Head of Payments

**Global SaaS | Subscription Continuity | Revenue Optimization | Stripe & PayPal**
Our client is a digital product company that has been successfully operating since 2014. With a team of 100+ professionals, they develop and scale high-traffic SaaS products focused on the U.S. market. Their portfolio is built on **subscription-based models**, emphasizing **trial-to-paid conversions** and **auto-renewals**, supported by a centralized payments stack (Stripe, PayPal, and others).
They are currently looking for a **Head of Payments** to lead the strategy, operations, and optimization of payment systems across multiple high-volume products. This is a **senior-level** position that combines **hands-on execution** with strategic ownership, especially within **high-risk billing environments**.
**Key Responsibilities**:
**Drive the Payments Strategy**
Design and implement a comprehensive payments roadmap aligned with the product lifecycle, compliance requirements, and user experience.
**Optimize Billing & Revenue Recovery**
Manage renewal logic, cascading retries, dunning flows, and payment orchestration. Improve authorization and recovery rates while reducing churn and involuntary failures.
**Manage Chargebacks & Fraud Prevention**
Maintain chargeback ratios below card network thresholds. Operate tools like **Verifi**, **Ethoca**, **Stripe Radar**, and **Sift**. Build defensive strategies and manage disputes effectively.
**Enhance Revenue Continuity**
Use data-driven methods to increase billing success and minimize revenue leakage across platforms, geographies, and processors.
**Own Vendor Relationships**
Act as the primary point of contact for **Stripe**, **PayPal**, and other payment providers. Manage negotiations, risk flags, MID usage, and build system redundancy.
**Ensure Compliance**
Collaborate with product and legal teams to meet evolving global standards including **Visa/MC**, **FTC**, **PCI-DSS**, and **PSD2/SCA**, with a focus on continuity billing and renewals.
**Monitor Metrics & Maintain Stability**
Track KPIs such as authorization rates, churn, recovery %, and dispute ratios. Build dashboards, run experiments, and collaborate with tech teams to prevent payment-related issues before they escalate.
**Build & Lead a Payments Function**
Recruit and manage a lean team of analysts and fraud specialists. Focus on operational efficiency and resilience, not headcount.
- 5+ years of experience managing payments or recurring billing systems in subscription-based or trial-to-paid digital businesses
- Deep operational knowledge of high-risk environments, such as nutra, gaming, adult, or similar
- Proven hands-on expertise with Stripe, PayPal, and alternative processors
- Strong track record optimizing subscription billing flows, churn reduction, and revenue recovery
- Experience working with fraud and dispute tools: Verifi, Ethoca, Stripe Radar, Sift, etc.
- Solid understanding of global compliance frameworks: Visa/MC mandates, FTC guidelines, PCI-DSS, SCA/PSD2
- Fluent in billing metrics: authorization rate, recovery %, churn, dispute ratio
- Comfortable working with data tools (Looker or similar)
- Ability to perform under pressure in a fast-paced, performance-driven environment
**Nice to Have**:
- Experience with multi-MID setups and alternative/local payment methods
- Prior ownership of payment KPIs in aggressive growth or high-scrutiny verticals
- Background in consumer SaaS with high transaction volume and recurring revenue
**Why This Role Matters**:
Payments are central to the client's business model. From onboarding to long-term retention, billing is both a growth lever and a critical layer of risk management. This role requires someone who combines **deep technical knowledge**, **regulatory awareness**, and **operational discipline** to ensure sustainable and optimized revenue flows.
**Compensation & Terms**
- Performance-based incentives available
If you're a **payments operator** with real-world experience navigating complex, high-risk billing environments — and you know how to protect revenue while scaling performance — this opportunity is for you.

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