discover Network, Diners Club International and PULSE will build on to deploy mobile and other emerging technologies, the candidate will need to identify increasingly effective ways to expand existing acceptance and to secure the future roadmap for international payments. The candidate will lead a team of very strong subject matter experts, and will also act as an evangelist internally and externally to aggressively accelerate the D-PAS program.He or she will manage and build strategic partnerships with leaders across DFS business development, acceptance, client operations, product and technical teams as well as external issuers, acquirers, merchants, strategic partners and vendors. This employee will take a deliberate approach when personally engaging with customers, and will develop their direct reports to model the same approach. This includes identifying “out of the box” opportunities to leverage existing global partnerships to better adapt to changing market environments. He or she will utilize strong problem solving skills to navigate extremely challenging situations, which will require significant business acumen and well-refined abilities to influence and negotiate. Additionally, the candidate will be responsible for ensuring that the team has clear goals, project timelines are met and outstanding levels of service are provided across all clients and partners.He or she will be actively engaged in the industry, including staying up-to-speed on market and external business factors that should be considered when making educated business decisions on deployment strategy. He or she will also maintain significant outward visibility, including representing DFS at major chip card industry forums, presenting at conferences, planning meetings and similar industry workshops. Therefore, the candidate must be able to communicate effectively at all levels, including with the senior leaders of Discover and other organizations.Job Requirements/Experience (Education, Skills, Required):• Demonstrated ability to be disruptive, including identifying new and innovative ways to execute against existing problems. Must demonstrate a track record of thought leadership and innovative thinking relating to successful technology implementation.• An inspiring leader who can balance tactical and strategic responsibilities and drive results under intense pressure.• Ability to manage a team with direct report SMEs located in multiple time zones. Flexibility in schedule to support interaction with clients and partners around the world.• Must have extensive payments experience, preferably including experience with EMV chip cards (8-10 years). • Must have successfully led and implemented large, business critical projects, with a significant number of work group members and large budget• Excellent presentation skills, including the ability to effectively deliver information to internal and external constituents at all levels• Must possess outstanding client management skills and ability to collaborate with internal and external partners.• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, ability to understand complex technical concepts and to propose new, innovative solutions• Must be able to travel internationally• Strong PC competency (MS Office products, Visio, and Microsoft Project) required• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree strongly preferred

Qualifications

1. Create (and execute against) a disruptive, global EMV implementation strategy for D-PAS, including aggressively accelerating international EMV deployment to expand existing acceptance, provide global interoperability for Discover Card, and ensure the future roadmap for international payments is in place.
2. Develop keen understanding of global market conditions, demonstrate ability to pivot based on that understanding, and be able to effectively communicate updates to key business partners across Networks and Discover Card. This includes executive level reporting that clearly communicates forward momentum of implementation program against metrics, project status and global terminal and card deployment.
3. Proactively identify clients that are good fit for pilots or product expansion opportunities, and collaborate with product management teams in assessing, performing POCs (Proof of Concept) and deploying new advanced payment products or enhancements in-market.
4. Manage implementation budget; including driving strategy for incentive plan and aligning prioritization of incentive spend across all Payment Services leadership teams.
5. Proactively build and manage strategic relationships with DFS clients and partners including regional issuers, acquirers, processors, card vendors, card personalization bureaus, terminal vendors, and laboratories. Leverage these relationships to deliver new models to drive results in addition to ensuring implementation support is effective.
6. Ensure robust training program is in place for internal business partners and lead development of plan to move core responsibilities for EMV implementation to BAU support over time (via centralized operations / technical teams).
7. Represent DFS at industry and client events and deliver presentations to all levels of internal and external management.
8. Continue to assess opportunities to improve deployment processes and develop efficiency programs.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.