Head Of PayOps (Payments) at Lesaka Technologies

Role Purpose

• Own and operate the core operational functions specific to the Payments business, including settlement, recons and queries (FinOps), and contracts management, while acting as the business owner of the Payments operating model across platforms.
• The role ensures end-to-end integrity across the Payments lifecycle — from contracted merchant onboarding through to transaction processing, settlement and financial visibility — across Card Present, E-commerce and Alternative Digital Payments (ADP).
• Acts as the senior acquiring SME with mandatory business sign-off authority on all Payments-impacting platform and process changes.
• The scope of the role is designed to evolve as the operating model matures, with the mandate to actively shape and refine the PayOps function in collaboration with the broader COO structure over time.

Key Accountabilities

Settlement Operations

• Own end-to-end settlement execution (ISO & PayFac)
• Manage settlement engine as sub-ledger to ERP
• Oversee settlement cycles, funding and exception handling
• Ensure reconciliation alignment with ERP control accounts

Recons & Settlement Queries (FinOps)

• Own reconciliation-as-a-service
• Manage settlement-related merchant queries
• Resolve reconciliation breaks and discrepancies

Settlement = execution  |  FinOps = reconciliation & queries

Contracts Management

• Own the validation and integrity of Payments-related contract and subscription data within the broader merchant contract structure
• Validate merchant setup pre-activation and post-fulfilment
• Ensure CRM data accuracy prior to downstream system integration to switch and settlement engine
• Safeguard alignment between contracted products, installed solutions and system configuration
• Operate within a single customer, multi-product contract framework, where commercial ownership and pricing decisions remain with Growth

Payments Operating Model Ownership

• Business owner of the Payments operating model across CRM, Switch, Settlement, Billing, ERP and the Merchant Transaction & Settlement Hub
• Govern hybrid acquiring structure (ISO/PayFac, dual acquiring)
• Ensure integrity of merchant lifecycle, settlement and billing flows

Platform Governance & Sign-Off

• Mandatory PayOps business sign-off on all changes impacting Payments
• Mandatory PayOps business sign-off on any platform or configuration change — including fraud engine changes initiated by Product — where the change has downstream impact on settlement execution, merchant financial positions, or reconciliation processes
• Ensure upstream changes do not break downstream settlement, reconciliation, or servicing processes

Merchant Transaction & Settlement Hub

• Own the Transaction & Settlement Hub capability
• Define transaction-to-settlement data model and business rules
• Ensure consistent, near real-time visibility across platforms
• Support merchant visibility, reconciliation and query resolution

Operational Insight & Improvement

• Identify systemic issues across operations, platforms and integrations
• Drive process and platform improvements with Product and Technology

Fraud Integration into Settlement Processes

• Own the business rules governing how fraud outcomes — holds, releases, reversals and chargebacks — are reflected in settlement execution and merchant financial positions within CPS
• Define and maintain the operational framework for fraud outcome processing across ISO and PayFac settlement models, including under dual acquiring and card scheme routing scenarios
• Serve as the PayOps interface to Product on fraud engine behaviour where outputs affect settlement or reconciliation — input and sign-off authority, not engine ownership
• Ensure reconciliation processes correctly account for fraud-related settlement adjustments, and that breaks arising from fraud outcomes are identified and resolved within PayOps

Acquiring SME & Internal Advisory

• Serve as the internal acquiring authority and primary SME for Product, Technology and operational teams on acquiring models, flows and settlement implications
• Ensure solutions and platform changes align to the Payments operating model requirements

Commercial & Pricing — Operational SME Input

• Serve as the operational and settlement SME for Payments pricing discussions initiated by Growth and Finance
• Provide input on the acquiring cost, settlement, and operational implications of proposed pricing structures and deal terms
• Support profitability analysis where settlement economics or acquiring costs are a required input
• Respond to budget and forecast requests with Payments-specific cost and settlement data — input only, not ownership of the budgeting or pricing function

Key Performance Indicators

• Settlement accuracy rate and exception resolution turnaround
• Reconciliation break resolution within defined SLA
• Platform sign-off compliance — no Payments-impacting change deployed without PayOps authorisation
• Merchant query resolution rate and time-to-resolve
• Zero incomplete or inaccurate merchant records passed to switch and settlement engine at activation

Minimum Qualifications

• Relevant degree in Finance, Accounting, Information Systems or equivalent
• CA(SA) or equivalent professional qualification preferred

Experience Required

Mandatory

• 8–12+ years’ experience in payments and/or acquiring environments
• Strong experience in settlement operations, reconciliation and fund flow management
• Practical understanding of ISO and/or PayFac models
• Experience working across payments platforms (e.g. CRM, switch, settlement, billing or ERP)
• Proven ability to own and manage operational functions
• Strong process, control and data integrity mindset in a regulated environment
• Proven experience leading and developing operational teams

Preferred

• Experience in hybrid acquiring environments (multi-bank, dual acquiring)
• Exposure to end-to-end payments lifecycle across platforms
• Experience working with Product and Technology teams
• Understanding of payments pricing and commercial structures
• Familiarity with SARB/PA regulatory obligations and card scheme rules
• Financial qualification (e.g. CA(SA)) or equivalent

Closing Date 29 May 2026