Senior Specialist Payments Operations at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Oversight & Governance:
• Lead the implementation of the Payments & Reporting Centre of Excellence (P&R COE) across ARO countries, ensuring alignment with domestic, regional, pan-African, and international standards.
• Performance & Compliance Monitoring:
• Facilitate visibility of compliance, risk, performance indicators, and strategic alignment with both bank and ecosystem requirements.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
• Represent ARO countries at the Centre on all matters related to payment processing—including change initiatives, compliance, strategic alignment, risk events, and audit findings.
• Regulatory Assurance:
• Provide assurance that South Africa’s prudential requirements are upheld and that ARO payment operations do not contribute to any deterioration in compliance.
• Governance Leadership:
• Establish and lead payment operations governance forums to ensure transparency, accountability, and alignment with broader business conduct requirements.
• Network Building:
• Create and maintain a robust network to support Centre oversight and supervision across all ARO entities.
• Risk & Audit Collaboration:
• Work closely with 1st and 2nd line defence functions and internal audit to ensure payment operations are independently validated and compliant with all relevant norms and regulations.

Education & Experience Required:

Academic Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree with 10+ years of experience in payments and payment operations, or
• Diploma with 15+ years in a senior role in payments and payment operations.

Professional Experience:

• 7–10 years of payment operations experience across the African continent.
• 5+ years of experience in national, regional, and cross-border payment ecosystems.
• Deep understanding of regulatory requirements impacting domestic and international payments.
• Strong knowledge of risk and compliance governance.
• Experience managing Head Office oversight of payment operations across multiple jurisdictions.

Education

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

End Date: December 29, 2025