Operations Manager: Value-Added Services at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• The Operations Manager oversees the full operational lifecycle of VAS products, ensuring fulfilment, partner performance, and risk governance. They lead incident response, trend analysis, and continuous improvement across internal and external stakeholders. This high-impact role reports to the Head: Value-Added Services and ensures long-term sustainability of the VAS ecosystem.

Job Description

• The Operations Manager for Value Added Services (VAS) is responsible for the end-to-end operational oversight of the VAS product portfolio, ensuring seamless fulfilment, partner performance, SLA compliance, and risk governance. This role plays a critical part in maintaining the health and reliability of VAS offerings such as Prepaid airtime and data, Prepaid Electricity, Lotto, bill payments, digital vouchers, and other lifestyle offerings. 
• The Operations manager will lead daily monitoring, incident response, exception trend analysis, and partner reviews, while driving continuous improvement through root cause analysis, backlog prioritization, and strategic planning. The role also serves as a key liaison between internal teams (technology, risk, compliance, finance, change, and product) and external partners to ensure operational excellence and long-term sustainability of the VAS ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities:

Daily Operational Oversight

• Monitor real-time fulfilment and transaction flows across all VAS products.
• Detect and respond to operational exceptions proactively.
• Track and resolve incidents in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain fulfilment dashboards and operational health metrics.

Exception & Incident Management

• Conduct weekly exception trend reviews (e.g., failed fulfilments, reconciliation mismatches).
• Generate partner performance snapshots (e.g., file delivery, response times).
• Flag SLA breaches and initiate early warning interventions.
• Produce monthly service review reports
• Track root cause analysis (RCAs) for significant incidents and drive remediation.

Partner & SLA Performance Management

• Monitor upstream provider performance and maintain scorecards.
• Review support ticket summaries and backlog trends.
• Facilitate monthly formal service reviews with partners.
• Ensure SLA and XLA compliance scoring is tracked and reported.
• Build strong relationships with internal Centres of Excellence (i.e. Risk, Compliance, Technology, Finance) to ensure operational alignment, shared accountability, and timely resolution of escalations.

Governance & Risk Oversight

• Lead quarterly governance council sessions and systemic risk reviews.
• Ensure compliance with 3 Lines of Defense and internal control frameworks.
• Manage change backlog prioritization and approval gates.
• Collaborate with risk, legal, and compliance teams to mitigate operational risks.

Strategic Planning & Portfolio Health

• Conduct annual VAS portfolio health checks and roadmap refreshes.
• Align strategic partner objectives and renew SLAs.
• Support onboarding of new VAS products and capabilities.
• Contribute to long-term planning cycles and capability maturity assessments.

Skills & Qualifications:

Core Competencies:

• Strong operational and analytical mindset with attention to detail.
• Ability to interpret data and trends to drive decisions.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience in incident management, SLA tracking, and partner governance.
• Familiarity with fulfilment platforms and operational dashboards (e.g., Electrum).
• Proven ability to lead through influence and navigate complex stakeholder landscapes without direct line authority.

Educational Background:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations, Information Systems, or a related field.

Industry Experience:

• 3–5 years in operations management, preferably within banking, fintech, or digital services
• Proven experience managing VAS products and partner ecosystems.
• Understanding of fulfilment processes, reconciliation, and SLA frameworks.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in operational monitoring tools and dashboards.
• Basic data analysis skills (Excel, SQL, etc.).
• Familiarity with incident tracking systems and ticketing platforms.

Personal Attributes:

• Collaborative: Works effectively across cross-functional teams.
• Proactive: Anticipates issues and drives early resolution.
• Strategic: Balances short-term operational needs with long-term planning

Education

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)

End Date: October 9, 2025