Head: Card Schemes Partnerships

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

To manage the card scheme operating model on behalf of Absa – all contractual, commercial, change, compliance and new capability requirements for existing and new payment schemes.

Influence, guide and direct the card payment schemes and key industry forums on strategic and operational decisions (material opportunities, issues & risks).

To manage and expropriate the maintenance of proper governance and control standards (including intra & interbank) across the Absa payment value chain (auth, clearing & settlement) in order to deliver material value to Absa BU clusters and our end customers.

As a centre of excellence, establish an overall health position of Absa Payment partnerships albeit PSO, TPPP’s, ISO’s, Financial Services companies (eg. WFS) and bank sponsorships with strong alignment to Absa BU Product clusters.

Develop and maintain the overarching payment partnership framework and guiding principles to ultimately shape / inform go / no go payment partnerships decisions in close collaboration with BU product areas.

Develop, manage and maintain the overall payment partnership plan across multiple payment rails that seeks to extract value from strategic partnerships.

Job Description

Accountability: Relationship Management and Industry representation

• Maintain strong relationships with all senior levels within PSO’s (Visa, MasterCard & BSA) is imperative, as these relationships will frequently be stress tested in various ways (Commercial, Contractual, Operational, Compliance, Projects / BoW etc.).
• Manage & negotiate with PSO’s when appropriate to avoid non-compliance penalties and address any non- compliance issues to ensure actions taken to remedy non-compliance.
• Maintain the relationship and Absa presence on key industry forums (e.g. PASA) in order to influence and provide guidance on key strategic issues.
• Maintaining the health of Absa / PSO relationship and inform /Influence policy formulation on key strategic issues within Visa, MasterCard & BSA.
• Regular performance engagements, reporting and assessments.
• Responsible for the delivery of comprehensive briefings to Senior Executives who represent Absa on external boards and committees
• Contribute and participate in industry forums created for the purpose of maintaining the integrity of payment transactions across the national payment system.
• Facilitate sessions between Product, Group Information Services (GIS) teams, Group Information Technology (IT), Group Finance teams, Product Control and Risk Management (IRM) teams in order to maintain and track the integrity of payment and settlement transactions across the value chain.
• Active monitoring and guidance of the TPPP’s, ISO & Payment Sponsorships, although ownership resides with the BU Product areas (EB, RB, CIB).
  
  

Accountability: Reporting, Analytics and Insights

• Maintain and enhance the exception reporting process created for the maintenance and tracking of payment and settlement transaction performance and integrity.
• Ensure that team identify all compliance programs that are mandatory and drive and monitor levels of compliancy.
• Conduct detailed analysis of total business information including transactional, pricing and operating system performance.
• Translate and channel exception reporting findings to the appropriate value chain function and track the remediation of issues.
• Maintain the business rule repository, testing environment and MI production pertaining to the area.
• Recommend changes to the way of work in accordance with best practice in the Card industry.
• Contribute to the overall Risk management strategy across the Card payment value chain.
• Ensure that production systems are optimised through strategic and tactical influence from the payment and settlement analytical environment.
  
  

Accountability: Financial Management

• Ensure that all gaps are identified and closed when it comes to Revenue and other leakages.
• Manage direct and indirect costs of scheme membership by reducing fees and seeking process enhancements with strong alignment to Product Control environment.
• Maintain the balancing process between Business, IT and Finance in order to optimise the revenue generated from payment and settlement of transactions.
• Contribute to the optimisation of the Absa Card Payment strategy, business planning processes and BoW deliverables.
  
  

Accountability: People Management

• Manage and direct the Payment Partnership team (Scheme Management and Payment partnerships team) activities.
• Ensure team is optimally resourced to deliver annual objectives
• Manage the performance and development of team members
  
  

Education

Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised