About Planet

Planet is a global provider of integrated technology and payments solutions for retail and hospitality customers.

We create great experiences for the millions of people who use our payments, software, and tax-free solutions every minute of every day.

Planet empowers its customers to deliver great customer experiences by combining payments and software in ways that drive greater loyalty, increase revenue and save time.

Founded over 35 years ago and with our headquarters in London, today we have more than 2,500 employees located across six continents serving our customers in more than 120 markets.

Role Overview:

The Merchant Data Steward safeguards the quality of new merchant data as it is captured into Salesforce, acting as the gatekeeper at the point of entry. The role ensures that only complete, accurate, and logically valid data is admitted, preventing the downstream data pipe from being degraded by poor-quality inputs.

Operating as a key part of the merchant onboarding process, the Steward enforces mandatory-field and data-quality standards on opportunity and merchant records, working closely with the Onboarding team and partnering with the Data Architect in the Architecture team.

This role is critical to sustaining the gains of the merchant Hierarchy Programme cleanse and to enabling a shift from reactive data correction to disciplined, quality-by-design data capture.

What you will do:

1. Data Gatekeeping & Quality Control at Point of Entry

Act as the controlling gate for all new merchant data entering Salesforce

Reject incomplete, inaccurate, or illogical data before it enters the live data set

Define, apply, and continuously improve data-quality standards, validation rules, and acceptance criteria

Protect the integrity of the data pipe, preventing it from being degraded by poor-quality inputs

2. Merchant Onboarding & Opportunity Acceptance

Serve as a key participant in the merchant onboarding process, building quality in from the first point of capture

Review opportunity records submitted by the Commercial team

Decline records unless all mandatory fields are populated with logical, valid information

Provide clear, consistent feedback on why a record is returned and what is required for acceptance

3. Collaboration with the Onboarding Team

Work closely with the Onboarding team to embed data-quality checks within the onboarding workflow

Align gatekeeping controls with onboarding timelines to support smooth, timely merchant set-up

Resolve data issues early, acting as the data-quality point of contact throughout onboarding

4. Partnership with the Data Architect & Hierarchy Programme

Work closely with the Data Architect (Architecture team) to protect hierarchy data quality

Ensure data feeding the Hierarchy Programme cleanse is not degraded by weak onboarding process

Apply the agreed definitions, standards, and validation logic defined by the Data Architect

Sustain data quality on an ongoing (BAU) basis once the cleanse is complete

5. Data Quality Monitoring & Continuous Improvement

Monitor, measure, and report on data-quality metrics, trends, and recurring issues

Identify root causes and drive process improvements at source

Escalate systemic data-quality problems for resolution

Maintain documentation of data definitions, mandatory-field rules, and stewardship procedures

6. Stakeholder Engagement

Work closely with:

Onboarding team

Commercial / Sales

Data Architect & Architecture team

Finance Transformation

Champion a culture of data quality across functions

Resolve cross-functional disagreements on data standards and acceptance

Accountabilities

Quality, completeness, and logical validity of new merchant data entering Salesforce

Enforcement of mandatory-field and acceptance criteria on opportunity records

Integrity of data feeding the Hierarchy Programme cleanse and its ongoing upkeep, jointly with the Data Architect

Timely, constructive feedback to the Commercial and Onboarding teams

Who you are:

Core Expertise

Hands-on experience with Salesforce, particularly merchant, account, and opportunity data

Strong understanding of data-quality principles, validation, and data governance

Payments industry knowledge — a sound understanding of merchants, transactions, and merchant hierarchy structures

Meticulous attention to detail and a low tolerance for incomplete or ambiguous data

A confident gatekeeper, able to hold the line and return non-compliant records constructively

Domain & Technical Experience (Preferred)

Experience in the payments, fintech, or financial services industry

Exposure to data hierarchy, master-data, or data-cleanse programmes

Familiarity with data-architecture concepts and working alongside data architects

Reporting and dashboarding for data-quality metrics

Leadership & Behavioural

A clear communicator who gives actionable feedback to commercial and onboarding stakeholders

Pragmatic, delivery-focused, and outcome-driven

Comfortable influencing without direct ownership of source systems

Collaborative — works effectively across business and technical teams

Role Positioning

Located within the Finance Transformation function

Operates within a hybrid model:

Commercial captures opportunity and merchant data

Onboarding sets up new merchants

The Data Architect governs the data model and hierarchy

The Merchant Data Steward enforces data quality at the gate

Reporting line, grade, and location to be confirmed

What This Role Is / Is Not

This role IS:

The quality gatekeeper for new merchant data entering Salesforce

A key part of the onboarding process, working closely with the Onboarding team

Jointly responsible, with the Data Architect, for protecting Hierarchy Programme data quality

This role is NOT:

The owner of the Salesforce platform itself

The owner of the enterprise data model, which sits with the Data Architect

A commercial / sales or data-engineering role

Success Measures

Reduction in data-quality defects originating at onboarding

A high proportion of merchant and opportunity records accepted first time, with all mandatory fields valid

Hierarchy data integrity sustained post-cleanse, with no degradation attributable to onboarding

Faster, cleaner merchant onboarding through early resolution of data issues

Timely, high-quality feedback to the Commercial and Onboarding team.

Why Planet:

Planet is an equal opportunity employer where diversity is valued, and all employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.

Come and grow your career in the most exciting, fast paced technology market, with a business that delivers feel-good connected commerce.

We would love to hear from you – Apply now.

At Planet, we embrace a hybrid work model, with three days a week in the office.

Reasonable accommodations may be made in order to allow for an individual to perform the essential functions of this role successfully.

Merchant Data Steward

Job Description