Consulting, Financial Services - Payments - Senior Manager

Job description / Role

Line of Service
Advisory

Industry/Sector
FS X-Sector

Specialism
Operations Strategy

Management Level
Senior Manager

Job Description & Summary
The Financial Services Consulting Practice focuses on working closely with regulators, financial institutions and funds across the region in helping them solve some of their most complex problems by working collectively to shape up their businesses for the future and execute on their strategies. We advise on key issues and a vast array of activities that range from business strategy, risk and regulation, financial crime, operational excellence, customer centricity and the disruptive impact of digital technologies.

Reporting to a Director within the Financial Services Practice, the Senior Manager - Payments Consulting will participate in cross-functional engagement teams to develop and deliver on strategic change within sophisticated and challenging environments in an industry that's experiencing disruptions or exponential growth.

PwC Line of Service Overview 

In Consulting, you will have the opportunity to work closely with the best across industry and professional functional advisory services. We focus on helping solve client problems by offering both strategic and operational advice leveraging deep industry expertise. We pride ourselves on building long-lasting relationships with our clients, always ensuring that we are able to bring the best insights and solutions to help them tackle whatever critical issues they may face. Our Consulting practice currently focuses on several core economic sectors including; Consumer and Industrial Products & Services, Energy, Utilities & Mining, Financial Services, Government, and Health Industries.  Our services cover competencies including Digital, Technology, People & Organization and Finance.

Business Unit Overview 

The Financial Services Consulting Practice focuses on working closely with regulators, financial institutions and funds across the region in helping them solve some of their most complex problems by working collectively to shape up their businesses for the future and execute on their strategies. We advise on key issues and a vast array of activities that range from business strategy, risk and regulation, financial crime, operational excellence, customer centricity and the disruptive impact of digital technologies. 

Within the Middle East, we are currently experiencing an exponential growth within the Financial Services Practice and our business as a whole. With that we are looking for dynamic, flexible, driven and proactive individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset who have the passion for delivering impactful work and really making a difference amongst our financial services clients. We have a strong, healthy pipeline of large, transformational opportunities with iconic organizations and entities within the region which in turn will reward our people with great opportunities to step up, and play a significant role in making a difference to our clients and at the same time achieve personal aspirations for development and growth. 

Responsibilities:

Reporting to a Director within the Financial Services Practice, the Senior Manager - Payments Consulting will participate in cross-functional engagement teams to develop and deliver on strategic change within sophisticated and challenging environments in an industry that's experiencing disruptions or exponential growth: 

- Leading teams and structuring work at the project level to deliver results;
- Track and report on industry trends, new and emerging market opportunities and payment products within the payments industry;
- Staying abreast of the latest payments relevant regulatory developments worldwide but specifically within the GCC and perform related impact analysis and reporting;
- Integrating, simplifying, and improving, business strategy, technology, and operational efficiency across core payments, digital payments, transaction payments, mobile payments and compliance, risk and operations, to reduce costs and improve productivity;
- Incorporate digital technologies and deliver business change by designing and delivering the strategy across core payments and payments related innovation;
- Helping recommend opportunities for robotics, analytics, artificial intelligence etc… to streamline processes and gain efficiencies throughout the payment lifecycle;
- Evaluating card issuing and merchant acquiring processes and processing platforms to support cost efficiency and growth in volumes;
- Evaluating remittance processes, technologies and platforms;
- Enabling real time payments and developing real time payments architecture;
- Helping banks and market infrastructures in extending their value chain by reinventing their processes and products;
- Supporting re-platforming projects for increasing efficiency, stability and agility;
- Helping clients and reviewing payments processes and suggesting improvements;
- Developing business cases, project road maps and operating models to implement complex solutions and systems for financial institutions and market infrastructures;
- Understanding the need and impact of Open Banking / Open APIs / New Payment Technologies / Blockchain;
- Developing the Payments practice and building PwC's Payment offerings locally, regionally and internationally, built assets and capabilities;
- Leading business development activities including opportunity identification, qualification, proposal development/presentation, and commercial contract negotiation, and
- Developing and managing high-performing multidisciplinary teams, leading by example, actively mentoring others and contributing to performance management and recruitment activities.

Requirements

Requirements: 
- Successful track record & work experience in the payments, ideally gained through up to 10+ years consulting experience in a top tier consultancy, a specialist financial service consultancy or financial institution;
- Knowledge and interest in the credit card and payments industry; in financial services or strategy consulting;
- Strong involvement in delivering change across the value chain and in the digital transformation of payments related functions;
- To make an impact, we are looking for talented resources who can demonstrate a selection or all of the skills and experiences listed below:
- Understanding of the operating model concepts, design and analysis and its application to the relevant Industry
- Front-to-back business process transformation experience
- Knowledge and insights of the key trends and client challenges within the payments
- Shaping and delivering business and technology/digital transformation
- Defining and implementing new business and operating models
- Outsourcing of payments services and post-merger integration services and post-merger integration
- Knowledge and experience of key regulations impacting the industry 

In addition, the following are mandatory requirements:
- Excellent oral and written communication skills with an ability to interact effectively with clients; excellent business writing;
- Ability to obtain information; ability to assemble and synthesize research from multiple sources in a clear, consistent and understandable manner;
- Ability to multi-task and prioritize workload;
- Understanding of the diverse requirements of clients and the need to work on projects in differing geographies and time zones;
- Bachelor's degree from a reputable university; 
- Mandatory proficiency in English and ideally Arabic at a written and spoken level;
- Willing to travel up to 80% of the time;
- Proficient in MS Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio;
- Relationship building and business development skills;
- PMP, PRINCE2 or related qualifications are advantageous;
- Demonstrate Influencing, Negotiation, and Presentation skills as well as business analysis;
- Understanding of project management attributes;
- Self-starter with  credible commercial insight and familiarity with closing deals;
- Attention to detail with a genuine appetite for growth;
- Quick  learner with an aptitude for system and technical concepts; 
- Proactive in nature by demonstrating initiatives and showcase creativity in problem solving.

Travel Requirements
Up to 80%

Available for Work Visa Sponsorship?
Yes

Government Clearance Required?
No

About the Company

At PwC Middle East, we've set out an ambitious purpose and strive to live it everyday: to solve important problems and build trust in society.

We're a community of solvers that come together in unexpected ways to build trust and create sustained outcomes. We solve important problems, support one another as we grow, develop and build fulfilling careers.

PwC provides industry-focused services for public and private clients across Assurance and Audit, Deals, Consulting, Tax and Legal. We draw on our development legacy that brings together the collective experience of over 7,000 people in our region with offices across 12 countries to solve for tomorrow.

We're striving to consistently deliver innovative work that builds trust and delivers sustained outcomes. And we're proud of the strength that comes from all our different backgrounds and experiences and we value everyone's uniqueness. We thrive in uncertainty, operate with integrity and leverage the diverse perspectives of our teams.

If you're looking for a place that fuels your ambition to make a difference, that matches your curiosity with continuous learning opportunities and reimagines ways of working to enable you to lead a more balanced life, then you're a future PwCer.