Strategy and Analytics Manager

Payments Strategy And Analytics Manager

As a Payments Strategy and Analytics Manager on the Enterprise Payments team, you will help shape H-E-B's payments strategy through data-driven analysis, financial modeling, industry research, and strategic recommendations. This role is responsible for evaluating payment performance, identifying cost optimization opportunities, assessing industry changes, and supporting key business decisions that impact payment acceptance across stores and digital channels. You will leverage transaction data, financial analysis, and market insights to evaluate routing strategies, processing costs, vendor performance, payment technologies, and emerging industry trends.

The role will partner closely with Technology, Finance, Data Science, Legal, Security, Operations, Product teams, and external payment partners to ensure H-E-B's payment ecosystem remains efficient, compliant, scalable, and aligned with business objectives. The ideal candidate is naturally curious, highly analytical, comfortable working with large datasets, and skilled at translating complex findings into actionable recommendations for leadership.

Financial Analysis & Business Strategy

Analyze payment transaction data to identify opportunities for cost reduction, routing optimization, fraud mitigation, customer experience improvements, and operational efficiencies.

Develop financial models and business cases to support payment investments, vendor evaluations, network initiatives, and strategic payment decisions.

Quantify financial impacts associated with interchange, assessments, processor fees, routing strategies, network mandates, and payment acceptance changes.

Conduct scenario analysis and forecasting to support budgeting, planning, and long-term payment strategy.

Monitor payment performance metrics and identify trends, risks, opportunities, and emerging business issues.

Build executive-level presentations and recommendations that influence business decisions across the organization.

Data & Insights

Utilize SQL, Excel, business intelligence tools, and transaction datasets to uncover actionable insights.

Partner with Data Science and Technology teams to validate data, improve reporting capabilities, and develop analytical frameworks.

Create dashboards, reporting packages, and recurring analyses for leadership and business partners.

Translate complex data into clear business recommendations and strategic actions.

Payments Industry & Competitive Analysis

Research payment industry trends, card network changes, regulations, emerging technologies, and competitive merchant practices.

Assess the business impact of network mandates, regulatory developments, and industry initiatives.

Evaluate new payment products, capabilities, and acceptance strategies to support H-E-B's future payments roadmap.

Vendor & Partner Management

Evaluate processor, network, fintech, and payment partner performance using financial and operational metrics.

Support vendor negotiations by providing analytical insights, benchmarking, and business impact assessments.

Develop strong relationships with payment partners and industry organizations to stay informed of market developments.

Strategic Initiatives

Lead analytical work streams supporting payment implementations, system enhancements, and strategic initiatives.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to evaluate solution options, identify risks, and develop recommendations.

Support payment incidents and operational issues through impact analysis, root cause evaluation, and corrective action planning.

Ensure strategic initiatives align with H-E-B's business goals, customer experience objectives, and compliance requirements.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business, Analytics, Accounting, Mathematics, Information Systems, or a related field.

4+ years of experience in payments, financial analysis, business strategy, consulting, banking, fintech, FP&A, business intelligence, or a related analytical field.

Advanced Excel skills including financial modeling, pivot tables, scenario analysis, and large dataset management.

Experience using SQL to analyze and manipulate data.

Demonstrated ability to develop business cases, perform financial analysis, and support strategic decision-making.

Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Excellent communication skills with the ability to present findings to senior leaders and non-technical audiences.

Ability to independently structure ambiguous problems and…