Senior Technology Specialist - Banking & Payment Hub

The Senior Technology Specialist will support the establishment and formalization of the Payment Hub team, which will be a new team within the Treasury Department. The role of the Payment Hub team is to ensure mature systems and processes are in place to ensure payments, including customer payments, are processed effectively and in a timely manner, and that issues are detected and resolved proactively.

The Senior Specialist is responsible to own, handle and improve all Banking and Financial Services Technology related work streams such as Treasury Management System (TMS), API connectivity, Open Banking, Banking Infrastructure and Bank Master data. They support deployment and implementation of technology products or services as per the requirements in different areas of the Business.

Ideal candidate should have validated project management and implementation experience. Success is crafted by translating business needs to the effective adoption of products or services from Banks, FinTech Payment Service Providers (PSPs) or other relevant technology vendors and playing the role of a subject matter authority to help support the business verticals in a scalable manner is key.

Further, this role entails high affinity for project management experience in SWIFT, SAP ERP, Bank Master Data in both regulated and non-regulated environments. They hold responsibility to drive innovation in innovative financial technologies such as Blockchain applications, machine learning, robotics, etc. to enable the Treasury & Finance department overall in successful contribution to commercial strategies.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for understanding, implementing and running business needs around the right technology products/ and or services related to payments and collection.
• Owns and drives the implementation and expansion of SWIFT and Banking Connectivity products with the Banks/PSPs/FinTech with close alignment with the internal Booking.com technology teams. Assess viability of current SWIFT service provider servicing the company and recommend/own implementation of any changes therein.
• Drive the implementation of mature processes and frameworks to proactively handle payment errors. In particular, handle technical rejections, both internal and external (such as, but not limited to, from Banks), and proactively handle bank responses. Support technical improvement / automation for payment rejects processing.
• Responsible for agreeing on and ensuring compliance with internal SLAs for payment status management with key partners in Finance and Fintech. Work closely with Banking and FinTech technical teams to solve issues.
• Understand the requirements of various business models, product and commercial teams and support them with effective ownership of implementation of the right banking and financial services technologies (starting from a simple file formats for payroll upload used by accounting teams, SWIFT FIN and FileAct set-ups that are fit for purpose as well as sophisticated products such as Direct Debit Collections in several geographies, Boletos in Brazil or API services related to the management of financial risks).
• Liaison between external and internal teams to ensure the requirements are understood in due detail and the ‘right’, fit-for-purpose products and/ or services are identified and implemented in a timely manner.
• Working collaboratively across teams (e.g. Treasury, Finance, Payments, Product teams etc) to optimize current core technology infrastructure (bank and financial services infrastructure, Master Data process) and increase their operational efficiency and scalability. In particular, implement and maintain a Global Bank Account Master Data (Rule book).
• Ensure compliance of the banking and payment setup with industry standards and regulatory requirements. Support yearly certification, security reviews and annual audits (external and internal, including SWIFT yearly attestation).
• Manages the technical relationships with all the banking partners, SWIFT Service Bureau, Payment and Banking connectivity third parties as well as Booking.com internal technical teams within FinTech, Financial Systems and O2C (Finance). Supports different internal teams to meet the business requirements.
• Ongoing monitoring of the evolving Banking and Financial Services Tech landscape (such as Blockchain applications, machine learning, robotics, etc.) and proactively advising business teams on products and/ or services that could be demonstrated, to enable better customer and partner journey, and optimize existing workstreams.

Requirements:

• Around 8 plus years of proven experience gained by implementing/supporting Payment products or working in techno-functional roles to support treasury and financial services in the areas of Banking, Cash Management, and payment operations;
• Excellent English speaker with strong social skills, able to adapt style and approach in order to work effectively with internal and external partners from a variety of different cultures;
• Post-graduate Master degree/ diploma or equivalent experience in Finance, Business IT and/ or Treasury Management is a highly advantage;
• Seasoned Banking and Financial Services technology professional with previous experience in running complex projects and implementation of products and/ or services related to payments and collection products, SWIFT FIN and FileAct (XML File formats), host-to-host/ API connectivity, Open Banking, Banking Infrastructure and Bank Master Data, Treasury Management System (TMS) and upcoming, new technologies such as Blockchain applications, machine learning, robotics.
• Able to keep an overview of several sophisticated tasks / projects that run at the same time;
• Strong passion for innovation and technology;
• Experienced in project implementation and/ or organisational change;
• Broad knowledge of evolving Banking technology landscape;
• Strong social skills;
• Excellent people & partner leadership skills required

Benefits & Perks:

Booking.com’s Total Rewards Philosophy is not only about compensation but also about benefits. Our Total Rewards are aimed to make it easier for you to experience all that life has to offer—all the messy, beautiful, and joyful bits—on your terms. So you can focus on what really matters. We offer competitive compensation as well as thoughtful, valuable, and even fun benefits which include:

• Health, life, and disability insurance*
• Annual paid time off and generous paid leave scheme including: parent, grandparent, bereavement, and care leave
• Hybrid working including flexible working arrangements, and up to 20 days per year working from abroad (home country)
• Industry leading product discounts for yourself, friends, and family, including automatic Genius Level 3 status and quarterly Booking.com wallet credit
• Free access to online learning platforms, development and mentorship programs, and a complimentary Headspace membership
• On-site meals, coffee, and snacks, including healthy and vegan options, daily*

*Please note that while our philosophy is the same in every location, benefits may differ by office/country. More details on the benefits and perks offered by the company can be found here.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Booking.com

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) have been a core part of our company culture since day one. This ongoing journey starts with our very own employees, who represent over 140 nationalities and a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations. Take it from our Chief People Officer, Paulo Pisano: “At Booking.com, the diversity of our people doesn’t just create a unique workplace, it also creates a better and more inclusive travel experience for everyone.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustments to participate in the interview process. Please contact us to request adjustments.

Pre-Employment Screening:
If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.