IT Control Officer (Processing & Switching Control) at Pishon and Brooks Advisory Services

Job Objectives

• The Processing & Switching Control Officer will lead the selection and development of control activities that contribute to the mitigation of risks to acceptable levels within management approved risk appetite regarding Issuing Operations, Card Processing / Switching, Bespoke Processing Operations, and Clearing & Settlement Technical Support activities. Development of general control activities over technology to support the achievement of organizational objectives.
• Provide independent control oversight over complex, high-value, and non-standard financial transactions and bespoke processing initiatives by reviewing technical implementations (including Payattitude), system integrations, and shared infrastructure solutions to ensure regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, operational efficiency, and cost-effective support for strategic clients, enterprise partnerships, and new business initiatives.
• Deployment of control activities through policies that establish expected behavior and responses and procedures that put policies into action.
  The role is critical in minimizing late/incomplete presentment, mismatch of clients’ information, technology-related and operational risks while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, data privacy laws, and industry best practices.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop and implement processing & switching control strategies aligned with organizational goals.
• Ensure effective preparation, processing, and governance of EMV data, PCI-DSS, card personalization, fulfillment, and lifecycle management activities.
• Perform control reviews to confirm that all issuing processes are executed accurately and within agreed SLAs and promptly escalate deviations or control breaches.
• Evaluate the design and operating effectiveness of controls ensuring compliance with payment scheme rules (e.g., Visa Inc., Mastercard), regulatory obligations, and internal policies, and follow up on remediation of identified gaps.
• Provide independent assurance over the processing, validation, and integrity of transaction and settlement files across local and international payment channels (ATM, POS, MPGS, and card schemes), by reviewing system performance, file-processing infrastructure, and integration points, and supporting dispute management through effective system alignment and data accuracy.
• Provide independent control oversight over the accurate and timely updating of settled transactions within the Dispute Management System (DMS) and Inquiry Portal, ensuring effective dispute and chargeback processing through validated file handling, system integrity, and robust reconciliation controls to prevent financial exposure.
• Review the timely resolutions of issues escalated to the Technology teams to resolve system issues, implement enhancements, and improve automation within clearing and settlement processes.
• Review the end-to-end operations of card processing and transaction switching platforms.
• Review the high system availability and uptime of switching infrastructure in line with agreed SLAs.
• Provide independent control oversight to ensure secure, efficient, and seamless card transaction processing across all channels by reviewing compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements, and monitoring switching infrastructure availability, transaction performance, and service reliability.
• Provide independent control oversight over bespoke transaction solutions by reviewing business analysis, user and operations documentation, and the end-to-end lifecycle of complex transactions—including initiation, validation, authorization, settlement, reconciliation, and reporting—while ensuring appropriate controls over high-value corporate payments, bulk and batch processing, escrow arrangements, partner-specific integrations, and manual exception handling
• Establish, review, and maintain robust operational control frameworks to mitigate processing, fraud, data integrity, and transaction risks, while monitoring key risk indicators (KRIs), identifying trends or control breaches, and ensuring timely escalation and implementation of corrective actions.
• Execution of quality assurance processes (including user acceptance testing, change management controls and approvals) over the deployment of new products/ information technology systems.
• Enforce cybersecurity policies, standards, and procedures.
• Oversee incidents management and root cause analysis for operational failures.
• Collaborate with IT teams to embed preventive controls into applications and platforms.
• Coordinating the conduct of forensic investigations into technology related frauds using specialized tools and techniques such as PL/SQL queries, ACL, operating system logs, SOC, DAM, Database Logs and Anti-fraud systems.
• Support the implementation of governance policies, procedures, and frameworks across business units.
• Conduct regular reviews to ensure processes are aligned with the company’s governance standards and ethical expectations
• Perform control testing, risk assessments, and walkthroughs to identify control gaps in operational and support processes.
• Recommend and track remediation of control deficiencies.
• Prepare regular control review reports with actionable recommendations and track implementation.
• Document policies, procedures, and standard operating manuals as part of the control environment.
• Assist in the preparation of governance-related reports for senior management, regulators, and auditors.
• Serve as a point of contact for audit exercises (internal, external, and regulatory).
• Support audit readiness and facilitate timely resolution of audit findings.
• Monitor regulatory changes and assist in updating control frameworks accordingly.
• Collaborate with department heads to ensure ownership and awareness of governance and control responsibilities to jointly design and enforce preventive controls to mitigate fraud, cyber threats, and unusual incidents.
• Conduct periodic audits and risk assessments of payment platforms.
• Assist in organizing training sessions and awareness programs on governance, compliance, and ethical practices.

Requirements
Education:

• Minimum of BSc in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related fields.
• Master’s degree or MBA is an added advantage.
• Professional certifications such as: CISA, CISM, CRISC, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, or COBIT and ACA.
• Additional qualifications in operations, process improvement, or audit (e.g., Lean Six Sigma, CIA) are an advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum of 6 years of relevant IT audit, operational risk, or control experience (IT audit or IT internal control), with at least 2 years in assurance team lead role in payments industry or digital-first organization.
• Strong knowledge of digital payment systems, APIs, cloud infrastructure, and regulatory tech.
• Proven experience working with regulators (CBN, NDIC, NCC) and responding to audits (internal and external).

Skill / Competencies:

• Strong understanding of internal control and risk management frameworks (e.g., COSO, COBIT).
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong communication and report-writing skills.
• Use of core banking application, Core Business Processes, Data Gathering and Analysis
• Proficiency in data analytics and audit technologies, including demonstrated use of ACL, IDEA, Power BI, and SQL