Sr. Manager, Portfolio Partner Management

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses. Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment. Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship. Overall Purpose Responsible for the delivery of a complex business and technical program. This includes all aspects of project planning and execution. Ensures project follows product and project methodologies and is completed on time, on budget, and in scope. Works with business partners to ensure projects are successful and meet business objectives. Essential Functions Manage multiple aspects of multiple interrelated project workstreams to ensure the overall program is aligned to and directly supports the achievement of strategic business objectives Report on project results, metrics, test, and deployment management activities Work creatively and analytically to solve problems by demonstrating teamwork, innovation, and excellence Participate in establishing best practices, templates, policies, tools, and partnerships to expand, mature and improve effectiveness in support of business objectives Coach team members on policies, procedures, and best practices Provide leadership for the project team by building and motivating team members to meet critical project milestones Prepare estimates and detailed project plans for all phases of the project as well as status reporting regarding project and program milestones, success criteria, deliverables, dependencies, and risks to all stakeholders up to and including executive leadership. Monitor projects on an ongoing basis, evaluate progress, proactively work with the project team to mitigate risks, and resolve issues as they arise. Support the company’s commitment to risk management. Protect the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data Area of Specialty: Mobile Payments Own end-to-end delivery of strategic projects involving mobile payment capabilities (e.g., Tap-to-Pay via NFC, in-app card provisioning, mobile SDKs, biometric authentication, wallet top-ups). Create detailed project plans including milestones, technical dependencies, risk mitigation, and resource mapping — focused on native iOS/Android delivery. Drive timelines for rollout of EMV tokenization, 3DS2, PCI DSS controls, or new payment method integrations. Serve as the connective tissue across product managers, engineering leads, designers, QA, compliance, fraud, and business stakeholders. Facilitate daily stand-ups, sprint planning, retrospectives, and steering committees to ensure momentum and alignment. Lead internal and external partner coordination, including with card networks (Visa, Mastercard), PSPs, OEMs, and certification bodies. Track delivery progress using agile and hybrid methodologies; maintain accurate program status dashboards and RAID logs (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies). Provide clear, concise updates to senior leadership, identifying blockers and proactively resolving delivery risks. Maintain transparency through regular status reports, milestone tracking, and delivery KPIs (velocity, scope changes, burn rate). Partner with Legal, Security, and Compliance to ensure that mobile payment solutions meet regional and international regulations (PSD2, GDPR, PCI, FFIEC). Manage go-live readiness: QA signoff, performance validation, incident response prep, and rollback planning. Minimum Qualifications Education and experience typically obtained through completion of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Project Management and/or Computer Science or related field. Project Management Professional (PMP) certification Typically a minimum of 8 or more years of progressive related experience managing large complex projects or programs Experience in financial institutions or similarly regulatory industries and/or software development processes with background in the data processing environment, application systems, and communication systems Strong team player with ability to coach/mentor others within an ePMO team environment Effective relationship building and team collaboration skills leading diverse, cross-functional teams on one or more, complex projects simultaneously Effective written, verbal, and presentation communication skills with ability to tailor to varying audiences. Confidence and poise to present at all levels effectively Highly engaged, self-starter with ability to balance achieving results and fostering collaboration. Proactive in identifying and driving process improvements within the organization driving efficiencies Demonstrated experience with Agile and Waterfall methodologies and all aspects of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology and tools Background and drug screen The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow instructions and perform other related duties as assigned by their supervisor. Preferred Qualifications Agile / ScrumMaster certifications Lean Six Sigma certification Demonstrated people leadership in business and technical environments. Physical Requirements Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling and reaching. Must be able to l