IT Technical Lead - Card Issuing

Main Responsibilities A. Card Issuing Technical OwnershipAct as the primary IT technical owner for the Card Management System (CMS), issuer processing and all connected card platforms.Own technology requirements for debit, credit, prepaid, physical and virtual card products.Cover the full card lifecycle including issuance, personalization, activation, PIN management, replacement, renewal, block/unblock, limits, controls, expiry and closure.Understand and validate issuer authorization, clearing, settlement, reconciliation and financial posting flows.Own issuer-side integration with Core Banking, middleware/API gateway, mobile and internet banking, CRM, fraud systems, notification platforms, data warehouse, general ledger and reconciliation systems.Review ISO 8583 messages, API specifications, message mapping, transaction routing and integration behavior where applicable.Provide technical ownership for EMV, 3D Secure, tokenization, digital wallets, card-on-file/token services, contactless, ATM/POS and e-commerce transactions from the issuer perspective.Review and challenge vendor solution designs, estimates, dependencies and implementation approaches to protect the Bank's technical and operational interests.B. Jaywan Co-Badged Card Issuing - Core ResponsibilityLead the end-to-end technology delivery and ongoing support of Jaywan co-badged card issuing products as a principal responsibility of the role.Coordinate technical activities between the Bank, Jaywan/AEP, the relevant international card scheme, issuer processor/switch, CMS provider, card personalization bureau and other technology partners.Translate Jaywan, international scheme and regulatory specifications into complete Bank business, functional, technical and operational requirements.Own and validate co-badge card product configuration, BIN/IIN and product profiles, card application/profile parameters, scheme selection and transaction-routing logic.Validate domestic and international transaction behavior, including authorization, clearing, settlement, reversals, refunds, reconciliation, fees, foreign-exchange treatment and financial postings as applicable to the approved product design.Ensure the required card application parameters, AID/profile configuration and terminal/issuer interaction rules are correctly reflected across processor, CMS and personalization environments.Coordinate certification, end-to-end testing, production simulation and scheme/processor readiness activities, including defect tracking and closure.Ensure product-specific restrictions, controls and enablement rules for contactless, e-commerce, tokenization, wallets and other channels are implemented in accordance with the approved Jaywan co-badged product scope.Coordinate regulatory and scheme-mandated changes affecting Jaywan co-badged cards and perform impact assessments across Bank systems and vendors.Lead technical troubleshooting for co-badged transaction issues, routing failures, authorization discrepancies, clearing/settlement mismatches and reconciliation breaks.Maintain complete documentation for Jaywan co-badged architecture, transaction flows, scheme interfaces, configuration dependencies, testing evidence and operational support procedures.Act as the internal technical subject-matter expert for Jaywan co-badged issuing and support Cards, Operations, Finance, Fraud, Compliance and Customer Support teams with technical analysis when required.C. Business Analysis ResponsibilitiesConduct workshops with Cards, Operations, Product, Digital Banking, Compliance, Risk, Fraud, Finance, Information Security and other stakeholders.Gather, analyze and document business and functional requirements for card initiatives.Prepare Business Requirement Documents (BRDs), functional specifications, user stories, acceptance criteria, process flows, customer journeys, sequence diagrams, data mappings, interface requirements and business rules.Perform impact assessments and gap analysis across systems, vendors, operational processes and regulatory requirements.Ensure requirements are complete, testable, traceable and formally agreed before development starts.Maintain requirement traceability through SIT, UAT, certification and production implementation.Support stakeholders in defining UAT scenarios and validating delivered functionality against approved requirements.D. Project & Change CoordinationCoordinate assigned card projects and Change Requests from initiation through production implementation and hypercare.Build and maintain implementation plans, milestone trackers, action logs and RAID logs covering risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies.Coordinate activities across internal IT teams, Business, Operations, processors, schemes and technology vendors.Conduct regular project status meetings and issue concise status reports highlighting