Head, Merchant Services Job in Nigeria - Unified Payment Services Limited

 Unified Payment Services Limited is a group of companies with services including Financial Technology, Banking, Payment Schemes, Digital Commerce, Value Added Services, Payment Solutions, and Software Solutions.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:



Job Title: Head, Merchant Services

Location: Victoria Island, Lagos
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Objective

  • As the Head, Merchant Services, you will lead cross-functional teams and collaborate with technology, product, and compliance units to ensure a seamless and value-driven merchant experience while advancing the company’s market positioning as a leading fintech provider of payment and commerce solutions.

  • The ideal candidate will be responsible for driving the vision, strategy, operations, and growth of our merchant acquiring and servicing business.

  • This includes expanding merchant acquisition, enhancing onboarding and retention processes, and optimizing product offerings across retail, SME, and enterprise segments.

Duties & Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Planning:

  • Define and execute the department’s short and long-term strategies to drive merchant acquisition, activation, and revenue growth.

  • Develop strategic partnerships with key players in retail, hospitality, e-commerce, logistics, and other high-volume transaction sectors.

  • Expand the merchant base through direct sales, channel partnerships, aggregators, and digital acquisition tools.

Business Development & Client Engagement:

  • Ensure consistent delivery of high-quality service and support to existing merchants.

Operations & Performance Management:

  • Collaborate with product and engineering teams to tailor payment solutions (POS, online payments, QR, SoftPOS, etc.) that meet diverse merchant needs.

Team Leadership & Development:

  • Build and lead a high-performing Merchant Services team, including sales, account management, support, and field operations.

  • Set performance targets and KPIs, manage departmental budgets, and provide coaching for team development.

Regulatory & Risk Compliance:

  • Ensure adherence to regulatory, legal, and internal compliance standards across merchant onboarding and transaction processes. Oversee due diligence processes in line with KYC, AML, and CBN guidelines

Requirements
Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, Economics, or a related field (MBA or advanced degree is a plus).

Experience:

  • Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in fintech, banking, or payments—with at least 3 years in a senior or departmental leadership role. Post NYSC experience.

Key Competency Requirements:
Knowledge/Experience:

  • Demonstrated success in merchant acquisition, channel development, or payment processing strategy.

  • Strong understanding of POS, online payments, settlement processes, and merchant APIs.

  • Proven ability to drive commercial performance and manage complex stakeholder relationships.

  • Excellent leadership, communication, and negotiation skills.

  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce), and reporting/analytics tools.

  • Prior work experience with a PSP, acquiring bank, aggregator, or digital payments platform.

  • Familiarity with Nigerian merchant ecosystem (SMEs, retail, e-commerce).

  • Experience with emerging payment technologies such as SoftPOS, QR payments, tap-to-pay, etc.

Application Closing Date
30th September, 2025

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV to: abigail.olupese@up-ng.com using the Job Title as the subject of the email.