Director, Account Operations

Job title:  Director, Account Operations

Reports to: Sr Director, Account Operations

Department: Merchant Solutions

Location: Alpharetta, GA

Grade: 19

About Priority: 

Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. is a leading financial technology company on a mission to deliver a personalized, easy-to-adopt financial toolset that accelerates cash flow and optimizes working capital for businesses. Our vision is to eliminate the barriers to unlocking revenue - empowering businesses to grow faster and operate smarter.

We achieve this through the Priority Commerce Engine, an innovative platform that combines payables, acquiring, and banking and treasury solutions. This unified approach allows businesses to streamline financial operations, reduce unnecessary costs, and uncover new revenue opportunities.

At Priority, we're driven by results. We expect our people to be known for results - bringing expertise, momentum, and relentless focus to every challenge, helping our clients and each other thrive.

About the Role:

The Director of Account Operations is responsible for leading and optimizing the day-to-day functions of merchant acquiring settlement, chargeback management, and account maintenance. This role serves as a key operational leader ensuring accuracy, compliance, and efficiency across all account operations functions. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in merchant acquiring, dispute resolution, and payment operations lifecycle management, along with a strong ability to lead teams, drive process improvements, and collaborate across business units.

Responsibilities: 

Merchant Acquiring Settlement 

• Oversee end-to-end daily settlement processes for merchant acquiring portfolios, ensuring accurate and timely funding across all payment channels and acquiring relationships.

Chargeback Management

• Lead the chargeback and dispute management function, establishing workflows and response strategies to minimize losses and maximize representation win rates in compliance with card network rules.

Dispute Resolution Oversight 

• Monitor proof of authorization requests, ensure timely responses within network timeframes, and provide guidance to the team on evidence gathering and compelling evidence submissions.

Account Maintenance 

• Oversee all merchant/customer account maintenance activities including account updates, MCC changes, boarding modifications, and fee schedule adjustments.

Operational Compliance 

• Ensure all settlement, chargeback, and account maintenance activities comply with card network regulations, banking partner requirements, and internal risk and compliance policies.

Team Leadership 

• Lead, mentor, and develop a line leadership team of account operations specialists across settlement, disputes, and account maintenance functions, fostering a culture of accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Partner with Risk, Compliance, Finance, Product, and Technology teams to resolve operational issues, support system enhancements, and drive process automation initiatives.

Escalation Management 

• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex settlement disputes, failed funding events, or high-risk chargeback cases, coordinating with banking partners and card networks as needed.

Process Improvement 

• Identify inefficiencies in settlement, chargeback, and account maintenance workflows and lead initiatives to streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and improve accuracy and speed.

What Success Looks L