Director of Payments Strategy and Operations

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The Position

Job Title

Director of Payments Strategy and Operations

Job Description

SUMMARY

At First United Bank, our purpose is to inspire and empower others to Spend Life Wisely. The Director of Payments Strategy & Operations brings this purpose to life by ensuring the bank’s payment capabilities are thoughtfully designed, well governed, and consistently executed to support customers’ financial well‑being, trust, and confidence in how they move money.

This role is responsible for the strategy, delivery, and ongoing operational alignment of the bank’s payments ecosystem—including ACH, wires, debit card, ATM services, faster payments, and emerging payment capabilities. While the role supports ongoing modernization efforts, its urgency is driven by a rapidly evolving payments landscape and the need to respond proactively to competitive and customer behavior shifts. The role plays a critical part in ensuring payments not only function reliably and securely, but also reflect First United’s commitment to financial strength, clarity, simplicity, and meaningful customer experience.

By bridging strategy and execution, this role helps ensure that payments capabilities evolve intentionally, support long‑term relationship primacy, and align with enterprise priorities.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS)

Payments Strategy & Future Capabilities

• Own and advance the bank’s payments strategy, with emphasis on:

  • Faster payments (e.g., FedNow, RTP)

  • Emerging payment models and industry trends

  • Competitive threats and displacement risks

• Translate enterprise and Treasury Management strategy into a sequenced payments roadmap, aligned to customer needs, operational capacity, and technology readiness

• Evaluate new payment capabilities and partners, leading due diligence and supporting vetting processes in collaboration with Technology, Product, Finance, and Risk.

Payments Revenue Stewardship

• Partner with Finance and Treasury Management to improve visibility into payments financial performance, including interchange, fees, costs, and revenue leakage

• Support initiatives to protect and grow payments‑related revenue, informed by data and customer behavior insights

• Provide strategic input into pricing, limits, and product decisions related to payment services.

Operational Leadership & Oversight

• Provide leadership and direction to:

  • ACH & Wires team

  • Debit Card & ATM Services team

• Ensure consistent operating standards, controls, and service levels across payment functions

• Drive operational readiness for new payment capabilities, including staffing, procedures, training, and change management

Platform, Vendor & Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Serve as the business owner for payment platforms and vendor relationships related to payments

• Collaborate closely with vendors, Treasury Management, Technology and Banking Systems to ensure payment solutions are resilient, scalable, and aligned with enterprise architecture

• Partner with Risk, Compliance, Fraud, and Legal teams to ensure payment operations meet regulatory and policy expectations

Governance, Risk & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and maintain clear governance and ownership for payment initiatives and decisions

• Identify and manage operational, fraud, and reputational risks within the payments ecosystem

• Lead continuous improvement efforts to enhance customer experience, reduce friction, and improve operational efficiency

• Collect and interpret feedback from internal partners, frontline teams, and customers related to payment experiences and capabilities.

• Help the organization learn from payment performance, incidents, and adoption patterns to continuously refine strategy and execution

MEASURES OF SUCCESS

Measures of Success
Success in this role will be evaluated across both execution and outcomes, including:

• Delivery of the payments roadmap and operational performance improvements, 

• Establishment of clear visibility into payments revenue, customer behavior, and displacement trends by end of year one

• Demonstrated progress toward improving payments revenue trajectory and reducing customer displacement to non-bank alternatives

• Improved time-to-market for new or enhanced payment capabilities

• Ability to influence enterprise decisions through data-driven insights and cross-functional leadership

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Operations, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

• 12+ years of experience in banking, payments, treasury management, or financial operations.

• Demonstrated experience leading teams and managers in complex operational environments.

• Strong working knowledge of payment rails, including ACH, wires, debit cards, and ATM networks.

• Experience partnering cross‑functionally with Treasury Management, Technology, Finance, Risk, and Product teams

• Experience in payment strategy, revenue analysis, and pricing initiatives

• Strong analytical capability, including the ability to synthesize data into insights and recommendations for senior leadership

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with faster payments platforms (FedNow, RTP) or emerging payment technologies

• Background in vendor management and large‑scale platform implementations

Core Capabilities & Competencies

• Strategic thinking with strong execution discipline

• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguity and evolving environments

• Strong leadership presence and influence across functions

• Data‑driven decision making and financial acumen

• Commitment to developing people and building subject matter expertise, aligned with the Deposit & TM Ops 2030 vision

ADDITIONAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform duties as requested by the manager.

• Complete all required compliance exams on a yearly basis.

• Adhere to all First United policies and procedures.

• Dress professionally.

• Weekly or Bi-weekly travel between Plano and Durant headquarters will be required

EMPLOYEE SPECIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties as assigned by supervisor to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.

#LI-BR1

All Locations:

Plano-Parkwood

If any applicant is unable to complete an application or respond to a job opening because of a disability, please email us at [email protected] for assistance. 

First United is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To the extent required by Federal or State law, First United does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by law.