Manager Payout Strategy & Partnerships

Job Title: Manager – Payout Strategy & Partnerships
Reporting to: Executive Head - Business)
Department: Relationship and Development
Role Overview:
The Manager – Payout Strategy & Partnerships holds full ownership of ACE’s global payout network, driving its commercial performance, regulatory compliance, and strategic growth. This role is pivotal in ensuring ACE’s cross-border payout ecosystem remains competitive, scalable, and profitable across all corridors.
The Manager will lead complex commercial negotiations, govern high-value partnerships, and deliver measurable improvements in corridor profitability, FX margins, and payout efficiency. This position requires a sharp commercial strategist with the technical and operational depth to influence executive decisions and maintain regulatory integrity across multiple jurisdictions.
Core Responsibilities
1. Strategic Leadership & Execution

• Own the end-to-end payout strategy, ensuring every corridor meets ACE’s profitability, compliance, and service-level objectives.
• Develop and execute a multi-year payout growth roadmap, focusing on expanding corridor reach, improving transaction velocity, and optimizing partner costs.
• Drive P&L accountability for the payout network, setting and achieving quarterly KPIs on cost optimization, turnaround times, and FX gains.
• Act as a key advisor to the Executive Head, providing data-backed recommendations on partnership expansions, corridor exits, and pricing strategies.
• Champion innovation in payout technology, integration models, and fintech collaborations to enhance ACE’s global competitiveness.

2. Partnership Governance & Commercial Negotiation

• Lead contractual and commercial negotiations with major banks, fintechs, and MTOs, ensuring commercially sound and risk-compliant agreements.
• Design and enforce governance frameworks for partner performance, SLA adherence, and dispute resolution.
• Implement a tiered partner management structure, distinguishing between strategic, tactical, and transactional partners for focused oversight.
• Conduct quarterly partner audits to ensure cost efficiency, compliance, and uptime reliability across all payout corridors.
• Drive re-negotiations that deliver tangible improvements in margin contribution, payout speed, and liquidity management.

3. Market Expansion & Intelligence

• Spearhead market entry assessments for new corridors, leveraging data analytics, competitor benchmarking, and regulatory research.
• Oversee Corridor Health Reviews to evaluate profitability, transaction volume, and partner performance.
• Identify and prioritize new payout corridors, payment methods, and digital partnerships aligned with ACE’s strategic expansion plans.
• Present executive proposals backed by feasibility studies, FX analytics, and commercial forecasts for board-level approvals.

4. Compliance, Risk & Operational Control

• Maintain strict adherence to global KYC/KYB, AML, and sanctions compliance frameworks.
• Partner with Legal and Compliance to implement robust due diligence standards for all partner banks and institutions.
• Ensure all payout integrations are technically resilient, API-compliant, and audit-ready.
• Establish risk monitoring dashboards for real-time visibility into corridor disruptions, compliance exceptions, and partner anomalies.
• Conduct semi-annual compliance reviews to ensure operational soundness and regulatory integrity.

5. Performance Optimization & Analytics

• Build data-driven performance frameworks to measure partner throughput, payout costs, corridor latency, and conversion margins.
• Lead quarterly performance reviews across all corridors, identifying corrective actions and commercial adjustments.
• Collaborate with Finance and Treasury to optimize liquidity management and FX rate structures for each corridor.
• Leverage predictive analytics to anticipate transaction trends, currency risks, and volume surges, enabling proactive decision-making.

6. Cross-Functional Influence & Leadership

• Lead cross-departmental task forces involving Finance, Compliance, Product, Operations, and IT to align payout performance with corporate goals.
• Mentor team leads and analysts within the unit, ensuring robust succession planning and leadership continuity.
• Represent ACE in industry forums, bank partnerships, and international remittance discussions to reinforce ACE’s market leadership.
• Report directly to the Executive Head - Business, with insights, risk reports, and strategic recommendations.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s in Business, Finance, or Economics; MBA or equivalent preferred.
   
• Experience: 8–12 years in international remittance, fintech, or cross-border payments, with at least 4 years in a managerial or leadership role.
   
• Expertise in:
  • Global pay-out operations and corridor management
  • Commercial negotiations and contract structuring
  • Partner due diligence and risk governance
  • API and fintech ecosystem integrations
  • Financial modeling, FX risk, and margin optimization.
     
• Competencies:
  • Strong leadership with an executive-level mindset
  • Exceptional stakeholder management and negotiation acumen
  • Strategic foresight with operational execution discipline
  • Analytical precision and high resilience under pressure
  • Ability to represent ACE at senior external and regulatory levels

ACE Money Transfer Profile: https://acemoneytransfer.com/company-profile