Bank Chief Operations Officer

Bank Chief Operations Officer

The Bank Operations Officer is responsible for overseeing the daily operational activities related to banking relationships, vendor management, payment processing, servicing operations, collections oversight, and operational controls. This role serves as a key liaison between Sezzle, banking partners, payment processors, servicing vendors, treasury, accounting, compliance, risk, product and technology teams to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant management of customer accounts and movement of funds.

The ideal candidate possesses strong banking or fintech operations experience, exceptional analytical skills, and a deep understanding of payment operations, consumer servicing, collections management, reconciliation processes, and operational risk controls.

Banking & Payment Operations

• Manage day-to-day banking operations, partnering closely with product and engineering on strategy and design.
• Assist with optimization of cash movement processes and settlement timing.
• Monitor ACH, wire, RTP, card settlement, and other payment activities to ensure timely processing and settlement.
• Oversee funding flows, merchant payouts, customer repayments, and operational cash movements.
• Investigate and resolve payment exceptions, returns, rejects, and settlement discrepancies.
• Support new bank integrations, account openings, and banking partner/vendor onboarding activities.

Servicing & Collections Oversight

• Oversee operational performance of customer servicing and collections activities, ensuring alignment with company policies, regulatory requirements, and customer experience objectives.
• Monitor servicing workflows related to payment processing, delinquency management, hardship accommodations, account maintenance, and customer communications.
• Partner with internal teams and third-party servicing or collections vendors to ensure service level agreements (SLAs), performance metrics, and compliance standards are consistently met.
• Review delinquency trends, collection effectiveness, cure rates, roll rates, and operational KPIs to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Support implementation and monitoring of collections strategies, including payment reminders, recovery initiatives, and loss mitigation programs.
• Ensure servicing and collections processes comply with applicable consumer protection laws, regulatory guidance, and internal controls.
• Collaborate with Risk, Compliance, Legal, and Product teams to enhance servicing operations and improve customer outcomes.
• Assist in vendor oversight, audits, and performance reviews related to servicing and collections partners.

Vendor Oversight & Third-Party Management

• Serve as the primary operational relationship manager for banking partners, payment processors, servicing providers, collections agencies, and other critical third-party vendors.
• Monitor vendor performance against contractual obligations, service level agreements (SLAs), key performance indicators (KPIs), and operational standards.
• Conduct regular vendor reviews to assess operational effectiveness, compliance adherence, customer outcomes, and risk management practices.
• Partner with Compliance, Risk, Legal, Procurement, and Internal Audit teams to support vendor due diligence, onboarding, ongoing monitoring, and periodic risk assessments.
• Oversee issue management and remediation efforts with third-party providers, ensuring timely resolution of operational incidents, customer impacts, and control deficiencies.
• Review and challenge vendor reporting, operational metrics, and exception trends to identify opportunities for improvement and risk mitigation.
• Support contract renewals, business reviews, and governance meetings with strategic vendors and banking partners.
• Ensure third-party activities comply with applicable regulatory requirements, company policies, information security standards, and consumer protection expectations.
• Develop and maintain vendor oversight documentation, procedures, performance scorecards, and governance reporting for senior management.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to evaluate new vendors, operational capabilities, and outsourcing opportunities that support Sezzle's growth objectives.

Reconciliations & Controls

• Maintain operational controls to ensure accuracy and completeness of financial transactions.
• Develop reporting and dashboards to monitor operational performance and exceptions.

Risk & Compliance

• Ensure banking operations comply with applicable regulations, internal policies, and partner requirements.
• Support audits, regulatory examinations, and compliance reviews.
• Maintain documentation of operational procedures and controls.
• Escalate operational risks and control issues appropriately.

Process Improvement & Automation

• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency through automation and process redesign.
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Data teams to implement scalable solutions.
• Participate in testing and implementation of new payment products, banking services, and operational enhancements.

Stakeholder Management

• Serve as a primary contact for external stakeholders regarding operational matters.
• Work closely with Accounting, Compliance, Risk, Product, Engineering, and Customer Support teams.
• Communicate operational issues, trends, and recommendations to management.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or a related field.
• 3–7 years of experience in banking operations, treasury operations, payment operations, or fintech operations.
• Strong understanding of ACH, wire transfers, payment settlements, reconciliations, and cash management.
• Experience working with core banking vendors, banking partners and financial institutions.
• Advanced data analysis skills.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience within fintech, payments, lending, BNPL, or digital banking environments.
• Knowledge of NACHA operating rules and payment network regulations.
• Experience with treasury management systems and reconciliation platforms.
• Familiarity with SQL, Looker, Tableau, or similar reporting tools.
• Understanding of SOX controls, operational risk frameworks, and financial compliance requirements.

Key Competencies

• Operational Excellence
• Financial Reconciliation & Analysis
• Banking & Payments Expertise
• Risk Awareness
• Process Improvement Mindset
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Attention to Detail
• Problem Solving
• Accountability

Success Metrics

• Timely and accurate completion of daily reconciliations.
• Reduction in operational exceptions and settlement discrepancies.
• Improved efficiency through process automation and optimization.
• Strong banking partner relationships and issue resolution performance.
• Compliance with regulatory and internal control requirements.
• Reliable execution of funding and payment operations.

Why Join Sezzle?

• Opportunity to help shape the future of fintech and digital payments.
• Work alongside high-performing teams in a fast-growing public company.
• Competitive compensation and equity opportunities.
• Flexible work environment.
• Meaningful impact on products that improve financial access and empowerment for consumers.