Payments Operations & Risk Manager

Payments Risk & Operations Manager

About us

Founded in Sydney in 2014, ezyCollect by Sidetrade is Australia's leading Order-to-Cash platform for small and mid-sized businesses. We automate credit management, collections, and payments - taking the manual work out of getting paid. Our 1,100+ customers manage A$19 billion in receivables through the platform, typically cutting late payments by 40% and bad debt by 80% within three months.

Now part of global AI leader Sidetrade, we're scaling our reach across three continents - bringing enterprise-grade technology to the mid-market while staying true to our Sydney roots. Australian innovation. Global ambition.

Why this role exists

We're scaling rapidly. We're currently processing roughly $1 billion in annual transaction volume and targeting $3-5 billion over the coming years. As we grow - and as Sidetrade expands embedded payments into new geographies - we need robust operational controls, proactive risk management, and scalable processes that can handle significantly higher volumes.

We're hiring a Payments Risk & Operations Manager to be the operational engine of our global payments business. This is a management-level hybrid role combining two functions that are often separate: payments risk and payments operations. You'll own platform health, merchant performance, and vendor relationships - while also managing fraud, chargebacks, AML/CTF obligations, and payment security incidents.

Your team

You'll lead a small team and work closely with the CFO and Financial Controller as we scale our operations and platform in the US and Europe.

The team is hands-on, collaborative, and practical. We value accuracy, integrity, and continuous improvement. You'll have autonomy to shape finance processes and reporting as we scale, and you'll be the primary custodian of our financial control environment.

What you'll be doing

Own payments risk. Manage fraud, chargebacks, and disputes across card and bank transfer rails. Configure fraud rules, monitor anomaly detection, and identify merchant-level patterns as the internal expert on PCI DSS and AML/CTF compliance.

Keep the platform running smoothly. Monitor daily platform health - volumes, success rates, settlement timing, and risk events. Triage payment failures and processing errors. Oversee settlement reconciliation across platform and merchant balances. 

Manage payment partners and merchants. Own day-to-day relationships with Stripe, Adyen, and bank transfer providers - managing escalations, product updates, and API changes. Handle merchant onboarding, KYC processes, and be the escalation point for settlement disputes and payment queries.  

Improve processes and reporting. Spend your first year understanding current systems, improving risk reporting and data visibility, and identifying gaps. Prepare regular reporting for the Executive Team, and board covering platform performance, merchant metrics, and risk indicators.

Support international expansion. Help evaluate and operationalize payments in new geographies as Sidetrade expands - assessing local payment rails, regulatory requirements, and provider partnerships.  

What you'll bring

You have 3-6 years of experience in payments risk and operations, fintech, or a related financial services environment. Hands-on experience with card payment platforms is strongly preferred - you're familiar with connected account management, dispute workflows, and fraud rule management. You have a solid understanding of Australian bank payment rails, including dishonour management and bank account verification.

You're familiar with Pay-Fac lite or payment facilitation models and comfortable with the fact that card scheme compliance sits with the payment platform, not the operator. Experience in a B2B SaaS or embedded payments environment is strongly preferred. You understand how payments work in a merchant-facing context, not just as infrastructure.

Our payments stack

• Payment platforms: Stripe, Adyen (card payments), bank transfer providers
• Payment rails: Card payments, bank transfers (batch processing, dishonour management, account verification)
• Volume: ~$100M/month, ~$1B annually (scaling to $3-5B)
• Compliance: PCI DSS, AML/CTF obligations, Pay-Fac lite model

Why join now?

Grow with a scaling company. We're processing $1B annually and targeting $3-5B. You'll be building the operational foundation that supports that growth. As we scale, so does your responsibility, your impact, and your career trajectory. You're not joining a mature, bureaucratic payments organization - you're joining a fast-moving fintech where your work directly shapes how we scale.

Shape how we expand internationally. As Sidetrade launches embedded payments into new geographies, you'll play a key role in evaluating local payment rails, regulatory requirements, and provider partnerships. You'll contribute to the group's broader payments roadmap and help build a consistent global operating model. This is a rare opportunity to influence international expansion from the ground up.

Ownership and autonomy. You'll own risk and operations for a $100M/month payments business. You'll have the autonomy to implement controls, improve processes, and shape how we operate. You won't be buried in bureaucracy or waiting for approvals - you'll identify problems, propose solutions, and make them happen.

Stability and momentum. We're profitable, backed by Sidetrade, and serving 1,100+ customers with A$19B under management. You're not joining a startup scrambling for product-market fit - you're joining a proven business that's scaling deliberately with the resources and support of a global leader.

What we offer

Competitive compensation: Strong base salary commensurate with your experience and the management-level nature of the role.

Meaningful ownership: Own risk and operations for a $100M/month payments business, with direct impact on platform health, merchant growth, and international expansion.

Career development: Breadth of exposure across risk, operations, compliance, and strategy. Opportunity to grow as the business scales from $1B to $3-5B in transaction volume.

Work that fits your life: Flexible hybrid working (3 days in office), work-from-anywhere policy, generous parental leave, and flexible leave when life happens.

Modern workspace: 24/7 access to our WeWork office on Pitt Street with on-site barista and bar, plus optional active lunch breaks, meditation, and yoga sessions.

Connect and recharge: Quarterly team social events, monthly virtual entertainment, and a collaborative culture that rewards the right behaviours.