Technical Risk and Operations Manager at Ozow

• The Technical Risk & Operations Manager is a critical leadership role within Ozow’s technology organisation, responsible for driving our technical risk posture, coordinating incident response, and serving as a key interface with merchants, banks, and partners on security and operational matters. 
• This role sits at the intersection of engineering, security, risk, compliance, and operations. You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of technical risk — from identification and prioritisation to mitigation and reporting — and lead the organisation’s incident management processes to ensure rapid, effective resolution and continuous improvement. 
• As Ozow scales, this role will also become the external technical voice of trust — providing assurance to our clients and partners about the safety, resilience, and reliability of our systems. 

Your role and responsibilities 

Incident Management & Response 

• Lead the full lifecycle of incident management across Ozow’s platforms — from detection to resolution. 
• Coordinate cross-functional teams during Sev-1 and Sev-2 incidents, ensuring timely communication, mitigation, and recovery. 
• Drive post-incident reviews (RCA) and ensure that corrective actions are identified, prioritised, and delivered. 
• Maintain a comprehensive incident knowledge base to capture lessons learned and drive proactive improvements. 

Technical Risk Management 

• Own the technology risk register in collaboration with Security, Infrastructure, Engineering, and Compliance teams. 
• Continuously assess and prioritise risks across the technology estate — including vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, architectural risks, and third-party dependencies. 
• Track risk treatment plans, monitor remediation progress, and report on status and trends to senior leadership and the Risk Committee. 
• Align risk treatment plans with Ozow’s risk appetite and ensure traceability to controls and frameworks. 

Security Posture & External Engagement 

• Act as a technical liaison for merchants, banks, and partners on security, compliance, and risk matters. 
• Develop and maintain customer- and partner-facing documentation on Ozow’s security posture, incident management practices, and resilience capabilities. 
• Support the sales and partnerships teams during due diligence and procurement processes, representing Ozow’s security and risk maturity. 
• Collaborate with the Security Specialist and CTO to ensure Ozow’s external messaging on security and risk is consistent, credible, and audit-ready. 

Governance & Reporting 

• Produce regular reports on incidents, vulnerabilities, and risk metrics for executive leadership, the Risk Committee, and auditors. 
• Ensure the organisation’s readiness for audits and certifications (e.g., PCI DSS, ISO 27001, SARB directives) by coordinating evidence gathering and remediation activities. 
• Define and track key SLAs and KPIs for incident response, vulnerability closure, and risk mitigation. 
• Contribute to governance forums and committees, bringing a data-driven view of risk and operational performance. 

Continuous Improvement & Prevention 

• Work with engineering and infrastructure teams to address systemic causes of incidents and risk. 
• Identify opportunities for automation and tooling to improve detection, response, and risk visibility. 
• Contribute to disaster recovery, business continuity, and resilience planning initiatives. 
• Proactively recommend changes to processes, systems, and architectures to reduce future risk exposure. 

You are an ideal candidate if you have

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or a related field. 
• 7+ years of experience in technology operations, incident management, or risk/security management roles. 
• Proven experience managing large-scale technical incidents and coordinating cross-functional response teams. 
• Strong background in risk management frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, or similar). 
• Experience working in regulated industries (e.g., fintech, banking, payments) preferred. 
• Familiarity with cloud-native environments, distributed systems, and modern infrastructure practices.  

Your skills and competencies

• You eagerly embrace change, absorb cross-functional skills, and connect ideas across disciplines to drive fresh thinking and innovation. 
• Ability to initiate, develop, maintain and leverage outstanding relationships to influence a wide network, both inside and outside the company. 
• A trailblazer who steps up, takes charge, and creates meaningful impact—those driven by performance and purpose to lead from the front and make a real difference every day. 
• You thrive in collaboration, embrace inclusion, and bring a genuine curiosity for global cultures—valuing collective success over individual credit. 
• Demonstrate strategic foresight, sound judgement, and the ability to make confident decisions under uncertainty, always working toward the best possible outcomes. 
• You challenge norms, champion innovation, and constantly seek growth—for themselves, their team, and the solutions they build. 
• You are a decisive doer—those who take initiative, follow through with confidence, and ensure results through courageous, hands-on leadership. 
• We value optimism, agility, and the strength to persevere under pressure—balancing performance with positivity, even in challenging environments. 
• You are driven, proactive individuals who take ownership, face challenges with grit, and consistently push for excellence—not just as participants, but as catalysts for success.