Account Director

Strategic Account Director – Payments Modernization

About RedCompass Labs

RedCompass Labs is a global technology consultancy specializing in payments modernization, financial messaging, and banking transformation. With teams across Europe, UK and North America, we partner with leading organisations in the payments and financial industry to deliver complex payment technology transformation programs.

As the payments ecosystem evolves toward real-time infrastructure, cloud-native platforms, and AI-enabled operations, RedCompass Labs delivers payments modernization outcomes through two complementary routes: consulting-led engagements powered by our people and AI, and AI itself with advisory support around it. We are expanding our commercial team to bring both to market effectively across North America.

We are seeking a Strategic Account Director to own and grow a focused portfolio of existing North American clients, building deep, trusted relationships and driving sustainable expansion across key engagements.

Role Overview

The Strategic Account Director is responsible for the long-term health, growth, and strategic development of a defined portfolio of existing RedCompass Labs clients across North America. This is a senior relationship role, the primary point of accountability for each client's experience with RedCompass Labs, from active delivery through to future opportunity.

The Strategic Account Director owns the account plan for every client in their portfolio, leads regular business reviews, and ensures each relationship has a clear growth trajectory. The role requires a consultative, trusted-advisor mindset, bringing together consulting services and AI as complementary paths to the same client outcome, and identifying the right next step within each account at the right time.

The Strategic Account Director role will carry an annual revenue target, accountable for the retention and growth of the assigned account portfolio. The assigned target will be structured to reflect both renewal of existing engagements and expansion revenue generated through new workstreams, cross-sell, and AI adoption within accounts.

Key Responsibilities

Account Planning & Strategic Ownership

• Own and maintain a structured account plan for each client in the portfolio, covering relationship mapping, growth objectives, opportunity pipeline, key risks, and engagement health
• Review and update account plans monthly, ensuring they reflect current client priorities, commercial progress, and next-step actions
• Develop and maintain deep knowledge of each client's payments modernization strategy, technology roadmap, organisational structure, and decision-making landscape
• Ensure each account has clear, documented revenue contribution expectations, aligned to the company's commercial forecasting model
• Present account plans and portfolio performance on a regular basis, flagging risks and opportunities proactively

Client Reviews & Executive Engagement

• Own and lead client business reviews, cadence to be confirmed but minimal annually for each account in the portfolio
• Prepare and facilitate structured review meetings that tie delivery outcomes to client business objectives, demonstrate value delivered, and set the agenda for the next phase of the relationship
• Build and maintain relationships across multiple stakeholder levels within each client, from delivery contacts and project teams through to C-suite and transformation leadership
• Act as the client's trusted advisor on payments modernization, AI-enabled delivery, and emerging industry change, bringing relevant insight and perspective to every client conversation
• Ensure RedCompass Labs has a strong, visible presence within each account between formal reviews, through regular contact, thought leadership sharing, executive call plans and proactive check-ins

Account Growth & Expansion

• Identify and develop expansion opportunities within existing accounts, including extensions to active engagements, new consulting workstreams, and AI adoption
• Position consulting services and AI as complementary delivery paths to the same client outcome, selecting the right model based on client need and readiness
• Actively pursue cross-sell and upsell opportunities, understanding that the goal is always the client's payments modernization outcome
• Identify opportunities where a consulting engagement is ready to evolve into a product relationship, or where AI opens the door to a broader consulting mandate, and act on both
• Lead or support proposal development, statements of work, and commercial models for account expansion opportunities

Client Success & Delivery Collaboration

• Ensure strong collaboration between the client and RedCompass Labs delivery teams throughout every active engagement
• Monitor engagement health and client satisfaction on an ongoing basis, raising risks early and working with delivery leadership to resolve issues before they escalate
• Ensure delivery outcomes are clearly communicated back to client stakeholders and tied to the original business case and success criteria agreed at the outset
• Manage a smooth commercial handover from delivery completion to next-phase scoping, ensuring continuity of momentum and relationship
• Act as the internal advocate for the client, representing their interests within RedCompass Labs and ensuring commitments made during the sales process are followed through in delivery

Market & Commercial Intelligence

• Contribute account-level intelligence to the broader commercial team, sharing insight on client buying patterns, competitive activity, and emerging priorities
• Monitor industry trends relevant to portfolio clients and proactively bring relevant ideas and perspectives into client conversations
• Represent RedCompass Labs at industry events and client forums where relevant to portfolio account strategy

What You Bring:

• Minimum 7 years' experience in Strategic Account Management, Clients Relations Management, or senior relationship management gathered from one or more following sectors: Payments or financial messaging / Banking technology / financial services consulting / Fintech or enterprise software
• Proven track record of owning, growing, and retaining complex accounts within financial institutions
• Experience leading formal client business reviews and managing senior stakeholder relationships at C-suite level
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute structured account plans that translate into measurable revenue growth
• Strong understanding of the payments ecosystem, including payment modernization, financial messaging, and emerging technologies
• Comfortable holding and communicating a converged commercial narrative, that RedCompass Labs delivers payments modernization outcomes through consulting, through AI product, or both

Skills & Competencies

• Trusted advisor mindset - relationship-first, outcome-focused, commercially disciplined
• Strong account planning capability and structured commercial thinking
• Executive presence and stakeholder management at senior and C-suite levels
• Ability to translate both consulting and product propositions into clear business value
• Organised and proactive - able to manage multiple accounts with rigor and attention to detail
• Collaborative approach when working with delivery, pre-sales, and product teams
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills; other languages a bonus
• Willingness to travel within North America and occasionally to Europe

Why Join RedCompass Labs?

Work with Real Impact

What we build matters. Our payment infrastructure and AI solutions help financial institutions detect and disrupt financial crime, including human trafficking and child sexual exploitation.

Your work protects real people — not just systems.

Ownership & Influence

You will shape how key North American clients evolve their payments capability. This role comes with real autonomy, visible impact and trust from leadership.

A Team that Thinks Differently

We hire people who challenge assumptions, care about outcomes and use AI as a natural part of their daily work — not a buzzword.

Competitive package:

• Performance bonus (up to 10% of annual salary)
• Medical insurance for you and your family
• 22 days annual leave + public & bank holidays
• 5 days fully paid sick leave

Grow with the Business

• Continuous learning budget and certification support
• Exposure to AI‑driven delivery and emerging technologies
• Career development support and regular performance conversations

Kindly Advise

Before submitting your application, please review the requirements below carefully:

• We are only able to consider candidates based in North America. Applications from outside this region will not be reviewed.
• This role requires hybrid presence in our Toronto office. Candidates must be able to attend the office on a regular, agreed basis.
• Experience in the Banking or Financial Services sector is essential for this role.

Candidates who do not meet the above criteria will not be considered as part of this recruitment process.

RedCompass Labs is committed to promoting and supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace, ensuring fair and equitable treatment for all. This fuels innovation and enables us to work better together with each other and for our clients.