Director of Payments Operations

About this role

About Fora

Fora is the modern travel agency, empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs to build thriving travel advisory businesses. We're modernizing the $100B+ travel industry with AI woven through every part of the advisor's workflow, plus global supplier relationships, personalized training, and a vibrant community, all in one place. That's what lets advisors build businesses that scale, while their taste and service create trips no algorithm alone could plan. At the heart of it all is our mission: to help the next generation of travel entrepreneurs turn their love for travel into a fulfilling career, whether full-time or part-time.

The same idea shapes how we work. We're mission-driven and obsessed with our customers, and we believe humans and AI are both essential: the best work here comes from people and technology at their best, together.

Founded in 2021, Fora has grown to a team of 200+ full-time employees based in downtown New York City. In 2026, we closed a $60 million Series D led by Forerunner and Tactile Ventures, with continued backing from Thrive Capital, Insight Partners, and Heartcore Capital. We've been named a LinkedIn Top Startup (2024), one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies (2023 and 2025), and one of TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies (2026).

Come build something that hasn't existed before.

About the Role

Fora is seeking a Director, Payment Operations to lead the evolution of our advisor-facing financial operations, ensuring that as advisors grow their businesses, their financial experience matches the quality of every other part of the Fora platform.

Reporting to the Director of Product Operations, this role leads the Product Operations Payments function, which owns booking ingestion, commission tracking, and advisor payouts. The role also serves as the primary operational partner to Finance across accounting, supplier-facing operations, and compliance. Working closely with Product, Engineering, Advisor Experience, Support, and Finance, the Director will drive the systems, processes, and cross-functional alignment that enable accurate payouts, efficient operations, and a seamless advisor experience at scale.

This is a highly cross-functional leadership role at a pivotal stage of growth. As the complexity and volume of payment operations continue to increase, the Director will build scalable processes, identify automation opportunities, and establish operational excellence across the function. The ideal candidate combines deep operational and financial expertise with strong product instincts, exceptional judgment, and a bias toward ownership and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end operational quality of booking ingestion, commission tracking, quality assurance, and advisor payout execution, continuously improving accuracy, timeliness, and operational consistency.

• Identify, prioritize, and implement process improvements and automation opportunities that reduce manual effort, eliminate recurring exceptions, and improve the advisor experience.

• Own the operational partnership with Finance, including establishing clear escalation paths for supplier disputes, invoice corrections, and compliance matters while ensuring seamless collaboration across teams.

• Partner closely with Product and Engineering to define operational requirements for advisor-facing earnings and payout tools, advocate for scalable solutions, and surface operational issues that require technical investment.

• Represent Payment Operations in cross-functional planning, ensuring priorities are aligned across Product Operations, Finance, Product, Engineering, and the broader business.

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team across headquarters and the Philippines, fostering strong collaboration, consistent execution, and clear accountability across the organization.

• Establish and monitor key operational metrics across bookings and payouts, building reporting frameworks that provide leadership with visibility into performance, accuracy, timeliness, and exception trends.

• Analyze operational data to identify root causes, recommend improvements, and drive informed decision-making across the business.

Requirements

• 8-12 years of experience in operations, preferably within a marketplace, fintech, payments, travel, or other high-growth technology environment. Experience in consulting or investment banking is valuable but hands-on operational leadership is the priority.

• Demonstrated success balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution while driving operational excellence and end-to-end ownership of outcomes.

• Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives and influencing partners across Finance, Product, Engineering, and Operations.

• Strong analytical capabilities with experience defining KPIs, building operational reporting, and using data to drive decisions and continuous improvement.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across a wide range of audiences, from frontline operations teams to executive leadership.

• Strong judgment and the ability to make thoughtful decisions in fast-moving, ambiguous environments while knowing when to escalate risk.

• Experience managing and developing high-performing teams with a strong focus on coaching, accountability, and operational excellence.

Strongly Preferred

• Experience within a marketplace, fintech, payments, or travel business.

• Experience leading distributed teams, including operations teams based in the Philippines.

• Familiarity with financial operations systems and a demonstrated ability to partner effectively with Engineering on operational tooling and system improvements.

• Curiosity about emerging AI technologies and experience incorporating AI tools into day-to-day operational workflows to improve efficiency and scale.

Compensation

Compensation for this role varies based on…