Head of Merchant Operations

Key Responsibilities

Functional Leadership

Lead the Merchant Onboarding & Activation and Merchant Production Operations teams, covering go-live readiness, daily transaction monitoring, and payouts.

Build and scale standardized onboarding processes across markets to ensure seamless merchant experiences from integration to activation.

Oversee daily production support for live merchants — ensuring service reliability, real-time responsiveness to issues, and proactive performance monitoring.

Operational Excellence & Automation

Own payment reconciliation, settlement, and float management processes across all payment rails (mobile money, bank transfers, card schemes).

Drive automation and process optimization across onboarding, reconciliation, and payout functions.

Ensure accurate and timely settlements for merchant accounts, including USD payouts aggregated across multiple local currencies.

Performance, Risk & Controls

Set and track performance KPIs (e.g., onboarding turnaround time, payout SLA adherence, reconciliation success rate, merchant NPS).

Establish operational controls to manage risk, including RCSAs, segregation of duties, and audit readiness.

Act as the first line of defense for risk — ensuring all operational activities meet compliance and regulatory expectations.

Collaboration & Integration

Work cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Treasury, Compliance, and Customer Success to integrate operational readiness into new product launches and platform changes.

Champion the role of Merchant Operations internally — ensuring the function is recognized as a strategic enabler of growth and customer satisfaction.

Governance & SLA Management

Manage service-level agreements (SLAs) with internal teams and third-party partners, ensuring transparency, accountability, and performance delivery.

Support internal and regulatory audits by maintaining full compliance documentation and process integrity.

Key Success Measures

Merchant onboarding turnaround time (TAT)

Merchant satisfaction score (NPS/CSAT)

% SLA adherence for payouts and reconciliations

% of processes automated vs. manual

Number of issues resolved within defined resolution timeframes

First pass reconciliation accuracy

Operational audit ratings

Must-Have Experience

7–10 years leading high-performing operational teams in a fintech, payments company, or bank.

Demonstrated success in scaling operational processes, including onboarding, payouts, reconciliation, and partner support.

Hands-on experience operating in high-growth, fast-changing environments with ambiguity and complexity.

Deep understanding of merchant lifecycle operations, including KYC, transaction flows, and settlements.

Industries:Financial Services

Function: Others