Project Manager – Payments, Regulatory Compliance & Scheme Delivery

Job Summary

Synechron is seeking a Project Manager to lead the end-to-end delivery of industry scheme, regulatory, and compliance-driven projects. The role will ensure mandated changes are assessed, planned, governed, and implemented within required timeframes while managing operational, financial, compliance, and reputational risks.

The Project Manager will work across business, technology, operations, risk, compliance, product, vendors, scheme representatives, and industry partners. The role will deliver complex change initiatives, maintain compliance with applicable industry standards and scheme requirements, and support business readiness in a highly regulated and deadline-driven environment.

Software Requirements

Required

• Proficiency with project management tools used for:Project planning and schedulingMilestone and dependency trackingRisk and issue managementResource planningBudget and financial trackingStatus reporting
• Familiarity with tools for preparing weekly reports, Steering Committee updates, governance packs, and project health reporting.
• Experience using collaboration and documentation tools to maintain:Project plansDecision logsRisk and issue registersDependency trackersCompliance evidenceImplementation documentation
• Experience with project portfolio management and governance tools.
• Ability to use spreadsheets or financial-management tools for budgets, forecasts, expenditure tracking, and benefits monitoring.

Preferred

• Experience with enterprise project portfolio management platforms.
• Experience with tools supporting regulatory change management, audit evidence, compliance tracking, and operational risk management.
• Experience using dashboards to present delivery progress, compliance readiness, financial performance, risks, and dependencies.
• Experience with tools supporting Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid delivery methodologies.

Specific software products and versions are not specified in the requirement details and should be confirmed based on the applicable project environment.

Overall Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of compliance and industry scheme-mandated projects from initiation through implementation and closure.
• Develop project plans, schedules, budgets, resource requirements, delivery roadmaps, and implementation approaches.
• Ensure projects are delivered within agreed scope, timelines, budget, quality standards, and compliance obligations.
• Coordinate activities across business, technology, operations, risk, compliance, product, and external delivery teams.
• Manage project dependencies and impacts across concurrent initiatives.
• Lead the delivery of industry scheme mandates, regulatory changes, and compliance-driven initiatives.
• Ensure scheme deadlines and compliance obligations are understood, tracked, and achieved.
• Coordinate impact assessments and implementation planning for new mandates and industry releases.
• Work with compliance, risk, legal, and business stakeholders to interpret requirements and define delivery approaches.
• Maintain evidence of compliance and support audit requirements where required.
• Prepare weekly reporting, Steering Committee updates, status reports, governance packs, and project health assessments.
• Monitor and report on milestones, risks, issues, dependencies, financial performance, delivery progress, and compliance readiness.
• Escalate significant risks, issues, and delivery concerns through the appropriate governance channels.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including vendors, scheme representatives, and industry partners.
• Manage stakeholder communications, expectations, decisions, and engagement throughout the project lifecycle.
• Identify, assess, and manage project risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies.
• Develop mitigation strategies and contingency plans to manage compliance, operational, financial, and reputational risks.
• Drive timely resolution of project challenges to minimise delivery impacts.
• Manage project budgets, forecasts, financial reporting, resource planning, and allocation.
• Monitor project expenditure and support effective utilisation of delivery resources.
• Support business case development and benefits tracking where applicable.
• Promote efficient and sustainable use of project resources, technology, documentation, and delivery processes.

Technical Skills (By Category)

Programming Languages

Essential

• No programming language is identified as mandatory for this Project Manager role.
• Ability to understand technology delivery concepts, system impacts, integration dependencies, and technical implementation considerations.
• Ability to work effectively with technology teams responsible for software, infrastructure, data, and platform changes.

Preferred

• Basic understanding of software development, system integration, APIs, data flows, or technology implementation practices.
• Experience managing projects involving technology platforms, application changes, or system implementations.

Databases/Data Management

Essential

• Ability to understand project impacts related to data, reporting, operational processes, compliance evidence, and system changes.
• Experience ensuring project documentation, reporting, financial information, risk data, and compliance evidence are accurate and up to date.
• Ability to coordinate data and information requirements across business, technology, risk, compliance, and operations teams.

Preferred

• Experience managing projects involving payment data, customer data, transaction data, reporting platforms, or operational data.
• Experience supporting data governance, reconciliation, audit evidence, or regulatory reporting initiatives.

Cloud Technologies

Essential

• Ability to manage project impacts involving technology infrastructure, application environments, platform dependencies, and operational readiness.
• Ability to coordinate with technical teams on environment, deployment, security, and implementation requirements.

Preferred

• Experience managing projects involving cloud adoption, infrastructure change, application migration, or platform modernization.
• Understanding of cloud-related delivery risks, security considerations, operational controls, and resource planning.

Frameworks and Libraries

Essential

• Understanding of delivery frameworks and methodologies, including Waterfall, Agile, or hybrid approaches.
• Ability to apply governance frameworks, project controls, risk-management practices, and change-management processes.

