Director of Strategic Operations - Network

Director of Strategic Operations - Payment Network

The Director of Strategic Operations – Payment Network will lead the Business Development Support (BDS) and Product Delivery teams—critical engines within US & Canadian Markets Operations. In this high-impact leadership role, the Director will act as a key change agent, driving operational transformation, modernizing delivery frameworks, and steering complex payment strategies. The BDS team delivers both strategic and tactical consulting expertise to unlock new market opportunities.

The Product Delivery team leads the end-to-end execution and strategy for advanced payment solutions (including EMV, transit, 3-D Secure, and digital payments) across a complex ecosystem of global payment partners. The Director will serve as the primary operational and strategic liaison across internal and external stakeholders, leveraging deep payments expertise to challenge legacy processes, accelerate go‑to‑market execution, and drive measurable business results.

• Lead Payment Transformation & Process Modernization: Serve as a visionary change agent by continuously evaluating end-to-end operational workflows, eliminating friction, and implementing agile delivery practices to accelerate product deployment across the payment ecosystem.
• Drive Advanced Payment Product Delivery: Champion execution strategies for complex, next‑generation payment capabilities (EMV, Transit, Protect Buy, tokenization, and digital wallet integration) across a network of diverse payment partners.
• Strategic Partner Engagement: Proactively cultivate and manage high‑stakes relationships with internal business units and external network/fintech partners to align on growth initiatives and operational standards.
• Business Development & Growth Consulting: Partner with internal executives to evaluate market shifts, identify high‑growth payment strategies, and translate complex industry requirements into actionable operational plans.
• Thought Leadership & Domain Expertise: Provide deep payments consulting across client engagement, regulatory/legal approvals, and technical feasibility assessments to guide senior leadership through evolving network rules and market innovations.
• Resource Strategy & Operational Scaling: Optimize resource capacity and operational infrastructure to sustain day‑to‑day payment reliability while dynamically scaling to support prioritized, high‑growth initiatives.

• Bachelor’s degree or military experience
• At least 8 years of operations, consulting, program or project leadership experience within the payments industry (including payment networks, merchant acquiring, issuing, or digital payments)
• At least 5 years of experience leading organizational change initiatives or process transformations
• At least 5 years of experience managing, partnering with, and influencing internal and external stakeholders

• 10+ years of deep payments industry experience, with demonstrated mastery of payment network rules, card schemes, and emerging digital payment rails
• 6+ years of experience leading continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, or similar frameworks)
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or Prosci Change Management certification

At this time, Capital One will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of…