Summary
Join M&S at a pivotal moment in the evolution of customer payments. As our leader for Payment Partnerships & Strategy, you'll own the relationships, economics and future direction of the payment services that power millions of customer transactions across stores and online. From managing strategic partnerships with acquirers, schemes and payment providers to shaping a forward-looking payments roadmap, you'll balance commercial performance, operational resilience and customer experience while driving innovation in areas such as digital wallets, Pay by Bank, Click to Pay and emerging payment technologies. This is a high-impact role with visibility across the business, influencing investment, strategy and supplier performance to ensure M&S remains commercially strong, customer-focused and future-ready.
What you'll do
Own M&S's payment acceptance strategy and lead key partnerships across acquirers, card schemes and payment providers, ensuring strong commercial performance, operational resilience and an exceptional customer payment experience.
Drive payment cost optimisation and commercial value, managing a multi-million-pound payments budget while identifying opportunities to improve performance, reduce costs and maximise return from supplier relationships.
Lead the payment optimisation agenda, improving approval rates, reducing avoidable declines and enhancing customer journeys through initiatives such as routing, tokenisation, wallets and payment acceptance improvements.
Shape the future of payments at M&S by identifying emerging trends, developing business cases and influencing investment in new capabilities including Pay by Bank, Click to Pay, NFC, digital wallets and other evolving payment technologies.
Act as a senior payments SME and leader, providing strategic guidance, managing critical incidents and regulatory change, and influencing senior stakeholders across Finance, Technology, Product, Retail, Risk and Compliance to deliver business priorities.
Who you are
You bring deep payments expertise, with experience managing payment acceptance across online and in-store channels, and a strong understanding of payment economics, processing, routing, tokenisation, settlement and optimisation strategies.
You have a proven track record of managing strategic payment provider relationships, leading commercial negotiations, contract renewals and performance management to deliver measurable business value.
You combine strategic thinking with execution, translating emerging payment trends and technologies into clear roadmaps, business cases and practical solutions that improve customer experience and commercial performance.
You are a credible and influential stakeholder manager, able to communicate complex payment concepts to senior audiences, build alignment across teams and drive outcomes through collaboration.
You are a recognised payments professional with strong knowledge of the regulatory and industry landscape, an active external network, and a passion for staying ahead of market developments and innovation.
What’s in it for you?
Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.
Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:
20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you
Everyone’s welcome
We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.
We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.
If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.
#LI-hybrid #LI-LS1 #hybridrole
Skills Required
- Deep payments expertise across online and in-store acceptance, processing, routing and settlement
- Experience managing strategic relationships with acquirers, card schemes and payment providers
- Proven track record in commercial negotiations, contract renewals and supplier performance management
- Experience driving payment optimisation (improving approval rates, reducing declines) using routing, tokenisation and wallets
- Experience building business cases, roadmaps and translating emerging payment technologies into delivery
- Budget management experience, including responsibility for multi-million-pound payments budgets
- Strong stakeholder management and ability to communicate complex payment concepts to senior leaders
- Knowledge of regulatory and industry landscape and an active external payments network
- Experience managing critical incidents and regulatory change in payments environments
What We Do
At M&S, we're dedicated to being the most trusted retailer, prioritising quality and delivering value. Every day, we bring the magic of M&S to our customers, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us. For over a century, we've set the standard, doing the right thing and embracing innovation. Today, with over 65,000 colleagues serving 32 million customers globally, we're putting quality products at the heart of everything we do. Tomorrow holds boundless opportunities with us. We're pioneering digital innovation and shaping the future of retail where our values drive every action. We stay close to customers and colleagues, always curious and connected. Our decisions are bold, our actions ambitious. Transparency is paramount, with straightforward, honest communication. We're constantly innovating, always striving for the best. Our focus is on aiming higher and winning together, combined with wise financial decisions to secure our future. Join us at M&S to shape the future of retail.
