Senior Program Manager, Payment Products

Company Description

Blend is a premier AI services provider, committed to co-creating meaningful impact for its clients through the power of data science, AI, technology, and people. With a mission to fuel bold visions, Blend tackles significant challenges by seamlessly aligning human expertise with artificial intelligence. The company is dedicated to unlocking value and fostering innovation for its clients by harnessing world-class people and data-driven strategy. We believe that the power of people and AI can have a meaningful impact on your world, creating more fulfilling work and projects for our people and clients.

Job Description

Our global payments and financial services client is seeking a Sr. Program Manager of Payment Products to support their high-impact client payment product operations program.  The individual will operate as a critical coordination layer between a strategic enterprise partner and internal delivery and technology teams.

This role serves as the program-level “air traffic control” function, responsible for triaging incoming support requests, managing cross-functional workflows, and translating complex technical issues into clear, executive-ready communications.  The ideal candidate is a business-facing Program Manager with strong consulting experience, product lifecycle exposure, and exceptional stakeholder management skills.

The Details:

• Location: Remote within the U.S. (San Francisco area preferred). 
• Duration: Approximately a 9-12-month consulting role with the possibility of extension (must be able to work on Blend’s W2)
• Benefits: We do offer benefits to our full-time consultants, including Health, Vision, Dental, 401K plan, Life Insurance, Pretax Commuter Benefits, and an incredibly supportive team cheering you on!

What you’ll do:

Program & Engagement Management

• Serve as the primary program liaison between external enterprise stakeholders and internal product, technology, and operations teams.
• Own end-to-end coordination of incoming support requests, typically managing 5–10 active issues simultaneously.
• Lead weekly internal and external status meetings, ensuring alignment of priorities, ownership, risks, and timelines.
• Manage shared program artifacts and workflows using collaboration tools (e.g., Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Dynamics).

Ticket Triage & Issue Coordination

• Triage incoming tickets and determine urgency, priority, and appropriate internal ownership.
• Monitor progress across open issues and proactively escalate when resolution timelines are at risk.
• Track and maintain logs for risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies (RAID).

Executive Communication & Translation

• Translate technical root cause analysis into clear, business-focused narratives:
  • What occurred
  • Business impact
  • Priority and risk level
  • Next steps and ETA
  • Preventative actions
• Prepare concise, executive-ready materials for leadership updates and business reviews.
• Manage client expectations with empathy, professionalism, and transparency—especially in high-pressure situations.

Risk & Stakeholder Management

• Proactively identify delivery risks and communicate mitigation strategies.
• Anticipate stakeholder concerns and ensure timely communication before escalations occur.
• Influence through collaboration in a non-hierarchical, matrixed environment.

Operational Excellence

• Drive consistent adherence to program management best practices.
• Support process improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, reporting, and delivery quality.
• Contribute to Quarterly Business Review (QBR) preparation and insights.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 8+ years of experience in Program Management, Engagement Management, or Consulting roles.
• Strong background in stakeholder management and executive communication.
• Proven ability to operate as a business-facing bridge between technical teams and client stakeholders.
• Experience working within product lifecycles and complex delivery environments.
• Comfortable working independently with minimal oversight.
• Strong Agile mindset with ability to thrive in ambiguity and shifting priorities.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.

Preferred:

• Consulting pedigree (Big 4 or similar professional services firm).
• Experience in payments, financial servi