Executive Head of Risk & Fraud - Lesaka ( FinTech) at Lesaka Technologies

Purpose

• The Executive Head of Risk & Fraud acts as the oversight function for all operational risk across the Merchant Division. This includes ownership of the Operations Risk Matrix, fraud monitoring and reduction programmes, operational compliance oversight, data‑privacy monitoring, and broader enterprise risk enablement.

Your mandate is to ensure that risks are:

• Identified
• Assessed
• Monitored
• Controlled
• Escalated appropriately
• Mitigated effectively

All while supporting safe, resilient, and compliant business operations.

Key Responsibility Areas

Operational Risk Oversight

• Own and maintain the Merchant Division Operations Risk Matrix.
• Identify, assess, and monitor operational risks across all business units.
• Ensure each risk is accurately documented, rated, and assigned for mitigation.

Fraud Risk Management & Reduction

• Establish and oversee fraud‑monitoring frameworks across operations.
• Analyse fraud patterns, root causes, and emerging risk indicators.
• Lead fraud‑reduction initiatives in partnership with Technology, Data, and Operations.

Operational Compliance Oversight

• Provide oversight of operational compliance requirements (execution may sit with other teams).
• Monitor adherence to controls, policies, SOPs, risk frameworks, and compliance obligations.
• Escalate non‑compliance, control failures, and operational weaknesses.

Data Privacy Risk Oversight

• Oversee data‑privacy risks across systems, processes, and operational workflows.
• Partner with Technology, Data, and Compliance to embed privacy controls.
• Track, monitor, and escalate data‑privacy incidents and remediation actions.

Risk Monitoring, Reporting & Escalation

• Establish risk dashboards, reporting cycles, and visibility tools.
• Provide timely risk insights, trend analyses, and emerging‑risk warnings to the COO and Executive team.
• Proactively escalate high‑impact or fast‑emerging risks.

Risk‑Driven Programme Enablement

• Partner with BPMO to embed risk considerations into project intake, design, sequencing, and execution.
• Influence prioritisation of risk‑remediation initiatives.
• Ensure new initiatives incorporate operational and fraud‑risk controls upfront.

Risk Culture & Capability Enablement

• Build a strong operational risk and fraud‑awareness culture across the Merchant Division.
• Enable operational leaders to understand and manage risk effectively within their functions.
• Develop a pragmatic, execution‑oriented risk capability that supports business agility.

Key Competencies Required

Field Operations Leadership

• Understands complex, high‑volume operational environments with distributed teams.

Customer‑Centric Risk Management

• Protects customers by ensuring safe, consistent, compliant processes.

Operational Excellence

• Strengthens controls, improves reliability, and drives disciplined execution.

Fraud & Operational Risk Acumen

• Understands fraud patterns, operational risks, and mitigation frameworks.

Systems & Data Awareness

• Uses data, dashboards, and systems insights to identify and address risk trends.

Risk & Safety Awareness

• Strong focus on protecting customers, assets, information, and operational integrity.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Works effectively across Technology, Data, compliance functions, and business operations.

Leadership & Enablement

• Builds and leads a high‑performing operational risk capability.

Closing Date 30 January 2026