Payments Security SME - Safeguarding And Reconciliation

Job Title: Payments Security SME - Safeguarding And Reconciliation
Location: Hull
Salary/Rate: £600 to £800 DOE
Start Date: 27/05/2025
Job Type: Contract

Company Introduction
We have an exciting opportunity now available with one of our sector-leading financial services clients! They are currently looking for a skilled senior operations leader with a strong regulatory background to drive the safeguarding and reconciliation framework to join their team for a six-month contract.
This is a strategic and hands-on role responsible for ensuring compliance with FCA safeguarding requirements, conducting gap assessments against regulatory standards, and leading remediation efforts in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
This is a critical hire for the business as we seek to bring our current operations in line with regulatory expectations and industry best practices in safeguarding customer funds and performing timely and accurate reconciliations

Job Responsibilities/Objectives

Perform gap assessments of current safeguarding practices against internal policy, FCA guidance (e.g., FG21/1), and industry standards.
Investigate the firm's daily reconciliations of:
Scheme settlement reports (Visa/Mastercard)
Processor/gateway files
Internal ledgers (subledger, merchant balances)
Safeguarded and non-safeguarded bank accounts
Validate data integrity and investigate all reconciliation exceptions or variances.
Investigate discrepancies, lead root cause analysis, and coordinate resolution with Finance, Product, and Tech teams.
Ensure timely identification of safeguarding shortfalls or excesses, and appropriate remediation in accordance with regulatory timelines.
Document, track, and lead the remediation of safeguarding gaps, including process changes, tooling enhancements, or policy updates.
Design and oversee automated and manual reconciliations across scheme settlement reports, bank statements, sub-ledgers, and operational platforms.
Develop and embed a robust reconciliation process to ensure that the business performs daily internal and external reconciliations accurately and within required timeframes.
Define data sources and reconciliation procedures that meet the FCA's expectations for transparency and auditability.
Act as the safeguarding liaison across Compliance, Legal, Finance, Risk, and Data teams.
Deliver training and guidance across internal teams on safeguarding requirements and operational obligations.
Required Skills/Experience
The ideal candidate will have the following:

Experience in an operations, treasury, or finance role in a regulated payments, fintech, or e-money firm
Deep understanding of the FCA's regulatory expectations under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011.
Demonstrable experience in:
Performing and remediating reconciliations
Investigating safeguarding mismatches or delays
Working with finance teams to resolve journal/adjustment discrepancies
Strong technical knowledge of safeguarding requirements, including acceptable safeguarding methods, reconciliation procedures, and reporting obligations.
Demonstrated success in remediating safeguarding failings, particularly in operational risk and financial controls.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and work cross-functionally.
Highly analytical and detail-oriented, with strong documentation and project management skills.
Familiarity with Visa/Mastercard settlement cycles and safeguarding allocation logic

If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply now with your updated CV in Microsoft Word/PDF format.

Disclaimer
Notwithstanding any guidelines given to level of experience sought, we will consider candidates from outside this range if they can demonstrate the necessary competencies.

Square One is acting as both an employment agency and an employment business, and is an equal opportunities recruitment business. Square One embraces diversity and will treat everyone equally. Please see our website for our full diversity statement