A regional bank is executing a major payments integration initiative as part of a merger and is seeking a seasoned Operations Subject Matter Expert (SME) with deep expertise in ACH and Wire operations. This role is critical to ensuring operational readiness, business continuity, and compliance throughout the integration of two payment infrastructures across legacy platforms and PeP+.
The Operations SME will serve as the bridge between business operations, technical delivery teams, and compliance stakeholders, validating end-to-end payment workflows during UAT, parallel processing, and cutover execution.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the operational SME for all ACH and Wire payment processes during the merger integration project.
- Document and validate current-state payment flows and support mapping to future-state operations.
- Partner with business analysts, developers, and QA teams to ensure workflows are preserved or improved post-migration.
- Review and validate test cases with focus on settlement, returns, exceptions, and reconciliation.
- Support operational continuity during dry runs and cutover weekends, including file validation and transaction tracking.
- Identify operational risks and propose mitigation strategies related to processing schedules and balancing.
- Assist with operational readiness reviews, SOP development, and user training materials.
- Interface with banking partners and vendors to ensure alignment across payment channels.
Required Qualifications
- 7+ years of direct experience in ACH and Wire operations within banking or financial services.
- Strong familiarity with PeP+, ACH file formats (NACHA), settlement windows, and exception handling.
- Experience supporting system conversions or payment platform migrations.
- Understanding of operational risk, FFIEC/NACHA compliance, and business continuity planning.
- Ability to work effectively in high-pressure, time-sensitive environments.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience supporting UAT and cutover execution preferred.
- English language proficiency.
Preferred Skills
- Payments compliance expertise and operational risk mitigation.
- Experience developing SOPs and supporting operational training.
- Familiarity with reconciliation tools and treasury/payment system dependencies.
Work Arrangement
Hybrid — 2–3 days onsite required.
Location
Midwest U.S. — preference for Chicago or Cincinnati metro area.
Contract Details
- Duration: 6+ months.
- Work Type: Contract.
- Expected Start Date: ASAP (Posting date February 3, 2026).
- Rate: DOE (Depends on Experience).
- Work Authorization: U.S. Citizens only.
Type of Project: Payments Integration during Merger
Work Arrangement: Hybrid (2–3 days onsite)
Work Type: Contract
State: Midwest (Chicago or Cincinnati metro preferred)