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.

How will you make an impact in this role?

This position is an outstanding opportunity for an open-minded individual to operate in a dynamic environment with the full support of the American Express and subsidiary Loyalty Partner organization. PAYBACK is the world’s largest Loyalty Management company operating in Germany, Italy, Poland, and Austria.

We are searching for an Operations and Vendor governance specialist, as part of PAYBACK Operations team. The individual in this role will be responsible for driving best-in-class vendor performance, ensuring adherence to contractual terms, and maintaining strong control practices. The position combines vendor management, operations activities and first line of defense responsibilities, and requires close partnership with internal stakeholders and external vendors, a strong operational mindset, and the ability to navigate a fast-paced and regulated environment.

• Manage end-to-end vendor relationships, including selection processes, contract terms negotiation, onboarding, due diligence, and ongoing oversight.
• Support Third-Party Lifecycle Management (TLM) activities, ensuring compliance with enterprise standards and policies.
• Monitor vendor performance against contractual KPIs and SLAs through structured governance routines and define, implement, and track remediation action plans in collaboration with vendors and internal stakeholders in case of performance gaps.
• Coordinate and enhance core operations processes, including the management of inventory and the supply of materials supporting the PAYBACK program (production of cards and e-kits, POS and promotional materials) and the processing and archiving of enrolment forms.
• Oversee KPI management for the team and drive continuous improvement through data-driven insights.
• Support and execute first line of control activities, identifying process risks and implementing mitigating actions, to ensure compliance with AMEX internal policies, standards, and procedures
• Collaborate with all internal stakeholders (Procurement, Risk, Finance, Compliance, Business) and central teams to support seamless operations execution and successful project delivery

Minimum Qualifications:

• University degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or similar education
• Two (2) or more years' experience in operations, vendor management, or control management roles
• Strong analytical skills and experience with KPI tracking and performance dashboards
• Excellent organizational and stakeholder management skills
• Proactive, detail-oriented, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, structured environment
• Strong problem solving and escalation management capabilities
• Solid negotiation and influencing capabilities
• Project management skills
• Fluency in English and Italian, both written and verbal
• Excellent team-player with ability to work under pressure and with global team
• Experience working within regulated or highly controlled environments
• Proficient knowledge in MS Office (Excel pro, PowerPoint)

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in Italy is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.

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

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