Payments and Operations Platform Lead

Join a strong community where all we do is care-for the children and families we serve every day, as well as for our dedicated team members. Our people are our best asset. We listen and we know what you're looking for: You want benefits. We support you with a minimum 50% childcare discount, immediate access to benefits, innovative health programs, 401(k) company match, and much more. You want balance. We offer flexible schedules that work for you, no nights or weekends, the ability to bring your children to work with you, and paid time off. You want opportunity. We invest in your future with ongoing training, tuition reimbursement, credential assistance, and our unique Master Teacher Program. You want recognition. We provide a positive, fun workplace where employees are appreciated. The Payments and Operations Platform Lead serves as the Product Owner for the organization’s childcare management system, responsible for defining, delivering, and continuously improving management of enrollment, attendance, ratios and licensing compliance, classroom and child records, family communications, billing and tuition, and subsidy and third‑party billing. This role owns the product vision, roadmap, and lifecycle for the childcare management system including technical school setup, payment processing, credit card processing, point of sale (POS) solutions, and third‑party payment programs. Third‑party payments include government subsidies, employer‑sponsored benefits, reimbursements, and other external funding sources paid on behalf of families. Acting as the primary business–technology integrator, the Payments and Operations Platform Lead partners closely with Finance, Operations, IT, and vendor partners to translate business needs into scalable, secure, and compliant payment products. The role is accountable for outcomes across the full childcare journey—including new school setup, payment intake, authorization, settlement, reconciliation, and exception management—ensuring the platform delivers measurable value, reliability, and growth enablement. Key Responsibilities Platform Ownership & Strategy Own the product vision and roadmap for the payments and childcare management platform, aligning investments to business priorities, growth initiatives, and customer experience outcomes. Serve as the Product Owner for payment processing, childcare management platform, and third‑party payment capabilities, balancing enhancements, risk reduction, and technical debt. Define and prioritize the product backlog, partnering with Finance, Operations, IT, and vendors to sequence features, enhancements, and regulatory needs. Establish and track product success metrics (e.g., payment success rates, settlement timeliness, reconciliation accuracy, exception volume, cost‑to‑collect). Partner with Finance to ensure the platform supports revenue assurance, cash‑flow optimization, audit readiness, and financial transparency. Lead product planning for scalability and expansion, supporting enrollment growth, acquisitions, new business models, and emerging payment methods. Technical Leadership Translate business and operational needs into clear product requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria across the childcare management lifecycle. Guide solution design by collaborating with architecture, engineering, and vendors to ensure solutions are scalable, secure, and fit‑for‑purpose. Lead the technical configuration and architecture of payment and childcare management platforms. Design and implement system workflows, transaction rules, and configuration changes following best practices and PCI‑DSS compliance requirements. Oversee integrations between childcare management system, payment systems, third‑party payment portals, and other enterprise systems (ERP, billing, enrollment). Ensure data integrity, security, and compliance with internal IT policies, PCI standards, and applicable financial and government program regulations. Serve as the payments security and risk owner, accountable for PCI‑DSS scope management, annual assessments, penetration testing coordination, and remediation planning. Lead architecture decisions related to tokenization, encryption, payment vaults, and secure card‑on‑file strategies. Partner with Security, Risk, and Internal Audit to support SOX controls, external audits, and regulatory reviews tied to payments and third‑party funding. Evaluate, design, and implement resiliency, redundancy, and disaster recovery strategies for all payment‑critical systems. Operational Excellence Monitor system performance and proactively address issues, risks, and payment processing failures. Manage and prioritize incoming requests, enhancements, and break/fix work across the payments ecosystem. Develop and maintain documentation, including system designs, configurations, and SOPs for order‑to‑cash processes. Lead UAT and deployment processes for platform releases, patches, and upgrades. Own incident management and root‑cause analysis for payment outages, failed settlements, and reconciliation discrepancies, including executive‑level reporting. Lead the definition and enforcement of SLAs and OLAs across internal teams and vendors. Third-Party Payment Management Own the technical design and operations of systems that receive, process, and reconcile payments from government agencies (e.g., childcare subsidy programs), employer sponsors, and other third‑party payers on behalf of families. Manage integrations with third‑party billing and payment portals, ensuring accurate application of funds against family accounts. Partner with Finance and Operations to ensure third‑party payment data flows correctly across billing, enrollment, and reconciliation systems. Maintain documentation and SOPs specific to third‑party payment intake, exception handling, and reconciliation workflows. Act as the primary liaison between IT, Finance, Operations, and childcare management vendor support. Provide guidance and technical leadership to analysts, developers, and support teams. Support Finance and Operations in defining business requirements, translating them into functional and technical solutions across billing, collections, third‑party payment programs, and payment processing workflows. Supervisory Responsibilities Position does not have direct reports Minimum Job Qualifications (Required) 5+ years of experience supporting or administering childcare management software, payment processing, credit card processing, or POS systems in a multi‑location enterprise environment. Strong technical knowledge of order‑to‑cash processes, including billing, payment collection, credit card transactions, chargebacks, reconciliation, and third‑party payment programs. Hands‑on experience with system configuration, integrations, and payment gateway APIs. Familiarity with PCI‑DSS compliance requirements and payment security standards. Ability to lead technical projects from design through implementation. Excellent communication skills and the ability to work with both technical and business stakeholders. Preferred Experience with government subsidy or third‑party billing programs (e.g., childcare assistance, employer‑sponsored care, or similar benefit payment programs). Experience with payment gateway platforms (e.g., Stripe, Braintree, Adyen, or similar) and POS hardware/software integration. Background in ERP, billing, or financial systems. Experience leading or mentoring technical staff. Knowledge of SQL, reporting tools, or data analytics. Experience with middleware, ETL frameworks, or API integration platforms (e.g., Dell Boomi, MuleSoft). Compensation and Benefits Compensation based on position, education and experience. Bi‑weekly paid. $115‑130,000 base salary. This position is also eligible for our Support Central bonus program which is based on annual achievement of company performance. Health and Wellness Benefits Employees are eligible for a variety of health and welfare benefits based on their Full‑time or Part‑time status on their date of hire, which include medical, dental, vision, healthcare & dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs), life insurance, disability, accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, pre‑paid legal, pet insurance and identity theft protection. Employees are eligible to participate in our 401(k) retirement plan after 30 days of employment. Participating employees are also eligible to receive a company provided match on their elective deferrals once they reach 1 year of employment with the company. Employee perks/discounts Education assistance including tuition reimbursement Childcare discount available to all employees Corporate partner Discounts This position is eligible for paid time off. All Corporate employees are enrolled in our Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) plan. This plan allows for flexibility and discretion between employees and managers in taking time off - with no set accrual for vacation or sick time. Employees can use Flexible PTO for any reason and is compliant with the Colorado Healthy Families Work Act. Applications accepted through 5/15/26. Learning Care is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against an employee or applicant based on race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law. #J-18808-Ljbffr