THE OPPORTUNITYThe VP, Merchant Services Enablement Manager is responsible for driving adoption, awareness, and growth of the Bank's Merchant Services program across the Commercial or Retail Bank by serving as the connection between the Bank and vendor partner organizations to maximize client value, merchant services penetration, deposit retention, fee income, and overall relationship profitability. The role serves as a key liaison among bankers, vendor sales executives, business consultants, Treasury Management, and the broader Merchant Services organization while supporting banker education, merchant services adoption, and vendor integration within the Banc of California environment. Performs all duties in accordance with the Company's policies and procedures, all U.S. state and federal laws and regulations, wherein the Company operates.
HOW YOU'LL MAKE A DIFFERENCESales Enablement & Merchant Services Advocacy- Serve as the primary internal advocate for Banc of California Merchant Services across Retail Banking, Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Middle Market, Specialty Banking, HOA Banking, Venture Banking, Media & Entertainment, Private Banking, and Treasury Management.
- Develop banker awareness and understanding of Merchant Services capabilities, including Clover, Commerce Hub, ecommerce, omnichannel acceptance, card-present solutions, gift and loyalty solutions, and other current and future vendor capabilities.
- Translate merchant services capabilities into banker-relevant value propositions centered on client retention, deposit growth, fee income, treasury penetration, operational efficiency, and increased share of wallet.
- Develop and deliver ongoing merchant services training, sales presentations, banker workshops, market meetings, webinars, sales tools, success stories, marketing campaigns, and other enablement programs.
- Help bankers identify merchant services opportunities within existing portfolios and incorporate payments discovery into new business conversations.
- Maintain a high level of visibility with banking teams and establish Merchant Services as a core component of the Bank's commercial relationship strategy.
Vendor Partnership & Sales Integration- Serve as a principal day-to-day liaison between Banc of California and vendor sales leadership and sales teams.
- Onboard and educate vendor representatives regarding Banc of California's organizational structure, products, client segments, strategic priorities, sales culture, banker roles, and relationship management expectations.
- Ensure vendor sales executives understand that the Banc relationship banker remains the primary owner of the broader client relationship.
- Facilitate introductions and working relationships between vendor sales executives and Banc bankers throughout assigned markets and business lines.
- Coordinate joint calling strategies, banker introductions, portfolio reviews, market visits, sales campaigns, and prospecting activities.
- Help vendor representatives identify opportunities to complement merchant services with Banc products including operating accounts, deposits, treasury management, lending, commercial cards, and other appropriate banking services.
- Participate in regular pipeline, sales performance, and partnership management meetings with vendor representatives.
- Identify gaps in sales coverage, product knowledge, responsiveness, or partnership execution and work with vendor leadership to resolve them.
Pipeline Development & Portfolio Penetration- Partner with relationship managers, branch leaders, Treasury Management officers, and vendor sales executives to identify merchant services opportunities within existing client portfolios.
- Conduct portfolio reviews to identify clients with payment acceptance, ecommerce, omnichannel, receivables, or other merchant services needs.
- Develop targeted sales campaigns by geography, client segment, industry, and banking vertical.
- Support bankers in identifying merchant services opportunities during prospecting and new client acquisition activities.
- Facilitate merchant discovery conversations and help determine the appropriate vendor and internal resources for complex opportunities.
- Track referrals from initial identification through merchant contact, proposal, underwriting, implementation, activation, and production.
- Monitor conversion rates, pipeline aging, lost opportunities, merchant activation, processing volume, and other key performance indicators.
- Identify barriers to referral generation and conversion and recommend corrective action.
Client & Banker Service Escalation- Serve as the primary escalation resource for bankers when a merchant services issue may affect the broader banking relationship.
- Maintain clear separation between the Bank's escalation role and the vendor's responsibility for day-to-day merchant servicing.
- Coordinate with appropriate vendor service, operations, risk, underwriting, implementation, and sales resources to facilitate resolution of escalated merchant issues.
- Provide bankers with visibility into escalation status, ownership, expected resolution, and next steps.
- Identify recurring service issues and escalate systemic trends through Merchant Services and vendor partnership governance.
- Advocate for the client and banker while maintaining appropriate risk, compliance, and operational controls.
- Help protect high-value relationships where merchant services issues could create deposit, lending, treasury, reputational, or relationship risk.
Cross-Functional Partnership- Work closely with Treasury Management to integrate merchant acquiring with broader receivables, cash management, deposit, and payment strategies.
- Partner with Retail, Commercial, Middle Market, Specialty Banking, HOA Banking, Venture Banking, Media & Entertainment, and other business lines to develop segment-specific merchant strategies.
- Coordinate with Marketing on banker communications, client campaigns, sales collateral, events, and merchant services awareness initiatives.
- Work with Risk, Compliance, Legal, Operations, and Third Party Risk Management as appropriate to support a well-controlled merchant services program.
- Provide market feedback regarding competitive activity, merchant needs, vendor capabilities, product gaps, and emerging payments trends.
- Support development of specialized strategies for high-value verticals, including HOA/property management and other priority Banc segments.
- Follow all established policies and procedures.
- Perform other duties and projects as assigned.
WHAT YOU'LL BRING- Bachelor's degree in business, finance, marketing, economics, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
- 5+ years of experience in merchant acquiring, payments, treasury management, commercial banking, financial services sales, sales enablement, or a related field.
- Demonstrated understanding of merchant acquiring and payment acceptance, including card-present, ecommerce, omnichannel, and integrated payment solutions.
- Demonstrated ability to develop trusted relationships with bankers, sales professionals, business partners, and senior stakeholders.
- Strong presentation, facilitation, training, and communication skills.
- Strong judgment and the ability to understand how merchant services fit into client needs.
- Ability to translate technical payment capabilities into clear commercial value propositions for bankers and clients.
- Experience managing complex sales opportunities involving multiple internal and external stakeholders.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage pipeline activity, priorities, escalations, and multiple banking markets.
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly throughout Banc of California markets.
- Experience working in a bank-sponsored merchant services or acquiring program.
- Experience with vendor merchant solutions, including Clover and Commerce Hub.
- Knowledge of commercial banking, Treasury Management, deposits, receivables, and relationship management practices.
- Experience supporting Retail/SMB, Middle Market, Commercial, or specialty banking sales organizations.
- Familiarity with integrated payments, APIs, ISVs, embedded payments, PayFac/PFaaS models, ecommerce, gift cards, and loyalty.
- Experience developing vertical-market payment strategies, particularly property management/HOA or other specialized commercial segments.
- Experience managing strategic vendor or payment processor relationships.
- High school diploma or equivalent required.
HOW WE'LL SUPPORT YOU- Financial Security: You will be eligible to participate in the company's 401k plan which includes a company match and immediate vesting.
- Health & Well-Being: We offer comprehensive insurance options including medical, dental, vision, AD&D, supplemental life, long-term disability, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions, and pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
- Building & Supporting Your Family: Banc of California partners with providers that offer adoption, surrogacy, and fertility assistance as well as paid parental leave and family support solutions including care options for your family.
- Paid Time Away: Eligible team members receive paid vacation days, holidays, and volunteer time off.
- Career Growth Opportunities: To support career growth of our team members, we offer tuition reimbursement, an annual mentorship program, leadership development resources, access to LinkedIn Learning, and more.
The base salary ultimately offered is determined through a review of education, industry experience, training, knowledge, skills, abilities of the applicant in alignment with market data and other factors.
