Head, Merchant Services at Unified Payment Services Limited

Unified Payment Services Limited is a group of companies with services including Financial Technology, Banking, Payment Schemes, Digital Commerce, Value Added Services, Payment Solutions, and Software Solutions.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Head, Merchant Services

Location: Victoria Island, Lagos
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Summary

• As the Head, Merchant Services, you will lead cross-functional teams and collaborate with technology, product, and compliance units to ensure a seamless and value-driven merchant experience while advancing the company’s market positioning as a leading fintech provider of payment and commerce solutions.
• The ideal candidate will be responsible for driving the vision, strategy, operations, and growth of our merchant acquiring and servicing business.
• This includes expanding merchant acquisition, enhancing onboarding and retention processes, and optimizing product offerings across retail, SME, and enterprise segments.

Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Business Growth:

• Define and execute the department’s short and long-term strategies to drive merchant acquisition, activation, and revenue growth.
• Develop strategic partnerships with key players in retail, hospitality, e-commerce, logistics, and other high-volume transaction sectors.
• Expand the merchant base through direct sales, channel partnerships, aggregators, and digital acquisition tools.
• Monitor and analyze market trends, competitive positioning, and customer needs to inform strategic decisions.

Merchant Relationship Management:

• Ensure consistent delivery of high-quality service and support to existing merchants.
• Oversee lifecycle management of merchants—from onboarding to engagement, retention, and upselling.
• Design and implement merchant loyalty and feedback programs to improve satisfaction and product usage.

Operational Excellence:

• Collaborate with product and engineering teams to tailor payment solutions (POS, online payments, QR, SoftPOS, etc.) that meet diverse merchant needs.
• Drive process automation and digitization of merchant onboarding and transaction reconciliation.
• Ensure seamless integration and uptime of merchant platforms and touchpoints.

Team Management:

• Build and lead a high-performing Merchant Services team, including sales, account management, support, and field operations.
• Set performance targets and KPIs, manage departmental budgets, and provide coaching for team development.

Compliance & Risk:

• Ensure adherence to regulatory, legal, and internal compliance standards across merchant onboarding and transaction processes.
• Oversee due diligence processes in line with KYC, AML, and CBN guidelines.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Develop dashboards and regular reports on merchant activity, transaction volumes, revenue performance, and team effectiveness.
• Present insights and recommendations to executive leadership to guide business decisions.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, Economics, or a related field (MBA or advanced degree is a plus).
• 7–12 years of relevant experience in fintech, banking, or payments—with at least 3 years in a senior or departmental leadership role. Post NYSC experience.

Knowledge / Experience:

• Demonstrated success in merchant acquisition, channel development, or payment processing strategy.
• Strong understanding of POS, online payments, settlement processes, and merchant APIs.
• Proven ability to drive commercial performance and manage complex stakeholder relationships.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce), and reporting/analytics tools.
• Prior work experience with a PSP, acquiring bank, aggregator, or digital payments platform.
• Familiarity with Nigerian merchant ecosystem (SMEs, retail, e-commerce).
• Experience with emerging payment technologies such as SoftPOS, QR payments, tap-to-pay, etc.

Skill / Competencies:

• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Excellent written/oral communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Organizational skills.
• Confident negotiator and ability to close the right type of business deals at the highest level.

Functionally and administratively reports to:

• Functionally reports to Group Head, Merchant Services

Application Closing Date
31st July, 2025.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV & Cover Letter to: abigail.olupese@up-ng.com using the Job Title as the subject of the email.