Chief Executive Officer

What You Will Do

BankservAfrica form part of the South African National Payments System and are a trusted partner of the financial industry, including banking institutions, and therefore require that employees adhere to unwavering standards of honesty and transparency in performing their duties.

PURPOSE

As Chief Executive Officer (CEO) the incumbent will be the highest-ranking executive in BankservAfrica, accountable to the board and shareholders of BankservAfrica.

You will engage with the following stakeholders:

• Shareholders
• Regulators (PASA, SARB, Treasury)
• Service Providers
• Business Leadership

Your key responsibilities include:

Strategy

The incumbent will be accountable for enhancing, positioning, and implementing BankservAfricas Corporate Horizon Strategy which is centered on becoming the payments highway of Africa through:

• Being the trusted and preferred supplier of electronic payment and information switching services measured by reliability, efficiency, and effectiveness
• Modernizing the South African payments infrastructure to be more flexible, enabling a hyperconnected digital economy
• Expanding into Africa, facilitating cross-border payments in at least three other African countries

Leadership

The incumbent will be responsible for leading, guiding, directing, and evaluating the work of other executive leaders:

• Ensuring that the strategic direction filters down through the organization
• Evaluating the success of the organization in reaching its goals through leadership
• Championing the culture and DNA of the organization
• Ensuring the relevant leadership expertise are sourced, developed, and retained
• Empowering and holding leaders accountable through defined mandates, reward, recognition, performance development and coaching

Commerce

BankservAfrica is a non-profit organization. To ensure sustainability and success the financial aspects of the business will focus on:

• Meeting revenue goals
• Managing costs
• Creating opportunities for growth and return on investment
• Reducing risk and complexity in the National Payments System
• Serving the primary customers and shareholders, South Africas banks with payment clearing services (card, batch, real-time, account verification) and business enhancement services (managed network services, enterprise content management)

Operations

The incumbent will oversee the complete operation of BankservAfrica in accordance with the direction established in the strategic plans:

• Guiding and approving the products and services
• Guiding and approving the operating model. Currently the business is structured across 4 primary grids through a matrix structure:
• Strategic Portfolios the core purpose is defined, presented, and delivered through 5 portfolios
• Technology and Operations supports the strategic portfolios to deliver what is required by the customer and the product teams
• Support Services ensure products and services are delivered in a governed and compliant manner
• Legal Services provides legal support for the operations and guides the business on regulations in the payments industry
• Guiding and approving the resources required including systems, infrastructure, tools, and skills
• Ensuring BankservAfrica is in compliance with regulations and laws

Stakeholder Management

The incumbent will be required to navigate a complex system of stakeholders to enable BankservAfricas success:

• Collaborating with in communities of members and users to create shared platforms that benefit everyone. Driving alignment and collaboration to achieve business results
• Representing the organization for civic and professional association responsibilities and activities in the local community, the country and at international level
• Representing the organization at industry-related events or associations that will enhance the CEO's leadership skills, the organization's reputation, and influence

Qualifications / Knowledge

• Education may vary, Bachelors degree or masters degree in a relevant discipline or MBA preferable
• Extensive experience in senior leadership roles
• Demonstrated ability to build effective leadership teams that achieve sustainable business results
• Demonstrated ability to implement strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping people to adapt to change
• Demonstrated ability to implement effective business strategies within a broader business ecosystem - social, economic, and regulatory
• Understanding of the payments industry - the institutions, instruments, procedures, standards and technologies
• Demonstrated ability to lead a business which is dependent on the constant enhancement, stability and reliability of its technological infrastructure
• Experience with corporate governance
• Credible expert with strong executive presence
• Proven ability to build consensus and relationships across multiple stakeholders such as shareholders, clients, regulators and service providers
• A diplomatic ambassador.

Experience

• 10+ years experience in Senior Leadership
• 3 years board engagement experience
• Minimum 10 years experience in related field
• Experience in leading businesses with an awareness of public interest is preferable
• Experience in expanding operations on the African continent is preferable