Payments Manager

Job purpose

The payments manager leads ADNOC Distribution’s payments agenda across all customer touchpoints, with accountability for defining the payments roadmap, governing delivery with internal stakeholders, and managing strategic partnerships with schemes, banks, and payment service providers. The role ensures a secure, compliant, and frictionless payment experience that supports growth in digital penetration, customer satisfaction, and revenue contribution. The position also owns the end-to-end design, launch, and performance management and P&L ownership of various financial products such as co-brand bank card, remittances, open loop wallet, etc., and drives continuous improvement through technology, commercial optimisation, and process re-engineering.

Key accountabilities

Payment experiences
Define and maintain the payments roadmap (in-store, app, web, B2B where applicable), prioritising initiatives that improve conversion, speed, reliability, and customer experience while aligning with ADNOC Distribution strategy.
Sponsor business cases with Digital/IT and Finance for new payment capabilities (e.g., new tenders, tokenisation, instalments, pay-by-link, fleet/B2B enhancements), including benefits, costs, risks, and implementation approach.
Lead governance with schemes, issuing/acquiring partners, and internal stakeholders to optimise authorisation rates, manage chargebacks and disputes, and continuously improve operational performance (SLAs, uptime, incident resolution) and commercial terms.
Drive delivery with payment acquirers/service providers and Digital/IT teams to ensure secure implementation, effective testing, and timely resolution of technical issues, ensuring compliance with relevant security and regulatory requirements.
Monitor market trends, regulatory changes, and emerging payment technologies; translate insights into actionable enhancements and measurable improvements in digital payment penetration, NPS, and cost-to-serve.
Explore and evaluate new payment methods and currencies such as AANI, cryptocurrency, stable coins and devise business case and roadmap for acceptance of these new payment initiatives and currencies.

Co-brand bank card
Own the end-to-end co-brand card proposition across targeted segments and geographies, including product design, go-to-market, lifecycle management, and performance governance.
Negotiate and structure co-brand agreements (commercials, servicing model, data, marketing rights, SLAs, governance) in partnership with Legal, Finance, Compliance, and Procurement.
Define and refine the co-brand value proposition (pricing, rewards, benefits, tiers) to ensure competitive differentiation and strong unit economics.
Lead cross-functional working groups to design card features, customer journeys, servicing processes, and communications, ensuring readiness across channels and customer support.
Establish market and performance intelligence (customer behaviour, portfolio cohorts, competitor benchmarking) to inform product iteration and growth levers.
Develop and execute acquisition and spend-growth strategies with Marketing and partner banks to achieve issuance, activation, and portfolio spend targets.
Own co-brand financial performance (revenue, costs, marketing budget) and portfolio KPIs; lead monthly performance reviews and corrective actions with internal stakeholders and partners.

Relationships and commercial focus
Build and maintain executive-level relationships with payment schemes, integrators, acquirers, and banking partners to secure strategic support, innovation access, and improved commercials.
Lead negotiation and ongoing management of payment fees and incentives across schemes, acquirers, and integrators; track savings and revenue uplift versus targets.
Develop joint business plans and promotional calendars with financial institutions to drive retail sales, digital payment adoption, and portfolio spend, ensuring clear ROI measurement.
Partner with banks to create targeted offers, segmentation strategies, and data-driven campaigns, ensuring adherence to data governance and approvals.
Identify, assess, and own new revenue-generating opportunities across the payments ecosystem, including but not limited to gift vouchers, remittances, open loop wallets, and embedded financial services.
Lead cross-functional collaboration with Digital, Retail, Finance, IT, Risk, and external partners to define strategy, build business cases, secure investment approvals, and deliver end-to-end launch, scaling, and P&L performance of these initiatives, ensuring clear revenue impact, customer value creation, and long-term sustainability.

ADNOC wallet
Define and continuously refine ADNOC Distribution wallet strategy and roadmap to maximise acquisition, activation, retention, and frequency of use across core and adjacent customer journeys.
Drive wallet growth initiatives with Marketing, Digital, Retail, and Customer Service, including awareness, merchant enablement, and customer communications, measured through adoption and usage KPIs.

Stakeholder management
Lead cross-functional alignment with senior internal stakeholders (Retail, Digital/IT, Finance, Operations, Customer Experience) to agree priorities, timelines, and ownership for payments and wallet initiatives.
Act as the single point of accountability for external payment ecosystem partners (schemes, banks, PSPs), ensuring effective governance forums, performance tracking, and escalation management.
Prepare decision-ready updates and recommendations for leadership, supported by KPI dashboards, risk assessments, and commercial impact analysis.

Qualifications, experience, knowledge & skills

Minimum qualification
Bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field.

Minimum experience & knowledge & skills
10 years of experience in the payment space, preferably in the banking, retail, or fintech sector.
Experience in working closely with payment schemes and acquiring banks on commercials, process enhancements, new feature launches, etc.
Product management experience preferably in the payments space.
Proven track record in managing stakeholders (internal and external).
Advanced use of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
Fluent in English and preferably Arabic.