Program Manager, Issuing Bank Programs

Program Ownership

• Serve as the single-threaded leader for the sponsor bank relationship and program.
• Define and run the engagement model (governance, SLAs, decision rights, change control).
• Ensure obligations are met and be accountable for program performance, partner satisfaction, and partnership health.
• Proactively identify opportunities to strengthen the relationship, increase partner value, and create efficiencies and improvements.

Program Governance & Accountability

• Design and implement clear RACI, intake processes, and cadenced forums (steercos, weekly ops, and QBRs with scorecards).
• Hold internal and external stakeholders to commitments and timelines.
• Establish decision-making frameworks that enable speed while maintaining rigor.

Program Execution

• Own the end-to-end program delivery lifecycle.
• Ensure timely bank notifications and approvals for incidents and program changes.
• Maintain a comprehensive requirements & obligations tracker.

Requirements Management & Templatization

• Build and maintain a centralized requirements management system.
• Create reusable templates and playbooks for obtaining and fulfilling bank requirements.
• Continuously refine these tools based on lessons learned and partner feedback.

Program KPI/KRI Ownership

• Develop and own program-critical KRIs/KPIs.
• Continuously monitor and report weekly/monthly/quarterly.

Program Optimization & Continuous Improvement

• Identify systemic issues, failure modes, and inefficiencies in program execution.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement across all program workstreams.

Program Roadmap & Strategic Planning

• Develop and maintain a multi-quarter program roadmap aligned with business priorities.
• Identify strategic initiatives that improve operational efficiency, reduce risk, and strengthen the partnership.

Stakeholder & Workstream Coordination

• Coordinate across networks, processors, servicing/Reg E, fraud/risk, compliance, and product teams.
• Ensure clear communication, aligned priorities, and timely delivery.

AI-Enabled Program Efficiencies

• Apply AI-assisted routing, documentation, policy checks, knowledge retrieval, and program tracking.

Independent Decision-Making

• Make timely decisions in ambiguous environments.

Executive Communication & Presence

• Provide crisp, data-informed program updates, status reports, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• 8+ Years experience in issuing payment cards.
• Experience with credit card, prepaid & debit cards within the Banking as a Service (BaaS) ecosystem.
• Background and/or experience with consumer compliance, BSA, and/or risk management within the Banking as a Service (BaaS) ecosystem strongly preferred.
• Strong bias toward action, evaluation, and pivoting.
• Must have experience in, and comfort with, working in Slack and GSuite; Airtable experience also is an advantage.
• AI and automation first solutioning ethos required.
• Proven experience in account management in the fintech ecosystem.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills with strong executive presence.
• Ability to build rapport and trust with Product, Compliance, Legal, First Line Risk and external partners.
• Strategic and analytical thinking abilities.
• Capability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks effectively.
• Strong data analysis skills, with the ability to identify trends, diagnose issues, and recommend data-driven solutions.
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional projects from initiation to completion.

Compensation

• Salary: $246,500 USD / Year.
• Block takes a market-based approach to pay, and pay may vary depending on your location.