Payment Partnerships Manager - ITALY - (local and International) - Payment Methods - Product focus - Relocation is possible - Fluent Italian/English - High salary / Stock / Allowances

Location: Italy, Milan preferred | Other EU locations possible for fluent Italian/English speakers.

Relocation + VISA sponsorship to Milan is possible for fluent Italian/English speakers

Permanent contract | Hybrid

Company

A leading global Fintech Unicorn in Payments is hiring a Payment Partnerships Manager to own and expand its local and international payment method portfolio in Italy.

This organisation operates one of the most advanced end-to-end payment infrastructures globally, combining payments, data and financial products into a single unified solution. It partners with many of the world’s most recognisable digital and retail brands and is known for its strong profitability, direct connections to global card networks and local payment methods, and disciplined international expansion.

The Role

You will join a high-performing, fast-scaling team building the next generation of payment partnerships across EMEA. This role offers significant ownership, visibility and direct economic impact within one of the most advanced global payment platforms.

You will own and expand the company’s payment method portfolio in Italy and contribute to broader regional initiatives. This is a strategic product-facing role at the intersection of product development and commercial strategy for payment partnerships

You will act as the strategic owner of Italy’s payment ecosystem, evolving the function from reactive integration management to proactive partnership leadership.

Important: This is not a sales role, there is no quota and the focus is on structuring partnerships that directly impact margin, scalability and competitive positioning.

Approximately 50% of the role focuses on Italy, with the remainder on cross-border projects.

Why This Role Is Unique

• Direct impact on company margin, not just revenue
• Influence over buy-side economics and commercial scalability
• End-to-end ownership across product, finance and commercial teams
• Country-level ownership with exposure to international initiatives
• High visibility within a scaling global fintech environment
• A rare role that strategically connects product and commercial functions

Key Responsibilities

• Own and manage strategic payment partnerships in Italy
• Build and manage senior-level relationships with local payment providers
• Negotiate multi-year commercial agreements and optimise economic terms
• Develop and execute a proactive partnership roadmap
• Drive cross-functional initiatives from structuring to go-to-market
• Collaborate closely with Product (technical roadmap), Sales (merchant strategy), Finance (business cases) and Strategy teams
• Identify new local payment opportunities and market trends
• Act as the internal and external expert for assigned payment methods

Your Profile

• 4+ years’ experience within the payments industry
• Strong knowledge of the Italian payments landscape
• Proven experience negotiating complex partnership agreements
• Comfortable managing senior internal/external stakeholders
• Strategic mindset with strong execution capability
• Excellent communication skills
• Experience operating in complex, international environments
• Fluent Italian and English speaking/writing proficiency

Salary and benefits

They offer permanent contracts from the start and there has never been a lay-off in the 20 years they are growing the company. This is a great combination of stability and a unicorn fintech work enviornment.

The compensation is top of range for Europe. Some of the secondary benefits: a permanent contract, 80% of your base stock option package, 1K a month personal allowance, healthcare, holidays, laptop, travel allowance, relocation package for Internationals, training & conferences, 30% ruling, VISA sponsorship, luxury in office lunch, snacks/drinks, work from home setup, etc.

Backgrounds from leading payment service providers, schemes, digital wallets or fast-scaling fintechs are particularly relevant.