Card Services Manager

We're Hiring: Card Services ManagerLocation: United Arab Emirates (Remote)Employment Type: Full-TimeExperience Level: Mid-Level to SeniorWork Arrangement: Fully RemoteAbout UsWe are a globally focused organization committed to delivering reliable, secure, and customer-centered financial and payment services across international markets. Our teams work across product, technology, operations, risk, compliance, customer experience, and commercial functions to deliver efficient and scalable card solutions.The RoleWe are seeking an experienced Card Services Manager to lead card-service operations, lifecycle management, service quality, customer experience, operational controls, and continuous improvement.The successful candidate will oversee card products and processes from application and issuance through activation, transaction processing, replacement, disputes, closure, and related servicing activities. The role will work closely with payment networks, processors, technology teams, fraud and risk functions, compliance, customer service, and external partners.Key ResponsibilitiesDevelop and implement card-services strategies, operating models, policies, procedures, and service standards.Manage end-to-end card lifecycle processes including application, production, personalization, delivery, activation, servicing, replacement, suspension, and closure.Support debit, credit, prepaid, corporate, virtual, and other applicable card products.Monitor card issuance, activation, transaction processing, settlement, reconciliation, and servicing activities.Coordinate with payment networks, processors, banks, technology providers, card manufacturers, and service partners.Establish service-level agreements, operational standards, controls, and performance requirements for external providers.Monitor authorization, clearing, settlement, and transaction-processing performance.Investigate transaction failures, declined transactions, processing errors, and service disruptions.Manage cardholder service issues, complaints, requests, and escalations.Oversee card replacement, renewal, expiry, damaged-card, lost-card, and compromised-card processes.Coordinate dispute, chargeback, refund, and transaction-investigation processes with relevant teams.Work with fraud and risk teams to strengthen transaction monitoring and card-security controls.Support fraud-prevention initiatives while maintaining a positive customer experience.Ensure card-service processes comply with applicable regulatory, payment-network, privacy, security, and internal requirements.Maintain effective controls for sensitive card information, customer data, and operational access.Coordinate implementation of new card products, features, technologies, and service enhancements.Support digital-card, contactless, mobile-wallet, tokenization, and other payment innovations.Participate in system upgrades, integrations, testing, user acceptance testing, and production releases.Coordinate incident management and business-continuity procedures for card-service disruptions.Develop contingency plans for processor, network, technology, production, and delivery interruptions.Monitor card inventory, secure storage, personalization, production, and physical distribution processes.Ensure appropriate controls over physical and virtual card issuance.Analyze operational data to identify service gaps, recurring issues, and improvement opportunities.Develop dashboards and management reports covering card-service performance and customer outcomes.Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for recurring operational problems.Improve automation, straight-through processing, workflow efficiency, and service turnaround times.Coordinate with Finance on settlement, reconciliation, fees, operational costs, and financial controls.Manage card-service budgets, operating costs, and resource requirements.Establish and maintain detailed operating procedures, process maps, controls, and service documentation.Conduct regular operational reviews, audits, control assessments, and compliance checks.Ensure accurate and timely reconciliation of card transactions and related accounts.Manage service-provider performance and escalate unresolved vendor issues.Support procurement and evaluation of card-service technologies and external providers.Lead and develop card-services teams through coaching, training, performance management, and capability development.Promote strong operational discipline, customer focus, risk awareness, and continuous improvement.Provide senior management with regular reporting on service performance, risks, incidents, costs, customer issues, and improvement initiatives.Key Performance IndicatorsCard application and issuance turnaround time.Card activation rate.Card delivery performance.Transaction approval and success rate.Card-service availability.Transaction-processing incident rate.Card replacement turnaround time.Customer complaint volume and resolution time.Dispute and chargeback processing time.Fraud loss and fraud-detection performance.Reconciliation accuracy.Settlement accuracy and timeliness.Card inventory accuracy.Card production and delivery accuracy.Processor and payment-network SLA performance.Vendor performance and issue-resolution time.Service-level compliance.Operational error rate.First-contact resolution rate.Customer satisfaction.Digital-card and mobile-wallet adoption.Contactless transaction adoption.Automation and straight-through-processing rate.Cost per card or service transaction.Operational productivity.System availability and incident recovery time.Business-continuity readiness.Audit and compliance performance.Control effectiveness.Regulatory and policy compliance.Corrective-action closure rate.Employee productivity and training completion.Ideal CandidateThe successful candidate should have strong experience in card services, payments operations, banking operations, financial services, payment processing, fintech, or related service-management environments.The candidate should demonstrate:Strong understanding of card lifecycle management and payment operations.Experience managing card issuance, servicing, transaction processing, disputes, and reconciliation.Knowledge of payment networks, processors, acquiring and issuing processes, and card technologies.Understanding of fraud prevention, transaction risk, chargebacks, and payment security.Familiarity with digital cards, tokenization, contactless payments, and mobile wallets.Experience working with payment processors, technology vendors, card manufacturers, and service providers.Strong understanding of operational risk, regulatory compliance, privacy, and information-security requirements.Experience with payment or card-management platforms and enterprise systems.Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.Excellent project-management and process-improvement capabilities.Strong customer-service and stakeholder-management skills.Ability to manage operational incidents and high-priority escalations effectively.Strong vendor-management and commercial-management capabilities.Experience leading and developing operational teams.Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.Ability to work effectively with international and distributed teams.A continuous-improvement mindset with strong attention to accuracy, security, and service quality.