Head of Merchant Operations at Cellulant Nigeria Limited

Cellulant is Africa’s no.1 company in the payments & transfers category - FIntech Awards 2016. We are a PPISP (Payment Platform Infrastructure Service Provider) regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and insured by Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Head of Merchant Operations

Location: Lagos
Employment Type: Full-time
Reports to: Vice President, Business Operations

Job Summary

• As Head of Merchant Operations, you will lead a core function responsible for the end-to-end operational experience of Cellulant's merchant customers — from onboarding and activation to daily transaction processing, payouts, and reconciliation.
• You will oversee a team that ensures operational excellence in how merchants are brought onto the platform and how they are supported throughout their lifecycle. 
• This role sits at the intersection of operations, product, compliance, and customer success, with a strong mandate to scale and automate mission-critical processes that directly impact our merchants' experience and trust in Cellulant.

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.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Operations Management, or a related field.
• Relevant professional certifications in payments, operations, or financial risk (e.g., CPP, CTP, Lean Six Sigma) are a strong plus.
• MBA or equivalent advanced degree is desirable but not mandatory.
• 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.

Strongly Preferred:

• Experience working with payment service providers, aggregators, or banking partners across Africa.
• Background in managing first-line operational risk and regulatory compliance.
• Familiarity with automation tools and process mapping frameworks (e.g., Lean Six Sigma)
• Ability to collaborate deeply with technical teams on system changes, integrations, and platform enhancements.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online