Director - Market Expansion

Nium, the Leader in Real-Time Global Payments  Nium, the leading global infrastructure for real-time cross-border payments, was founded on the mission to deliver the global payments infrastructure of tomorrow, today. With the onset of the global economy, its payments infrastructure is shaping how banks, fintechs, and businesses everywhere collect, convert, and disburse funds instantly across borders. Its payout network supports 100 currencies and spans 190+ countries, 100 of which in real-time. Funds can be disbursed to accounts, wallets, and cards and collected locally in 40 markets. Nium's growing card issuance business is already available in 34 countries. Nium holds regulatory licenses and authorizations in more than 40 countries, enabling seamless onboarding, rapid integration, and compliance – independent of geography. The company is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore.
We are seeking an experienced and highly organized Director – Market Expansion to lead the company’s expansion into new regulated markets. This role will own the end-to-end delivery of licensing projects and direct clearing connections, ensuring execution within budget, on time, and in line with regulatory requirements. The Director will serve as the central point of accountability for all new licenses and scheme integrations, coordinating across legal, compliance, treasury, technology, and operations. The role requires exceptional program management skills, regulatory awareness, and the ability to manage complex multi-jurisdiction initiatives in a lean, fast-paced environment. 

Responsibilities:

• Program Leadership 
Develop and manage the global roadmap fornew licenses and direct clearing connections. Ensure all projects are delivered on time, within budget, and fully compliant. Establish governance frameworks, progress dashboards, and reporting routines for senior leadership. 
• Licensing Execution 
Oversee preparation and submission of license applications. Coordinate with internal legal and compliance to ensure required documentation, policies, and capital requirements are met. Ensure resident MLROs, managing directors, and entity requirements are in place per jurisdiction. 
• Clearing Connectivity Execution 
Partner with global product and network teams to align technical integration and testing with scheme requirements. Manage dependencies for settlement accounts, prefunding, and operational readiness. 
• Stakeholder Management 
Act as primary coordinator across internal functions (Legal, Compliance, Finance, Product, Tech, Ops). Manage external advisorsto support applications. 
• Risk & Issue Management 
Identify and track program risks, escalating when needed with proposed mitigations. Ensure consistent execution quality across all markets. 

Requirements:

• 5+ years of experience in project/program management within payments, fintech, or financial services. 
• Proven track record of delivering multi-country licensing or infrastructure projects. 
• Solid knowledge of PSP/EMI regulatory frameworks and central bank requirements. 
• Strong financial acumen with ability to track capital, budgets, and costs. 
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and external advisors. 
• Exceptional organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills. 

Key Competencies:

• Structured execution focus; delivers complex initiatives to completion. 
• Ability to simplify and manage multi-jurisdiction complexity. 
• Strong collaboration and influence across global and local teams. 
• Proactive problem solver; anticipates issues before they become blockers. 
• High accountability and ownership mindset. 

What we offer at Nium   We Value Performance: Through competitive salaries, performance bonuses, sales commissions, equity for specific roles and recognition programs, we ensure that all our employees are well rewarded and incentivized for their hard work. 
We Care for Our Employees: The wellness of Nium’ers is our #1 priority. We offer medical coverage along with 24/7 employee assistance program, generous vacation programs including our year-end shut down. We also provide a flexible working hybrid working environment (3 days per week in the office). 
We Upskill Ourselves: We are curious, and always want to learn more with a focus on upskilling ourselves. We provide role-specific training, internal workshops, and a learning stipend.
We Celebrate Together: We recognize that work is also about creat