Lead, Real-Time Payment at Interswitch

About the Job

• To lead, manage, and optimise the technical support and operations for the centralised Infrastructure for Real-time Payment in Nigeria and across Africa, which serves as the backbone for connectivity, interoperability, and data exchange for real-time payments.
• To provide leadership and Operational Management capacity for the core infrastructure, supporting real-time payments as well as other supporting infrastructure, systems, and platforms that enable Systegra to deliver Real-time payment strategy and business objectives effectively.
• To provide leadership and mentoring to a team of implementation and technical support engineers, ensuring the efficient operation of managed services systems and platforms.
• Maintaining a high level of support for both internal teams and external clients for the CI-Hub operations team meeting the highest standards for performance, security, and compliance.

Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Governance:

• Define the vision, strategy, and operating model for CI-Hub to align with the organisation’s real-time payment transformation roadmap.
• Establish governance frameworks, service-level agreements (SLAs), and compliance standards for CI-Hub operations.
• Drive adoption of best practices, industry standards, and regulatory compliance across all integration services.
• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of engineers and technical professionals in Nigeria and other IOCs responsible for real-time payment operations.
• Foster a collaborative and innovative team environment.
• Oversee recruitment, training, and development of team members.

Operational Management:

• Oversee daily operations of CI-Hub, ensuring uptime, reliability, and security of all connected systems.
• Develop and implement processes for monitoring, incident management, change management, and problem resolution.
• Ensure scalability and performance of the platform and infrastructure to support growing business and transaction volumes.
• Manage vendor relationships, third-party APIs, and system integrators supporting CI-Hub.

Technology & Innovation:

• Lead the design, deployment, and continuous improvement of integration solutions (APIs, middleware, microservices, messaging queues, data pipelines, etc.).
• Champion automation, AI/ML, and analytics-driven enhancements to improve hub efficiency.
• Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies to strengthen interoperability, resilience, and performance.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Act as the primary liaison between business units, technology teams, and external partners leveraging the hub.
• Ensure alignment of hub capabilities with business needs, product launches, and client integrations.
• Provide transparency through performance dashboards, operational reports, and stakeholder reviews.

Technical Support and Escalation Management:

• Supervise CI-Hub operations technical team to ensure timely and effective resolution of technical issues.
• Lead development and implementation of standard processes to ensure best practices in customer support.
• Analyse trends in customer support data to identify areas for improvement.

Technology Infrastructure and Service Management:

• Stay updated on trends and technologies in real-time payments within the financial services industry.
• Participate in planning and implementation of new technology initiatives across core functions.
• Monitor performance of technical infrastructure and services, addressing potential issues using monitoring tools.
• Ensure compliance with relevant security standards and regulatory requirements.
• Manage relationships with OEMs, service providers, and internal/external customers.

System Maintenance and Optimisation:

• Manage maintenance and optimisation of CI-Hub and other real-time payment infrastructures within Interswitch, IOC, and customer sites.
• Identify and resolve system bottlenecks or inefficiencies in Systegra’s real-time payment technology infrastructure.
• Conduct regular assessments of system performance and recommend improvements.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Management:

• Collaborate with departments such as EFT Engineers, Core Tech, Project Management, Product Development, Back-office Operations, and QA to achieve Systegra's objectives.
• Communicate technical information effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Work with product management teams to incorporate new features into software solutions, ensuring alignment between product development and engineering.

Innovation and Continuous Improvement:

• Foster a culture of innovation within the real-time payment operations team.
• Lead initiatives to continuously improve real-time payment systems and processes.

Risk Management:

• Identify potential risks in technology infrastructure and implement mitigation measures.
• Establish and maintain disaster recovery plans to ensure business continuity.
• Ensure compliance with data protection, cybersecurity, and industry regulations (e.g., PCI-DSS, GDPR, NDPR).

Vendor Management:

• Manage relationships with external vendors and partners to ensure procurement of high-quality technical products and services.
• Evaluate and select appropriate vendors for technical support tools and services.

Continuous Improvement:

• Implement initiatives to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of technical support and engineering processes.

Team Leadership and Management:

• Develop and implement effective teamwork and performance management measures.
• Motivate and mentor team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Delegate tasks effectively and ensure efficient resolution of customer issues.
• Manage team budgets and resources.

Education / Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or related field.
• Professional certifications in IT Service Management, Integration, Cloud, or Security (e.g., ITIL, TOGAF, PMP, AWS/Azure, CISSP) are a plus.
• 7–10 years of Enterprise Engineering/Technical Support experience, preferably in Financial Services, FinTech, Telecommunications, or Service Provider companies.
• Proven track record in financial services, fintech, payments, or telecoms industry preferred.
• Experience with APIs, middleware, cloud-native architecture, data integration, and regulatory compliance.