Lead - Operations

About the role

We are looking for a dynamic and execution-focused Lead – Operations to drive the core operational engine of our fintech business as we scale and pursue Payment Aggregator (PA) and Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI). This is a high-impact leadership role where you will oversee a team of 5–6 professionals spanning Payment Operations, Merchant Operations, Customer Operations & Support (L2), Escrow & Banking Operations, and Business Operations Support. The ideal candidate combines deep fintech operations expertise with the ability to build scalable processes, manage cross-functional teams, and ensure seamless day-to-day operations in a fast-moving startup environment.

What you'll do

Payment & Merchant Operations

• Oversee the payment processing lifecycle—transaction monitoring, settlements, reconciliation, refunds, chargebacks, and dispute resolution—ensuring accuracy and SLA adherence.
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• Manage the merchant onboarding process including due diligence, KYC/KYB checks, risk profiling, and activation, ensuring compliance with RBI PA guidelines.
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• Drive operational efficiency across payment flows by identifying bottlenecks, implementing process improvements, and leveraging automation wherever possible.
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• Maintain robust monitoring dashboards for transaction success rates, failure analysis, and settlement cycles; escalate anomalies proactively.

Escrow & Banking Operations

• Oversee the management of escrow accounts as mandated by RBI for PA operations, ensuring funds are held, reconciled, and released in strict compliance with regulatory timelines.
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• Manage relationships with nodal and escrow banks, coordinate for account setups, limit enhancements, and resolve banking escalations.
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• Ensure daily reconciliation of escrow positions, settlement payouts, and float management with zero tolerance for discrepancies.
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• Regulatory financial reporting

Customer Operations & Support

• Own the customer support function (L2 and above), establishing SOPs, escalation matrices, and quality benchmarks for efficient grievance redressal.
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• Ensure the customer grievance redressal mechanism complies with RBI's requirements, including turnaround times and escalation to the RBI Ombudsman where applicable.
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• Track and analyse support trends, CSAT scores, and dispute rates to feed insights back into product and operations teams.

Business Operations Support & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Act as the central coordinator between technology, product, finance, legal, and business teams to ensure operational readiness for new product launches, integrations, and regulatory changes.
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• Define and maintain operational playbooks, process documentation, and standard operating procedures across all functions under purview.
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• Support internal and external audits by preparing required operational documentation and coordinating cross-team responses.

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 5–6 professionals across all operational sub-functions, setting clear KRAs, OKRs, and performance benchmarks.
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• Build a culture of operational excellence, continuous improvement, and accountability within the team.
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• Recruit and onboard talent as the team scales in line with business growth and regulatory requirements.

What we're looking for

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business Administration, Finance, or a related field; MBA or professional certifications are a plus.
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• 6–9 years of progressive experience in fintech, payments, or banking operations, with at least 2–3 years managing a team.
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• Hands-on experience at a payment aggregator, payment gateway, wallet company, or RBI-regulated fintech is strongly preferred.
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• Working knowledge of RBI PA/PPI frameworks, KYC/KYB requirements, and NPCI products (UPI, IMPS, NACH) sufficient to run compliant operations—without needing to own the compliance function.
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• Proven experience managing escrow accounts, nodal bank relationships, and end-to-end payment settlement operations.
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• Strong process orientation with the ability to design SOPs, build dashboards, and drive operational metrics.
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• Excellent problem-solving and stakeholder management skills; comfortable working across technology, product, finance, and business teams.
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• Strong written and verbal communication skills for internal reporting and external partner management.
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• High ownership mindset, attention to detail, and the resilience to operate in a fast-paced startup environment.

Nice to have

• Prior experience at a payment aggregator or payment gateway that was live and processing transactions at scale.
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• Familiarity with payment reconciliation tools, CRM platforms, and helpdesk software (e.g. Freshdesk, Zendesk).
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• Exposure to merchant risk management, fraud monitoring tools, or chargeback management processes.
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• Experience building operations from scratch at an early-stage or Series A fintech startup.
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• Understanding of NACH mandates, e-NACH, and recurring payment operations.