Chief Operating Officer - Payments

About ThriveCart

ThriveCart is a powerful platform used by over 50,000 people worldwide to generate over $5B in sales. Included within the ThriveCart platform is a learning management system (LMS), affiliate management, cart and checkout functionality, making it a top solution for creators, coaches, consultants, and other businesses.

Job Overview

ThriveCart is seeking an exceptional Chief Operating Officer with deep roots in payments or fintech to serve as a key strategic partner to the CEO and drive operational excellence across the business. This role demands a leader who understands the nuances of payments ecosystems, merchant dynamics, and fintech scale — and can translate that expertise into operational rigour, cost discipline, and cross-functional execution. The ideal candidate will be equally comfortable reviewing financial metrics, managing complex product roadmaps, and guiding distributed teams toward ambitious milestones in a fast-moving payments environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership & CEO Partnership
• Serve as the right hand to the CEO, providing strategic counsel grounded in payments and fintech market dynamics
• Translate company vision and strategy into actionable operational plans, with particular focus on checkout optimisation, payments infrastructure, and merchant growth
• Act as a sounding board for strategic decisions, bringing informed perspective on fintech trends, competitive positioning, and regulatory developments
• Lead key meetings and represent the CEO in operational and partner discussions, including with payment processors, acquiring banks, and fintech partners
• Operational Excellence
• Oversee day-to-day operations across all departments, ensuring alignment with company objectives and the demands of a payments-first business
• Develop and implement operational processes and systems that reflect the compliance, security, and reliability standards expected in fintech environments
• Establish and monitor KPIs across operational health, payments performance, chargeback rates, merchant satisfaction, and platform uptime
• Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies across the merchant lifecycle and implement solutions to optimise workflow and resource utilisation
• Financial Management & Cost Optimisation
• Lead company-wide cost reduction initiatives while maintaining the quality and resilience standards critical in payments infrastructure
• Conduct regular analysis of operating expenses, payment processing costs, vendor contracts, and resource allocation to identify savings opportunities
• Develop and manage operational budgets across departments with a strong understanding of the unit economics of a payments and SaaS business
• Negotiate with payment processors, technology vendors, and service providers to secure favourable terms and pricing
• Implement data-driven decision making to maximise ROI on operational investments, with fluency in payments-specific metrics such as processing margins, interchange, and dispute rates
• Project & Programme Management
• Oversee and coordinate strategic projects across the organisation, including payment method expansions, compliance programmes, and platform integrations
• Establish project management frameworks and governance structures appropriate for a regulated, payments environment
• Set clear milestones, timelines, and success metrics for company initiatives
• Monitor project progress, identify risks — including regulatory and compliance risks — and implement corrective actions to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery
• Product & Technology Roadmap
• Partner with product and engineering teams to oversee the product development roadmap with particular emphasis on checkout optimisation, payment flows, and merchant tooling
• Ensure roadmap alignment with business strategy, merchant needs, payment network requirements, and evolving regulatory obligations
• Balance competing priorities and resource constraints to optimise delivery schedules in a technically complex, compliance-sensitive environment
• Drive continuous improvement in development processes, with a focus on reliability, security, and conversion performance
• People & Culture
• Build, lead, and mentor high-performing teams across operational functions
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence consistent with fintech standards
• Develop talent within the organisation through coaching, training, and professional development
• Facilitate effective communication and collaboration across departments, particularly between technical, compliance, and commercial functions
• Additional Responsibilities
• Support business development activities, payment partnerships, and strategic growth opportunities including new market entry and payment method expansion
• Ensure compliance with relevant payments regulations, PCI-DSS standards, card network rules, and applicable financial services requirements
• Represent the company at industry events, fintech conferences, and partner meetings
• Lead special projects as assigned by the CEO

Required Skills:

• Proven track record of successfully scaling operations in payments, fintech, or payments-adjacent SaaS businesses
• Deep understanding of payments ecosystems including acquiring, processing, chargebacks, fraud, and merchant services
• Demonstrated expertise in cost optimisation and financial management with measurable results, including payments processing cost management
• Strong project management skills with experience overseeing complex, cross-functional and compliance-sensitive initiatives
• Deep understanding of product development processes within regulated or technically complex environments
• Familiarity with PCI-DSS, payments compliance frameworks, and financial services regulatory requirements
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities with a data-driven mindset and fluency in fintech metrics
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills