Payments Contract

The opportunity
Payments rely on a complex ecosystem of card schemes, payment processors and other strategic providers. As Payments Contract & Partner Management Expert, you will own these relationships end to end, driving negotiations, commercial value and high-quality service delivery across ING Italy's Cards & Payments domain.

You will lead contract negotiations and lifecycle management, shape effective partnership models and turn commercial agreements into measurable business outcomes. You will also ensure that regulatory and operational-resilience requirements are appropriately embedded in each arrangement.

The team
You will join the Cards & Payments Product Area within ING Italy and report to the Product Area Lead Cards & Payments. You will work across Product, Procurement, Legal, Compliance, Risk, Finance, Operations, Technology, Information Security, global teams and external partners.

Roles and responsibilities
Contract ownership and lifecycle management
· Lead contract renewals, amendments and renegotiations, defining negotiation objectives and working with Procurement to secure strong commercial and contractual outcomes.

• Maintain a complete overview of contracts, obligations, pricing, incentives, liabilities, notice periods and key decision points.
• Identify opportunities to improve terms, simplify the contractual setup and increase the value delivered by partners.
• Support strategic decisions on provider selection, contract duration, service migration and sourcing options.
• Cooperate with ING Group teams on global contractual arrangements, representing local business requirements and supporting the adoption of Group agreements and solutions where appropriate.

Partner and service governance
· Act as the main business counterpart for strategic payment partners and build effective relationships at operational and senior-management level.

• Lead periodic business and service reviews covering commercial performance, SLAs, KPIs, roadmap, incidents and actions.
• Challenge providers on performance and delivery, coordinate internal stakeholders and drive agreed improvements through to completion.
• Identify opportunities for innovation, service enhancement and broader collaboration.

Financial and commercial management
· Own the commercial performance of the contracts, including costs, incentives, rebates, penalties and minimum commitments.

• Support budgeting, forecasting, invoice validation and performance tracking against the business case.
• Prepare commercial analyses and negotiation scenarios for renewals and sourcing decisions.
• Ensure ING fully captures the financial and strategic value included in its agreements.

Management reporting and decision support
· Cooperate with ING Group teams on global contractual arrangements, representing local business requirements and supporting the adoption of Group agreements and solutions where appropriate.

• Provide senior management with a consolidated view of performance, costs, risks and upcoming decisions.
• Prepare concise decision materials and highlight expiries, notice periods, gaps and required actions.
• Support the long-term partner and sourcing strategy, including local versus global contracting.

How to succeed
We are looking for an experienced commercial and contract-management professional with a strong understanding of payments. You are a confident negotiator, able to identify value opportunities, challenge providers and build productive long-term relationships. You work autonomously, bring structure to complex topics and translate commercial, operational and regulatory considerations into clear recommendations for senior management.

Required experience and skills
· Strong experience in contract management, commercial negotiation, vendor management, procurement or strategic partnerships, preferably in payments or financial services.

• Proven ability to negotiate complex agreements and improve commercial terms, service commitments and contractual protections.
• Sound financial and business acumen, including the ability to assess pricing models, incentives, costs and business cases.
• Strong relationship-management and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to translate contractual provisions into operational actions, governance and measurable outcomes.
• Understanding of third-party risk and operational-resilience requirements in a regulated environment.
• Ability to prepare clear executive reporting and recommendations.
• Professional fluency in English and Italian, with the ability to operate independently.

Preferred experience
· Knowledge of card issuing, processing, settlement and card-scheme operating models.