Banking Operations Function Lead – Europe & SWIFT

Job description

About the role Wise relies on banking partners to move customers’ money around the world. When those partners are slow, unavailable or make mistakes, payments get delayed or fail, customers are affected and costs and risks increase. As Wise grows, we need a clear view of how our partners are performing, where problems are emerging and what needs to improve. We need strong teams that hold partners accountable, influence internal priorities and turn recurring issues into lasting fixes.

That’s why this role exists. You lead Banking Operations across your assigned regions, building a capable, independent team while staying hands-on with critical partners and complex issues. You use data and operational insight to monitor performance, anticipate risks and hold banking partners accountable for high standards of service, quality and reliability. You set priorities and bring the right people together to turn recurring problems into lasting fixes—delivering fewer payment delays, failures and incidents, lower risk exposure and stronger control over partner costs.

Activities performed on the job Set direction and resources. Own the regional Banking Operations strategy and multi-quarter roadmap within the shared global operating model. Set clear OKRs and priorities, and align capacity, budget, skills and coverage with regional needs and growth. Co-lead the global Banking Operations operating model. Work with fellow Function Leads to build and maintain shared standards, KPIs, dashboards, playbooks, reporting and operating routines.

Agree cross-regional priorities, maintain clear decision rights, escalation paths and backup coverage, and scale proven regional improvements globally. Build a strong, independent team. Lead hiring, onboarding, performance, development and succession. Coach operational judgement, partner negotiation and delivery. Address performance gaps and strengthen ownership. Own critical partners and escalations. Manage a small portfolio and act as the senior regional escalation point.

Lead complex investigations and incident recovery, clearly communicating customer and commercial impact, risks, decisions needed and lasting fixes. Improve partner performance. Use data and Partner Health assessments to monitor processing speed, failure rates, availability, incidents and control gaps. Identify risks, prioritise improvements, agree operational SLAs and service commitments, hold partners accountable and verify results.

Influence roadmaps and launches. Be the regional point of expertise for Banking Operations. Work with Banking, Product, Engineering, Payops and other teams to turn customer and operational problems into business cases with quantified impact, urgency, options and recommendations. Resolve dependencies, ensure launch readiness and track improvements through delivery, adoption and measurable impact. Build scalable ways of working.

Contribute to shared governance, dashboards, playbooks, reporting and operating routines. Ensure clear partner records, decision rights, escalation paths and backup coverage. Give stakeholders visibility into partner health and share proven regional improvements globally. Manage risk and partner costs. Ensure processes within scope meet Wise policies and relevant regulatory requirements. Work with accountable teams to close control gaps, validate fee discrepancies, secure corrections or recoveries and prevent recurring losses.

Use technology and AI effectively. Adopt approved tools and automation with clear ownership, appropriate safeguards and verified benefits relative to cost.

Qualifications

Skill Requirements Experience. Typically 6+ years of relevant experience, including 2+ years of people management. Banking and payments expertise. Understands cross-border payment flows, payment schemes, or payment and business operations at bank or fintech scale. Experience with SWIFT and/or European banking partners is a plus. Strategy and delivery. Sets direction, defines meaningful KPIs and delivers multi-quarter improvements across complex operational portfolios.

People leadership. Develops high-performing teams, coaches judgement and partner management, delegates effectively and addresses performance gaps. Data analysis and storytelling. Uses data, SQL and/or BI tools where relevant to investigate problems, quantify impact and verify results. Presents clear recommendations and trade-offs. Technical understanding. Understands backend systems, APIs, system flows and automation principles.

Learns new domains quickly and contributes credibly to technical discussions. Judgement and problem-solving. Makes sound decisions across customer outcomes, commercial impact, risk, cost and capacity. Balances hands-on partner ownership with team leadership. Influence and stakeholder communication. Builds strong relationships across functions and seniority levels. Holds partners accountable and negotiates effectively. Communicates clearly and constructively, handles disagreement well and challenges existing approaches respectfully.

Not afraid to challenge the status quo, but does it without creating friction. Technology and AI. Evaluates and adopts approved tools, automation and AI with appropriate controls and measurable benefits.