Preferred

• Experience with project portfolio management and governance frameworks.
• Experience with regulatory change, compliance delivery, operational risk, or industry scheme implementation frameworks.

Development Tools and Methodologies

Essential

• Project planning, scheduling, budgeting, resource management, and delivery-roadmap development.
• Waterfall, Agile, or hybrid project delivery methodologies.
• Risk, issue, assumption, dependency, and change management.
• Stakeholder management, negotiation, facilitation, and communication.
• Governance reporting, Steering Committee updates, project health reporting, and escalation.
• Financial management, forecasting, expenditure tracking, and benefits monitoring.
• Requirements analysis, impact assessment, implementation planning, and business readiness.
• Vendor coordination and management of internal and external delivery partners.
• Audit evidence, compliance readiness, and documentation management.

Preferred

• Project portfolio management.
• Regulatory change management.
• Industry scheme mandate delivery.
• Operational risk management.
• Continuous improvement and delivery-process optimisation.
• Experience managing concurrent projects and complex interdependencies.

Security Protocols

Essential

• Understanding of compliance, regulatory, operational, financial, and reputational risks associated with technology and business change.
• Ability to ensure security, risk, compliance, and control considerations are incorporated into project planning and delivery.
• Ability to coordinate with risk, compliance, legal, technology, and security stakeholders.
• Experience maintaining evidence required for compliance reviews and audits.
• Ability to support secure implementation, business readiness, and operational control requirements.

Preferred

• Knowledge of payment security and industry compliance frameworks, including PCI DSS.
• Experience managing security, compliance, or operational risk initiatives.
• Experience supporting audit remediation, control implementation, and regulatory readiness programs.

Experience Requirements

• 10+ years of overall professional experience.
• At least 5 years of experience managing complex business and technology projects.
• Demonstrated experience delivering compliance, regulatory, or industry-mandated change initiatives.
• Strong project management expertise across Waterfall, Agile, or hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience managing project scope, schedules, budgets, resources, risks, issues, dependencies, and governance.
• Experience working in highly regulated and deadline-driven environments.
• Preferred Experience in payments, banking, financial services, fintech, or card-acquiring industries.
• Preferred Knowledge of payment schemes, card-network requirements, PCI DSS, prudential regulatory frameworks, or related industry standards.
• Preferred Experience managing scheme mandates, regulatory compliance programs, operational risk initiatives, project portfolios, or governance frameworks.
• Candidates may also qualify through an equivalent combination of relevant project-management experience, regulatory-delivery experience, industry knowledge, certifications, and demonstrated delivery of comparable complex change initiatives.

Day-to-Day Activities

• Participate in project planning, delivery, risk, dependency, stakeholder, compliance, and governance meetings across business and technology teams.
• Coordinate impact assessments, project plans, implementation activities, resource requirements, vendor activities, and business-readiness actions.
• Prepare weekly reporting, Steering Committee updates, risk and issue registers, financial forecasts, compliance evidence, status reports, and delivery-roadmap updates.
• Make delivery decisions within approved governance frameworks, escalate material risks appropriately, and drive resolution of issues affecting scope, schedule, budget, quality, or compliance.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree in Project Management, Business, Information Technology, Finance, or a related field is preferred; equivalent relevant professional experience may be considered.
• 10+ years of overall professional experience, including at least 5 years managing complex business and technology projects.
• Experience with compliance, regulatory, industry scheme, operational risk, or other deadline-driven change initiatives is required.
• Project Management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, Agile PM, or an equivalent qualification is preferred.
• Maintain continuous professional development in project delivery, regulatory change, governance, risk management, financial services, industry compliance, and Agile or hybrid delivery practices.

Professional Competencies

• Apply structured critical thinking and problem-solving to assess project impacts, resolve delivery challenges, and manage compliance and operational risks.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams through clear direction, effective coordination, collaborative decision-making, and delivery accountability.
• Communicate project status, risks, issues, decisions, dependencies, financial performance, and compliance readiness clearly to stakeholders.
• Adapt delivery approaches to changing mandates, regulatory requirements, business priorities, project constraints, and stakeholder needs.
• Identify opportunities to improve delivery processes, governance quality, reporting accuracy, business readiness, and sustainable resource utilisation.
• Manage competing priorities, concurrent projects, deadlines, budgets, dependencies, stakeholder expectations, and escalation requirements effectively.

S​YNECHRON’S DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT
 

Diversity & Inclusion are fundamental to our culture, and Synechron is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative ‘Same Difference’ is committed to fostering an inclusive culture – promoting equality, diversity and an environment that is respectful to all. We strongly believe that a diverse workforce helps build stronger, successful businesses as a global company. We encourage applicants from across diverse backgrounds, race, ethnicities, religion, age, marital status, gender, sexual orientations, or disabilities to apply. We empower our global workforce by offering flexible workplace arrangements, mentoring, internal mobility, learning and development programs, and more.

All employment decisions at Synechron are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to the applicant’s gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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