Responsibilities:

Lead the full technical delivery lifecycle across consumer credit, wallet-linked, and commercial card programs for the KSA market — developing and maintaining comprehensive project plans covering BIN request/setup, ICA assignment, CMS integration, processor connectivity, and Mastercard scheme certification — measured by on time milestone delivery

Drive principal membership enablement, coordinating ICA assignment, membership documentation, and regulatory submissions to SAMA — ensuring membership is operationally active within the first 8 weeks

Oversee card product ionisation and digital issuance from card design and personalisation through production, fulfilment, and digital provisioning — ensuring integration with NI processing platform personalization bureau per scheme requirements

Execute digital wallet and tokenisation launch (Apple Pay, Google Pay, xPay) including MDES setup, tokenisation services deployment to production, 3DS authentication configuration, and end-to-end digital provisioning flow validation

Lead scheme certification and quality assurance including MIP testing, parametrisation workbook completion, package configuration, SIT/UAT, performance testing, and security testing — ensuring

P1/P2 defects are resolved prior to go-live   

Manage authorisation, authentication, and dispute management configuration — ensuring post-launch operational readiness including production incident management, initial stabilisation, and comprehensive handover documentation for BAU operations teams.

Coordinate across all parties —Processor, personalization bureaus, and the client's product, technology, and compliance functions — facilitating workshops, solution design sessions, and weekly/monthly governance

Required Skills:

End-to-end card technical implementation and product ionisation (credit, wallet, commercial)

BIN setup, ICA assignment, and Mastercard scheme certification

Processor integration experience

Digital wallet/tokenisation (MDES, xPay)

Fluent English; Client working language; Arabic is a plus

Domain Expertise:

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field

10+ years in payments technology, card issuing/processing, and technical implementation program management

Proven track record delivering card product launches (credit, wallet/prepaid, commercial) across multiple markets, ideally in the GCC/MENA region

Deep understanding of card management systems (e.g., PowerCARD, Way4, VisionPLUS, Cortex, Prime), issuer processing, and card lifecycle (issuance → authorisation → clearing → settlement → disputes)  Technical Knowledge:

ISO 8583 / ISO 20022 messaging standards, BIN management, personalisation, tokenisation (MDES/VTS), 3DS, and digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay)

PCI-DSS compliance requirements and security standards for card issuance

API-based integrations, simulator/certification environments, and cloud-native architectures 

Regulatory & Regional:

Strong knowledge of SAMA regulatory framework for card issuance and consumer finance

Familiarity with Mastercard products, services, CIS processes, and scheme rules

Understanding of Shariah-compliant financial products is a plus 

Industry & Sector:

Experience working with fintech or BNPL companies is highly desirable

Exposure to greenfield card program launches (vs. migration/enhancement) preferred 

Tools & Platforms:

Project management tools: JIRA, Confluence, MS Project, or equivalent

Testing and certification tools: Mastercard MIP, scheme simulators, API testing suites (Postman, SoapUI)