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Role Purpose:

As part of its broader Financial Services strategy, Vodacom Financial Services (VFS) launched its merchant acquiring business and has already established a meaningful presence in the market.


VFS has developed a comprehensive set of acquiring solutions. This includes its own Android POS Solution as well as a broad range of Online Payments processing capabilities allowing it to offer merchants a full-scale acquiring solution across physical and digital channels in a single acquiring relationship. The role will play a pivotal role in incorporating the broader VFS products and services into a single Enterprise proposition for merchants.


The Executive Head of Acquiring leads all the Product, Commercial and Operational areas of the business. The role will ensure that VFS delivers the most attractive product design benchmarked against industry best practices for user experience, both local and international. The role will work closely with supporting areas of the business such as IT and Risk & Compliance to ensure that the business to ensure that strategic business objectives are delivered and that VFS becomes a significant participant in the South African acquiring landscape.

Your responsibilities will include:

• End to end commercial accountability for performance of the Merchant Acquiring business
• Lead the Product team in conceptualisation and development of products that deliver valuable and unique customer propositions.
• Overseeing the development of all relevant documentation, providing inputs and evaluation for financial business cases, defining business rules and working with customer experience teams to define and refine existing and new customer journeys
• Drive business growth by implementing merchant retention strategies ensuring the highest rates of merchant activity rates across the acquiring book, and in so doing optimising the cost of merchant acquisition
• Ensure that the team regularly reviews launched products to ensure the performance is in line with initial assumptions and implement corrective measures if needed and also look at how to improve/enhance products
• Development and attainment of operational KPI’s based on industry best practices, ensuring that VFS delivers the highest standards of customer care in the industry
• The full life cycle of Hardware procurement including the requisite terminal software and management components required to support the acquiring business in the most efficient and profitable manner
• Monthly business performance presentations for an audience consisting of managing executives
• Recruitment of the correct Product skills into the team and on-going management of performance of each team member

Leadership and teamwork

• Provide inspirational leadership and coaching across the VFS Acquiring team to deliver on commercial outcomes
• Create a high level of employee engagement to deliver best in class acquiring payments solutions
• Develop individuals within the team with real-time coaching, feedback and timely career and succession planning, ensuring that each individual has a documented personal development plan

The ideal candidate for this role will have:

Must have technical/professional qualifications:

• 3-year Business-related Degree. Post-graduate management qualification (i.e.; MBA) is desirable
• Minimum of 10 years experience in Payments Acquiring industry
• Leadership/Management/Supervisory experience (essential)
• Creating strategic plans to win market share from competitors

Core competencies, knowledge, and experience

• Successful track record of product development in the acquiring payments industry
• Detail knowledge of acquiring industry with experience in product development and operational management or oversight
• Goal-focused and energetic in delivery with tracked record in strong execution
• Resource planning and management skills
• Ability to build strong relationships and credibility with multiple levels both internally and externally.
• Attention to detail and outstanding organisational skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and relationship management, both within and outside the organisation.
• Commercial focused with a clear understanding of technical ramifications of execution.

Closing date for Applications: 04 October 2024.

The base location for this role is Vodacom Midrand Campus.

The company's approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.
Vodacom is committed to an organisational culture that recognises, appreciates and values diversity & inclusion.