progress, blockers, dependencies and decisions required.Actively follow up deliverables and escalate delays or unresolved dependencies to IT management.Coordinate SIT, UAT, scheme certification, production-readiness reviews, release approvals, deployment, smoke testing and post-production validation.Ensure successful handover to Application Support and Operations with complete documentation and support procedures.E. Card Scheme, Processor & Vendor CoordinationAct as a key IT coordination point with Jaywan/AEP, Visa, Mastercard and other applicable card schemes and payment partners.Review scheme mandates, processor specifications, technical bulletins and certification requirements and assess their impact on the Bank.Coordinate issuer processor, card switch, CMS, 3DS, tokenization, personalization, fraud and digital-wallet providers.Validate vendor technical proposals, effort estimates, delivery timelines and solution assumptions.Track vendor commitments, SLA performance, defects, RCA actions and project deliverables to closure.Ensure vendors provide sufficient design documentation, implementation evidence, operational procedures and knowledge transfer.F. Production Support & Incident ManagementProvide technical leadership for P1/P2 and other significant card-related production incidents.Coordinate investigation across processors, schemes, middleware, Core Banking, digital channels and other dependent systems.Analyze transaction messages, application logs, API traces and system behavior to identify the failing component or integration point.Drive vendors toward timely restoration, root-cause identification and permanent remediation.Review Root Cause Analysis (RCA) reports for technical accuracy and ensure corrective and preventive actions are tracked to closure.Identify recurring incidents and recommend structural fixes, monitoring improvements and control enhancements.G. Testing, Certification & Quality AssuranceDefine end-to-end test scope based on approved requirements and technical impact.Review SIT and UAT scenarios, ensuring positive, negative, exception, reversal and reconciliation cases are adequately covered.Coordinate scheme, processor and personalization certifications where applicable.Manage defects through prioritization, technical clarification, retesting and closure.Ensure sufficient regression testing and production smoke testing are completed before closing a change.H. Regulatory, Security & ComplianceEnsure card systems and changes comply with applicable Central Bank of the UAE requirements and approved Bank policies.Ensure alignment, where applicable, with PCI DSS, PCI PIN, EMV, 3DS, scheme security requirements, data-protection controls and information-security standards.Work closely with Compliance, Fraud Risk, Information Security, Operational Risk and Audit teams to incorporate required controls into card solutions.Ensure sensitive cardholder data, cryptographic keys, credentials and transaction information are handled in accordance with applicable security standards and Bank governance.I. Change, Release & GovernancePrepare and maintain technical Change Requests, impact assessments, implementation plans, rollback plans and production validation steps.Obtain required technical, security, business and operational approvals prior to release.Coordinate releases across all participating vendors and Bank teams.Ensure architecture, interface, configuration and support documentation is updated after material changes.Participate in service reviews, technical governance forums and card technology roadmap discussions.J. Documentation & Knowledge ManagementMaintain current system architecture, integration diagrams, interface/API catalogues, transaction flows, data flows and dependency maps for the issuer environment.Maintain documentation for card lifecycle, authorization, clearing, settlement, reconciliation, 3DS, tokenization and Jaywan co-badged flows.Prepare troubleshooting guides, known-error documentation, support procedures and operational handover packs.Reduce dependency on individual vendors by retaining sufficient technical and functional knowledge within the Bank.Required Domain & Technical KnowledgeCard issuing and card lifecycle management.Jaywan and UAE domestic card-scheme environment; direct Jaywan co-badged implementation experience is highly desirable.Visa and/or Mastercard issuer processing.Debit, credit, prepaid, physical and virtual cards.Issuer authorization, clearing, settlement and reconciliation.ISO 8583, EMV, 3D Secure and card tokenization concepts.Digital wallets and issuer-side card provisioning/integration.APIs, REST/SOAP, JSON/XML, middleware and API gateways.SQL, application logs, transaction logs and API testing tools such as Postman.Jira/Confluence or equivalent delivery and documentation platforms.Process modelling and technical documentation tools such as Visio or equivalent.