Director of Payments and Operational Strategy at First Interstate Bancsystem in Denver, CO

Job description

**If you are a current FIB employee, please apply through the Career Worklet in the Employee Portal . This position may be located in Billings, MT or Denver, CO. What’s Important to You We know your career is just one aspect of a meaningful, complex, and demanding life. That’s why we designed our compensation and benefits package to provide employees and their families with as much choice as possible. Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) in addition to paid federal holidays. Student debt employer repayment program. 401(k) retirement plan with a 6% match. The health and happiness of the places we call home matter to us. Learn a little more about what we do for the communities we serve and why we want YOU to be a part of it. We encourage you to apply. Reach for what you want and tell us why your work ethic and willingness to learn make you a natural fit for #TeamFirstInterstate. SUMMARY The Director of Payments and Operational Strategy leads the Payments and Payment Fraud Risk Management functions and partners closely with the Chief Operations Officer (COO) to develop and advance the bank's broader operations strategy. This role defines strategy, establishes priorities and governance, develops leaders, and drives execution across faster payments, debit cards, credit cards, ACH, wire transfers, ATM services, payment fraud risk management, innovation, and operational improvement. The position collaborates across business, operations, technology, finance, risk, and external partners to deliver secure, scalable solutions, effective controls, exceptional client experiences, and measurable business results. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Develops and executes enterprise strategies and multi-year roadmaps for Payments and Payment Fraud Risk Management and partners with the COO to advance the bank’s broader operations strategy in alignment with its vision, growth objectives, risk appetite, and technology priorities. Leads the strategic direction, performance, and ongoing modernization of faster payments, debit cards, credit cards, ACH, wire transfers, and ATM capabilities. Establishes governance, policies, standards, controls, metrics, and reporting for payment services and the enterprise payment fraud risk management program. Oversees payment fraud analytics, prevention systems, key risk indicators, loss and prevention metrics, emerging threat response, quality assurance, and reporting to senior management and the Board Risk Committee. Partners with the COO to advance business-led projects, enterprise initiatives, process improvements, automation efforts, and operating model changes that enhance efficiency, service quality, scalability, controls, and financial performance. Drives innovation by evaluating emerging technologies, fintech partnerships, data capabilities, and industry practices through disciplined business cases, pilot programs, and implementation plans. Collaborates with business lines and control functions to understand client and employee needs, manage regulatory and operational risk, strengthen organizational resilience, and ensure solutions are practical and effective. Establishes and monitors performance measures related to adoption, transaction and ATM volume, revenue, expense, service quality, system availability, payment fraud exposure, operational risk, initiative delivery, and client experience. Oversees vendor, network, and technology partner relationships, including strategic alignment, service-level performance, issue resolution, and management of material dependencies. Provides clear, decision-ready analysis, reporting, and recommendations to the COO, executive leadership, and the Board, as appropriate. Aligns stakeholders across business lines, operations, technology, finance, treasury management, enterprise risk, compliance, information security, internal audit, and external partners to achieve strategic objectives. MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES Leads the Payments and Payment Fraud Risk Management functions, e