Assistant Vice President Merchant Operations

About QNB

Founded in 1964, QNB Group is the leading bank in the Middle East and Africa region, operating in over 31 countries with a workforce exceeding 28,000 employees. It serves approximately 20 million customers through 1,000 branches and an ATM network of 4,300. The bank enjoys high credit ratings from agencies such as Standard & Poor’s (A), Moody’s (Aa3), and Fitch (A+), and has consistently been recognized with prestigious international awards. QNB also actively invests in community and social initiatives, including educational and sporting sponsorships.

Role Purpose

This position is responsible for managing, enhancing, and developing all operational aspects and systems supporting Merchant Services. The role ensures compliance with VISA and MasterCard regulations, oversees merchant risk controls, facilitates successful merchant partnerships, and delivers robust support services for merchants.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in defining and monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Card & Merchants Operations Department and evaluate performance periodically.
• Implement KPIs and operational best practices specific to the Assistant Vice President Merchant Operations function.
• Lead the annual budgeting process for the department and track progress against budgets.
• Ensure efficient and risk-controlled functioning of the Merchant Services unit, exercising delegated authority and overseeing delegated staff responsibilities.
• Analyze both financial and non-financial performance factors impacting the bank.
• Proactively research and resolve operational issues, providing detailed root cause analysis to relevant stakeholders.
• Coordinate timely implementation of operational requirements through team supervision.
• Provide auditors with accurate information as requested.
• Respond to customer inquiries and facilitate product-related solutions.
• Adhere to service level agreements to improve turnaround times and build cooperative relationships across departments.
• Develop and optimize merchant operations, including sign-up and help desk procedures, to ensure smooth merchant enrollment and POS deployments.
• Maintain in-depth knowledge of payment processing protocols, exceptions handling, software interfaces, and third-party processors.
• Guarantee adherence to VISA/MasterCard rules and applicable regulatory frameworks.
• Oversee merchant payment reviews and operational controls.
• Ensure POS devices are installed promptly and correctly according to standardized procedures.
• Monitor merchant performance metrics and propose recommendations to relevant parties.
• Drive enhancements, implementation, and testing of the acquiring system.
• Promptly address merchant concerns and support issue resolution.
• Establish and nurture partnerships with customer service technology and call center vendors.
• Identify opportunities to enhance processing efficiency, service quality, and cost-effectiveness.
• Ensure timely installation of all acquiring products, escalating delays when necessary.
• Maintain strong collaboration with internal bank departments to facilitate acquiring business and operational workflows.
• Support international branches and subsidiary operations.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives by inspiring cross-team collaboration and innovation.
• Promote out-of-the-box thinking and recognize creative problem-solving among team members.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Banking, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, Information Technology, or related fields.
• Minimum of 10 years experience in relevant roles, preferably within a major international bank or in merchant and e-commerce operations.

Additional Requirements

• Applicants must provide a resume/CV, government-issued ID card, passport, academic certificates, and other relevant documents upon application.