Senior Stakeholder Engagement Manager

Senior Stakeholder Engagement Manager, London, Permanent

This role plays a pivotal part in shaping ’s external relationships and strategic direction. The postholder will oversee purposeful, high-quality engagement with our most senior stakeholders across the payments ecosystem, shaping conversations that directly support ’s strategic priorities. Serving as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Board, and Executive team, the role brings market awareness, precise analysis, and proficient stakeholder management to uphold consistent communication and support decision outcomes.

Leading a small specialist team, the jobholder will translate complex stakeholder feedback into actionable insights, boosting trust in  and enabling delivery of our strategic objectives.

• Build trusted, effective relationships with senior internal colleagues, including ExCo members, providing constructive challenge, clear feedback and acting as a credible advisor
• Develop and preserve effective relationships with senior external stakeholders, presenting  with credibility, consistency, and confidence
• Build and sustain a broad, well-rounded grasp of ’s operations and strategic aims, and present them clearly with the right level of detail for senior audiences
• Maintain a deep understanding of external stakeholders, including their interests, touchpoints with , and positions on ’s work and wider industry developments
• Plan the senior engagement, working closely with ExCo colleagues to ensure agendas are focused, purposeful and aligned to ’s strategy and stakeholder needs
• Navigate the organisation to gather insight, views and evidence required to inform effective senior stakeholder engagement
• Direct rigorous analysis of stakeholder engagement, distilling extensive input into concise insights and themes for internal audiences
• Manage and develop a small team, including recruitment, quality assurance and flexible resourcing to manage peaks in workload
• Take direct responsibility for engagement with the largest stakeholders, while overseeing and maintaining visibility of engagement led by direct reports
• Work with the Head of Stakeholder Engagement to develop and deliver the Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, including responses to the Annual Stakeholder Engagement Survey
• Support delivery of Executive and Board updates, broader  initiatives (including risk management), and joined‑up engagement across CPEO teams.

• Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience
• Significant experience in stakeholder and relationship management within a regulated environment
• Demonstrated ability to operate across a broad and complex range of issues, persuading others and securing timely outcomes
• Demonstrated ability to engage with and provide constructive challenge to senior internal stakeholders, up to ExCo level
• Demonstrated ability to credibly represent an organisation with senior external stakeholders
• Practical experience managing and developing a small team delivering external stakeholder engagement
• Outcome‑focused, with evidence of delivering quality results and encouraging ongoing process improvements, supported by close attention to detail
• Skilled communicator in writing and speech, capable of explaining complex ideas in a clear, concise, and compelling way
• High‑level analytical skills, including conducting evidence‑based analyses, synthesising large amounts of information, and creating practical solutions in dynamic conditions
• Solid project management and prioritisation skills, with the capacity to oversee initiatives and shift methods as conditions evolve
• Clear understanding of reputational risk arising from ineffective stakeholder engagement, and the confidence to challenge senior colleagues to mitigate that risk.

At , we value diversity and inclusivity. Research has shown that candidates from underrepresented groups may hesitate to apply unless they meet all the requirements listed. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of how closely their skills and experience match the requirements. We are committed to supporting accessibility needs and creating a welcoming environment for all…