Payment Consultant

About Colehouse Group

Colehouse Group is a specialist consultancy partnering with banks, fintechs and merchants to deliver strategic and operational change in financial services. We are building out our Payments Practice to meet rising client demand across the issuing, acquiring and account-to-account ecosystems — and we are looking for a Consultant to help us shape it from the ground up

This role sits at the intersection of payments domain expertise and hands‑on delivery as a Product Owner or Business Analyst. You will work directly with senior client stakeholders to translate strategic payments objectives into clear backlogs, requirements, and outcomes — spanning scheme migrations, product launches, regulatory change and operating model design. You will bring deep payments knowledge across issuing, acquiring and account-to-account, combined with the craft of a strong PO/BA: shaping product vision, writing user stories, refining backlogs, mapping processes, and partnering closely with engineering and operations to ship change.

This is a foundational hire in our growing Payments Practice. You will have meaningful scope to shape methodology, contribute to propositions and business development, and grow alongside the practice

• Act as Product Owner or Lead Business Analyst on client engagements across issuing, acquiring and account-to-account (A2A) propositions.
• Own and prioritise product backlogs, write clear user stories and acceptance criteria, and run grooming, planning and review ceremonies with client teams.
• Lead discovery, requirements gathering, process mapping (as‑is / to‑be) and gap analysis across card and non‑card rails (Visa, Mastercard, domestic schemes, FPS, , SEPA Inst, BaCs).
• Translate payments strategy, scheme economics and regulation (PSD2/PSD3, SCA, Open Banking, ISO 20022) into actionable product and delivery roadmaps.
• Support vendor selection, integration planning and migration delivery for processors, gateways, issuer‑processors and A2A providers.
• Partner closely with engineering, design, risk, compliance and operations to ensure features are delivered to scope, quality and regulatory standard.
• Build client relationships, contribute to proposals and shape the growth of our Payments Practice.
• Mentor junior colleagues and contribute to internal knowledge, thought leadership and methodology.

• 3–6 years of relevant experience in payments — from a consultancy, bank, card scheme, processor, PSP, acquirer or fintech.
• Proven track record as a Product Owner, Business Analyst or hybrid PO/BA on payments change programmes.
• Demonstrable hands‑on experience across all three pillars: issuing, acquiring and account‑to‑account payments.
• Strong command of agile delivery — user stories, acceptance criteria, backlog management, story mapping — and classic BA techniques (process modelling, requirements traceability, data flow analysis).
• Strong understanding of the UK and European payments landscape — schemes, rails, regulation and commercial dynamics.
• Track record of delivering change in a complex stakeholder environment (product, technology, operations, risk and compliance).
• Excellent structured problem‑solving, written communication and client‑facing presence.
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and helping to build something new.

• Experience with ISO 20022 migrations, Open Banking / VRP, or real‑time payments programmes.
• Exposure to merchant acquiring, orchestration platforms, or issuer‑processor migrations.
• Familiarity with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Miro, Lucid, and BPMN/UML notation.
• Certifications such as CSPO, SAFe POPM, BCS BA, or equivalent.
• Prior consulting experience at a Big4, payments boutique or strategy firm.

• Competitive base salary and performance‑related bonus.
• Hybrid working from ours or our client’s London office — typically 2–3 days in office.
• Private healthcare, pension and generous holiday allowance.
• A clear career path within a growing practice, with genuine influence over how we build it.
• Exposure to senior client stakeholders and a varied portfolio of high‑impact engagements from day one.

Colehouse Group is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to building an inclusive team.