Senior Manager - Project Management

Job Description

At American Express, colleagues work together to deliver trusted products, services, and experiences for customers and merchants. This role offers the opportunity to shape important servicing capabilities, collaborate across a global organization, and lead programs with visible merchant, colleague, operational, and business impact.

The Senior Manager, Project Management will lead a portfolio of strategic initiatives supporting American Express Merchant Servicing. This role will be responsible for delivering complex, cross-functional programs that improve the merchant experience, strengthen operational performance and controls, increase digital adoption, and enable scalable servicing capabilities.

The successful candidate will combine strong program-management discipline with a deep understanding of servicing operations and customer journeys. They will work across Merchant Servicing, Product, Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Analytics, and other global teams to translate strategic priorities into executable plans and measurable business outcomes.

This is a highly visible role requiring sound judgment, executive-level communication, structured problem-solving, and the ability to influence stakeholders in a complex global organization.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex, cross-functional projects supporting Merchant Servicing from planning through implementation and benefits realization.
• Build project plans, governance structures, milestones, budgets, resource requirements, and success measures.
• Improve merchant servicing journeys through process simplification, automation, digitization, and operational transformation.
• Coordinate stakeholders across Operations, Product, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Analytics, and regional teams.
• Monitor project progress, dependencies, risks, issues, and financial performance, escalating concerns when required.
• Prepare clear executive updates, recommendations, and decision materials for senior leadership.
• Ensure projects meet regulatory, control, privacy, security, testing, and change-management requirements.
• Manage implementation readiness, including communications, training, procedures, cutover planning, and post-launch support.
• Track outcomes such as merchant satisfaction, service quality, turnaround time, digital adoption, productivity, and cost savings.
• Coach project managers and workstream leads while promoting accountability, collaboration, and consistent project-management practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Approximately 10 or more years of experience in project management, program management, business transformation, operations, consulting, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading large, complex, cross-functional programs in a matrixed organization.
• Experience supporting financial services, payments, merchant acquiring, customer servicing, contact-center operations, fintech, or another regulated industry.
• Strong command of project and program-management disciplines, including planning, governance, dependency management, risk and issue management, change control, and benefits realization.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and deliver results without direct authority over all contributing teams.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, including experience preparing materials for senior-management forums.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to convert data and complex information into actionable recommendations.
• Working knowledge of operational-risk, control, compliance, privacy, and information-security considerations.
• Experience managing multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail and delivery quality.
• Ability to work effectively with geographically distributed teams and provide reasonable overlap with global business hours when required.
• Proficiency with standard productivity and project-management tools such as Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, or comparable platforms.

About Us

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

About The Team

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• Support for financial-well-being and retirement
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location)
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location)
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law.

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.