Project Overview

Our client, a leading financial institution, is seeking an experienced Cards Analytics Specialist to support its Cards & Payments function by strengthening data-driven decision-making across the card lifecycle. The consultant will be responsible for delivering portfolio performance reporting, generating actionable insights, measuring campaign effectiveness, and supporting strategic decision-making across Product, Marketing, Risk, and Finance teams. This is an opportunity to play a key role in shaping the commercial performance of a retail banking cards portfolio through advanced analytics and stakeholder engagement. The ideal consultant will have extensive experience in cards portfolio analytics within banking, payments, or financial services, with strong SQL, Excel, and data visualisation capabilities.

Key Activities

• Portfolio performance reporting & monitoring (~35%)-Build, maintain, and deliver recurring and ad-hoc performance dashboards covering acquisition, activation, spend, ENR (Earning Net Revenue), delinquency, attrition, and profitability metrics across the card portfolio.
• Portfolio diagnostics & segmentation analysis (~25%)-Conduct deep-dive analyses on portfolio segments (by product, channel, customer cohort, vintage) to identify performance drivers, risks, and growth opportunities.
• Campaign measurement & effectiveness analysis (~20%)-Design and execute pre/post campaign analytics including control-group methodology, ROI calculation, and response-rate analysis to measure and optimise marketing and engagement campaigns.
• Data-driven decision support (~15%)-Provide structured analytical support to Cards Product, Portfolio, Marketing, and Risk teams through insight packs, business cases, and scenario analyses that inform strategic and tactical decisions.
• Data quality & automation (~5%)-Identify opportunities to improve data integrity, automate recurring reports, and enhance self-serve analytics capabilities for business users.
• Own and deliver the recurring cards portfolio performance reporting suite (daily/weekly/monthly), ensuring timely, accurate, and insight-rich output that enables the Cards leadership team to track KPIs against targets and take corrective action.
• Diagnose portfolio health by conducting segmentation, cohort, vintage, and trend analyses across the card lifecycle (acquisition ? activation ? usage ? retention ? attrition), identifying underperforming segments and recommending targeted interventions.
• Design and execute campaign measurement frameworks-including A/B testing structures, control groups, uplift calculations, and ROI analysis-to quantify the impact of card marketing campaigns and provide actionable post-campaign recommendations.
• Develop and maintain interactive dashboards and visualisations (Tableau / Power BI) that enable stakeholders to self-serve on key portfolio metrics, reducing ad-hoc request volume and improving decision speed.
• Translate analytical findings into clear, concise insight packs and presentations for senior management, ensuring recommendations are commercially grounded and linked to portfolio P&L levers (interchange, fee income, cost of funds, provision rates).
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Marketing, Risk, Operations, and Finance teams to ensure data consistency, align on KPI definitions, and embed analytics into business planning and campaign execution cycles.
• Continuously improve data extraction, transformation, and reporting processes-automating manual workflows and enhancing data quality controls to increase efficiency and reduce error rates.

Your Background

Essential

• 7 years in a cards analytics, portfolio analytics, or business intelligence role within banking, payments, or fintech
• Cards portfolio management concepts: acquisition funnels, activation rates, spend behaviour, ENR/balance build, attrition, delinquency, and profitability drivers
• Understanding of card P&L structure (interchange income, fee income, cost of funds, scheme fees, provision/write-off)
• Campaign lifecycle analytics: targeting, segmentation, control-group design, uplift measurement, and ROI
• SQL -proficient in writing complex queries for large datasets (mandatory)
• Excel -advanced (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, data modelling, macros) (mandatory)
• Tableau and/or Power BI -dashboard design and interactive reporting (mandatory)
• Strong data storytelling and presentation skills -ability to translate complex data into clear, commercially relevant narratives for senior stakeholders
• Proactive problem-solving and intellectual curiosity
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent requests and prioritise effectively
• Collaborative mindset -comfortable working across Product, Marketing, Risk, and Finance teams
• Attention to detail with a commitment to data accuracy and quality
• Proficiency in SQL and Excel
• Demonstrated experience in cards portfolio analytics (credit and/or debit) within banking or payments
• Experience with at least one data visualisation tool (Tableau, Power BI, or equivalent)
• Professional proficiency in English
• Immediately available or within 30-day notice

Desirable

• Exposure to retail banking, consumer lending, or credit risk analytics -preferred
• Familiarity with card scheme reporting ( performance dashboards and benchmarking tools) -preferred
• Python or R -for statistical analysis, data manipulation, and automation -preferred
• SAS -portfolio analytics and data extraction -preferred
• CRM and campaign management platforms (e.g., Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Campaign, SAS CI) -preferred
• Core banking / card management systems (CMS) exposure -preferred
• Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate or equivalent -demonstrates structured analytical methodology
• Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
• Portfolio Management Certification

Duration

12 months (extendable)

Location

Doha, Qatar