VP - Operations, Onboarding, Deployment & Service

Role Overview

Touch Suite is seeking a Vice President of Operations to own and manage the end-to-end payments onboarding and servicing lifecycle, including Underwriting, Risk, Merchant Onboarding, Deployment, and Ongoing Service.

This is a hands-on operational leadership role, with direct responsibility for people management, process execution, performance management, and cross-functional coordination. The ideal candidate is a strong payments operator who knows how to run teams, enforce standards, improve workflows, and keep the machine moving, not just design strategy.

The VP of Operations will be accountable for execution quality, speed, compliance, and portfolio health, ensuring merchants are boarded accurately, deployed efficiently, and supported consistently throughout their lifecycle.

• Team Leadership & Management (Critical to Success)
  • Directly manage leaders and individual contributors across Underwriting, Risk, Onboarding, Deployment, and Service.
  • Set clear expectations, performance goals, KPIs, and accountability standards for each function.
  • Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching sessions, and corrective action plans as needed.
  • Build staffing plans, training paths, and coverage models to support growth and volume fluctuations.
  • Serve as the primary escalation point for operational issues, staffing gaps, and performance risks.
• Underwriting & Risk Operations
  • Oversee daily underwriting operations, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant merchant reviews.
  • Enforce underwriting guidelines across card brands, ACH, and alternative payment solutions.
  • Review and approve higher-risk or escalated merchants, including analysis of:
    • Financials, tax returns, processing statements, and credit risk
    • Chargeback exposure, fraud indicators, and business models
  • Partner with Compliance and Legal to ensure adherence to PCI-DSS, KYC, AML/BSA, OFAC, card brand rules, and sponsor bank requirements.
  • Monitor portfolio risk trends and recommend corrective actions when thresholds are exceeded.
• Merchant Onboarding & Deployment
  • Own the full onboarding process from approval through live processing.
  • Ensure accurate setup of merchants across:
    • Pricing and fee structures
    • Hardware (terminals, POS, kiosks)
    • Gateways and integrations
    • Banking and funding configurations
  • Oversee deployment logistics, hardware provisioning, and technical readiness.
  • Reduce onboarding cycle times while maintaining quality and compliance.
  • Ensure smooth handoffs between underwriting, onboarding, deployment, and service teams.
• Service & Ongoing Portfolio Support
  • Lead operational service teams responsible for post-deployment merchant support.
  • Establish clear SLAs, escalation paths, and issue-resolution standards.
  • Monitor service metrics including ticket volume, resolution time, merchant satisfaction, and churn risk.
  • Address systemic issues driving repeat tickets or merchant dissatisfaction.
  • Partner with Risk and Compliance on chargebacks, fraud, and account monitoring.
• Process, Metrics & Operational Discipline
  • Define, track, and report KPIs across:
    • Underwriting turnaround time
    • Onboarding and deployment accuracy
    • Service SLAs and escalation trends
    • Portfolio risk, attrition, and profitability
  • Identify process gaps, inefficiencies, and failure points across teams.
  • Implement documented workflows, standard operating procedures, and training materials.
  • Use data to drive continuous improvement, not just reporting.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Work closely with Sales to align expectations, deal flow, and risk appetite.
  • Partner with Product and Technology on new product launches, feature readiness, and operational impact.
  • Coordinate with Finance on funding, reconciliation, and portfolio performance.
  • Serve as the operational voice in growth initiatives, new verticals, and pricing strategies.

• 7+ years experience in payments, merchant acquiring, fintech, or financial services.
• Proven leadership experience managing multi-function operational teams.
• Deep hands-on knowledge of:
  • Merchant underwriting and risk
  • Payment processing operations
  • Hardware deployment and gateway integrations
• Strong working knowledge of card brands, ACH/NACHA, platforms (TSYS, Fiserv) and sponsor-bank environments.
• Demonstrated ability to manage people, enforce standards, and improve execution.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred; relevant payments experience may substitute.

• This role is:
• Hands-on
• Execution-focused
• People-management heavy
• Operationally accountable

• This role is NOT:
• A purely strategic or advisory position
• A “policy-only” risk role
• A non-operational executive title

This role is central to Touch Suite’s ability to scale. Strong sales and product only succeed if operations execute cleanly. The VP of Operations ensures what gets sold gets delivered correctly, compliantly, and consistently.