Senior Manager: Payment Operations

About Cellulant

Cellulant is a pioneering B2B payments technology company based in Africa that powers payment processing for thousands of businesses. Through a single, simple connection, our payment platform - Tingg - enables businesses to disburse funds and manage their offline or online collections while allowing their customers to pay via mobile money, local and international cards or direct bank payments.

With local acquisition in over 30 markets and supporting 300+ payment methods, Cellulant processes over 240 million transactions annually for market leaders in various sectors such as Airlines, Telecoms, E-commerce, Ride-Hailing, Retail and Remittances.

Our Story:

Since our founding in 2003, Cellulant has evolved from a digital content provider into a leading payments platform with a presence in 35 African countries. For more than 20 years, we've built a robust network that integrates multiple payment methods, addressing the unique challenges of Africa’s diverse payment landscape.

We began selling ringtones as a digital content business and quickly realised the need for a more streamlined way to manage payments. This realisation led us to develop a platform that initially allowed customers to check their bank balances and eventually evolved into a comprehensive payment solution. Our journey has seen us partner with more than 1000 businesses, including some of the largest banks and mobile money providers on the continent.

Throughout the years, we've continuously adapted and grown, leveraging our experiences to simplify payments for businesses and consumers alike. Today, Cellulant powers online and offline payment processing, allowing businesses to collect payments, send payouts, and accelerate business growth. We’re the payment fabric that makes interoperability possible and stitches Africa together for the global economy.

Our Vision:

To create a connected world where businesses move money as easily as they share ideas.

Read more about us and our leadership team .

Role Overview:
The Senior Manager – Payment Operations plays a critical leadership role in the Service Delivery function at Cellulant, responsible for ensuring seamless and resilient financial operations across transaction reconciliation, dispute management, and float oversight. By embedding a customer-first mindset and leading with data, the Senior Manager will drive automation, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder trust while enhancing internal capability maturity and scalability across the payment lifecycle contributing to Cellulant’s vision of balancing operational efficiency with exceptional service quality, while fostering continuous improvement and innovation in payment operations. The Senior Manager will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure compliance, optimise payment flow efficiency, and proactively resolve issues, always focusing on Cellulant’s core values of efficiency, agility, and excellence.

Key Responsibilities:

1. End-to-End Payment Operations Ownership:

• Lead accurate, timely reconciliation and settlement across platforms and payment method partners.
• Manage the full dispute lifecycle (chargebacks, reversals, refunds), ensuring rapid resolution and adherence to our SLAs and compliance requirements.
• Oversee real-time float monitoring and optimization, ensuring liquidity and minimizing operational risk.

2. Functional Specialisation & Operational Excellence:

• Build specialized sub-teams focused on reconciliation, disputes, and float management.
• Develop SOPs, internal controls, and automated workflows, aiming for audit readiness and global standards (e.g., PCI DSS).
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement through feedback loops, retrospectives, and innovation sprints.

3. Role Clarity, Accountability & Team Development

• Define clear team roles and escalation paths to enable faster decision-making and accountability.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for transaction reconciliation, dispute management and float management issues.
• Lead performance management, talent development, and documentation efforts to scale internal capability.

4. Sector & Regional Adaptation

• Adapt workflows within payment operations to merchant segments and regional regulatory contexts.
• Partner with compliance to pre-emptively address local risks and policy shifts delivering tailored solutions to exceed customer expectations

5. Customer-Centricity & Success Enablement:

• Ensure that payment operations are seamless and invisible to the customer, preventing payment disruptions, failed settlements, or refund delays, which supports Cellulant's goal of delivering excellence in every interaction.
• Work closely with Customer Success and Merchant Operations teams to proactively identify and resolve merchant pain points, thereby improving customer satisfaction and enhancing business success.

6. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Finance, Tech, Product, Compliance, and Payment Method Partners to improve reliability, alignment, and readiness aligning with Cellulant’s mission to leverage data and technology for continuous improvement.
• Represent Payment Operations in audits, regulatory reviews, strategic planning inititatives , and incident war rooms ensuring we remain compliance and efficient.

7. Data-Driven Monitoring & Continuous Improvement:

• Define and monitor key operational metrics (e.g., settlement TAT, dispute resolution time, float utilisation) to assess performance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Leverage analytics and reporting to drive continuous improvement, automation, and risk mitigation, contributing to a high-performance culture focused on operational excellence and innovation.
• Partner with the analytics team to build real-time dashboards and monthly reporting frameworks.
• Leverage insights to identify trends, pre-empt risks, and drive continuous optimization.

Skills & Qualifications:

• Experience: 7+ years in payment operations, financial services, fintech, or banking environments, with proven expertise in transaction lifecycle management, payment gateways, chargebacks, reconciliation tools, and digital float tracking.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks and best practices in financial operations, including compliance with standards such as PCI DSS and card network rules.
• Leadership: Proven track record of leading teams, scaling operations, and driving automation to achieve greater operational efficiency and service quality.
• Analytical Skills: Exceptional ability to analyse data and uncover root causes, utilising insights to optimise processes and mitigate risks.
• Communication: Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, particularly with banks, PSPs, and internal cross-functional teams.

Preferred Attributes:

• Familiarity with core banking systems, reconciliation platforms, and ledger technologies.
• Experience in high-volume transaction environments (e.g., e-commerce, B2B payments, or digital wallets).
• Exposure to card networks, UPI, RTGS/NEFT/IMPS, and cross-border remittance flows.
• Certifications in Lean, Six Sigma, or other operational efficiency frameworks are a plus.

What Success Looks Like:

• Accurate & Timely Reconciliation: Exceptionally accurate and timely reconciliation processes that ensure seamless payment operations.
• Dispute Management: High success rate in resolving disputes with minimal escalations, contributing to greater merchant trust and satisfaction.
• Optimised Float Utilisation: Efficient and optimised float management across instruments and regions, ensuring liquidity positions are well-managed.
• Merchant Trust & Reliability: A reputation for reliable, high-quality financial operations that contribute to improved merchant trust.
• Continuous Performance Uplift: A proactive, data-led team culture focused on driving continuous performance improvements and operational excellence.
  

Why Work For Us?

At Cellulant, transforming payments in Africa isn't just a job; it is our mission. We believe by simplifying the way people pay and get paid; we are accelerating businesses, opening markets, bridging wealth gaps and connecting Africa to the global economy.

Some exciting things about us...

• We have an Extensive Footprint: We have an office presence in over 10 countries, and our products serve 35 countries across Africa with a global workforce of about 300 employees.
• We believe that innovation is at the Heart of Fintech: Thousands of companies use our technology to deliver seamless payment experiences. Our customers range from various sectors such as Airlines, Telecoms, E-commerce, Ride-Hailing, Retail, to Remittances.
• We Support a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce: We focus on the growth and development of our employees through well-developed, individualised career paths ensuring you reach your full potential in a supportive and delivery-oriented environment.
• We Put our Employees First: We offer market-related compensation, generous personal time off and, markets permitting, medical and life insurance benefits.
• We Seek Collaborative Builders: At Cellulant, we believe that great ideas happen when we come together. We, therefore, nurture a collaborative work environment that challenges, engages and empowers each person to contribute to the growth and success of the business.
• We Solve for Africa’s Digital Economy: We’re solving payment challenges on the continent to create opportunities and accelerate economic growth for all of Africa.