Target2 Process Owner

Accountabilities

• Own the end-to-end operational setup for direct TARGET2 participation, including process design, documentation, testing, migration, go-live readiness, and ongoing business-as-usual operations.
• Establish and maintain payment operations processes covering SCT and SCT Inst recalls, payment inquiries and investigations, pacs.028 status requests, rejects, returns, refunds, and exception handling.
• Own incoming and outgoing SWIFT enquiry processes, including MT199 and MT999 messages, RFIs, and relevant ISO 20022 messaging flows such as pacs, camt, and pain.
• Define and operate processes for incoming RTGS payments, including payment monitoring, unmatched or pending items, exception handling, returns, Escrow arrangements, and confirmation of payment receipt.
• Operate and maintain the T2 GUI and related U2A/A2A capabilities as a senior authorized user for payment tracking, returns, liquidity visibility, and manual or fallback actions.
• Maintain TARGET operational infrastructure, including CRDM reference data, BICs, routing, accounts, users, roles, certificates, four-eyes authorization matrices, and production segregation of duties.
• Lead the dual-route transition from indirect to direct participation, ensuring payments remain routable and traceable by BIC and payment path while defining criteria for retiring legacy dependencies.
• Own the Payment Operations interface with daily reconciliation across MCA, RTGS DCA, and TIPS DCA, escalating liquidity-related issues that could affect payment execution or customer outcomes.
• Redesign incident management and escalation procedures for direct participation, including operational detection, payment-impact assessment, DNB notifications, reporting, and evidence retention.
• Define and maintain Payment Operations procedures for severe TARGET disruptions and the Eurosystem contingency solution, including training and testing evidence.
• Coordinate directly with scheme and infrastructure stakeholders, central banking authorities, SWIFT/NSP providers, service providers, correspondent banks, and other financial institutions.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering teams to test interfaces, identify operational and back-office requirements, and determine which processes should remain automated versus manual.
• Ensure every critical payment process has a clearly assigned owner, documented procedures, defined controls, escalation paths, fallback mechanisms, and successful UAT evidence.
• Drive a successful migration with no material customer impact and establish stable post-go-live operations without residual dependence on external sponsor-bank operational processes.

Requirements

• Minimum 3+ years of experience in payment operations within a bank, Electronic Money Institution (EMI), Payment Service Provider (PSP), or similar financial services environment.
• Hands-on experience with SEPA payment schemes, particularly SCT and SCT Inst, and TARGET Services such as T2/RTGS and TIPS.
• Strong practical knowledge of payment investigations, recalls, returns, refunds, and exception-management workflows.
• Working knowledge of SWIFT and ISO 20022 messaging standards, including MT199, MT999, pacs, camt, and pain messages.
• Experience operating financial infrastructure interfaces and tools directly, ideally including T2 GUI, CRDM, reconciliation systems, liquidity-monitoring platforms, and U2A/A2A actions.
• Proven ability to design, document, and implement operational processes, including detailed SOPs, four-eyes controls, authorization matrices, escalation procedures, and audit-ready evidence.
• Experience coordinating with regulators, central banks, scheme operators, SWIFT/NSP providers, service providers, correspondent banks, and other external stakeholders.
• Ability to translate complex operational requirements into clear specifications for Product and Engineering teams and effectively challenge technical solutions when operational needs are not met.
• Senior-level judgment and independence, with the ability to own operational sign-offs, incident escalation, regulatory reporting decisions, and risk-based decisions.
• Familiarity with DNB/TARGET-NL requirements, the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR), and operational obligations applicable to EMI/PSD2 environments.
• Strong understanding of payment operations, reconciliation, liquidity touchpoints, operational controls, and payment infrastructure resilience.
• Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate clearly in regulatory, technical, and cross-border environments.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving abilities, with a structured approach to managing complex transitions and operational risks.
• Experience with direct TARGET/RTGS/TIPS onboarding, sponsor-bank-to-direct-participation migration, or contingency and incident-management programs is a strong advantage.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation aligned with experience, location, and the scope of the role.
• Opportunity to make a direct impact on a critical financial infrastructure transition and the evolution of a growing financial technology platform.
• Flexible remote or hybrid working arrangements across Europe.
• Opportunity to work from the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, or potentially under a freelance arrangement in other countries, preferably within the CEST or adjacent time zones.
• Stock options program designed to give team members an ownership stake in the company's growth.
• Opportunities for continuous professional and personal development.
• Supportive, modern, friendly, and environmentally conscious working culture.
• Work & Swim program offering the opportunity to spend a month working from a corporate apartment in Cyprus.
• International exposure through collaboration with regulators, payment schemes, banks, technology teams, and cross-functional stakeholders across Europe.
• Inclusive workplace committed to equal opportunity and welcoming people from diverse backgrounds and experiences.