Head of Merchant Experience at Ozow

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

04 May, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

03 Feb, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Merchant Experience, Customer Support, Integrations, External Communications, Leadership, Collaboration, Data Analysis, Performance Management, Continuous Improvement, Operational Delivery, Team Building, Strategic Foresight, Decision Making, Innovation, Problem Solving, Relationship Management

Industry

Financial Services

Description

Meet Ozow Ozow is a leading fintech company that's redefining digital payments in South Africa and beyond. We're dedicated to making payments more accessible, secure, and convenient for both businesses and consumers. As a fast-growing player in the financial technology sector, Ozow fosters a culture of innovation, diversity, and inclusivity. We believe in pushing the boundaries of what's possible and are committed to making a positive impact on the world through our payment solutions. More about this Ozow fantastic position The Head of Merchant Experience is a senior leadership role responsible for shaping and owning how merchants experience Ozow across multiple touch points. Ozow’s success depends on more than the strength of its platform - it depends on the quality, consistency and the level of trust the merchants have when working with us. This role exists to ensure merchant experience is treated as a core differentiator and a key contributor to long-term commercial success. Your leadership will be across key merchant-facing functions including Customer Support, Integrations and external communications, working closely with Commercial, Product, Technology and Operations to ensure that merchant needs and expectations are reflected in how Ozow operates, and scales our products. This is a high-impact role for a leader who understands that exceptional experience is not just about service, but about enabling merchants to succeed. Your role and responsibilities Merchant Experience & Lifecycle Ownership Own the full merchant lifecycle, including integrations, merchant and customer support, communications and ongoing experience optimisation Oversight of all external merchant communication Assess, and where appropriate, redesign the merchant interaction model to be proactive, scalable and experience-led Act as the internal voice of the merchant, including feedback collection, insight generation, trend analysis, and structured input into Product and Technology prioritisation, ensuring decisions are grounded in merchant impact and experience Customer Service Lead the transition from operations to a merchant experience function, embedding new ways of thinking, measuring and delivering value Define and implement service frameworks, SLAs and experience standards across all merchant touchpoints in the business. Drive continuous improvement across people, process and tooling, ensuring a cohesive golden thread across departments. Oversee the merchant facing requirement of incident process management, working cross departmentally to design and implement appropriate frameworks. Leadership, People & Quality Build, lead and scale high-performing merchant-facing teams across all channels. Set clear performance expectations and drive excellence through coaching, QA frameworks and feedback loops Establish strong metrics and reporting to measure experience quality, efficiency and outcomes Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner closely with Onboarding, Product, Commercial, Engineering, Marketing, Risk and Compliance to ensure a seamless merchant experience Influence prioritisation through data, merchant insights and operational learnings Champion self-service, automation and smarter support models where appropriate You are an ideal candidate if you have 10+ years’ experience leading merchant, partner or B2B experience functions in high-growth or scale-up environments, ideally within fintech, payments, SaaS or platform-based businesses Demonstrable experience owning and shaping merchant experience outcomes, not just operational delivery - including accountability for quality, trust and long-term relationships A background working with external facing partners or merchants where experience quality directly impacted commercial outcomes such as retention, expansion or revenue protection Proven experience building and scaling merchant-facing operating models across multiple touchpoints, beyond traditional support environments Strong people leadership experience, including leading and guiding senior managers and multi-disciplinary teams across technical, operational and commercial interfaces Comfort operating at executive level, influencing priorities and trade-offs across Commercial, Product and Technology functions A data-informed approach to experience leadership, with the ability to translate insight into meaningful improvements and decisions Tertiary qualification in IT, Business or a related field Your skills and competencies You eagerly embrace change, absorb cross-functional skills, and connect ideas across disciplines to drive fresh thinking and innovation. Ability to initiate, develop, maintain and leverage outstanding relationships to influence a wide network, both inside and outside the company. A trailblazer who steps up, takes charge, and creates meaningful impact—those driven by performance and purpose to lead from the front and make a real difference every day. You thrive in collaboration, embrace inclusion, and bring a genuine curiosity for global cultures—valuing collective success over individual credit. Demonstrate strategic foresight, sound judgement, and the ability to make confident decisions under uncertainty, always working toward the best possible outcomes. You challenge norms, champion innovation, and constantly seek growth—for themselves, their team, and the solutions they build. You are a decisive doer—those who take initiative, follow through with confidence, and ensure results through courageous, hands-on leadership. We value optimism, agility, and the strength to persevere under pressure—balancing performance with positivity, even in challenging environments. You are driven, proactive individuals who take ownership, face challenges with grit, and consistently push for excellence—not just as participants, but as catalysts for success. Interview process During the interview process you will meet with the People team, the hiring manager, and relevant CSuite. Be prepared to complete a technical assessment that will showcase your skills. In office perks Healthy breakfast, lunches and snacks Monthly team connects On-site Barista Birthday Leave Perks for South African based employees Medical aid subsidy Group Risk Insurance Generous paid annual leave Birthday leave Learning and Development opportunities Mentorship programme Quarterly team building Community initiatives Access to cutting edge technology - Ozow Tech Stack Our Employee Value Proposition Join Ozow and become part of an elite force that challenges the ordinary and achieves the extraordinary. If you're driven to make an impact, embrace challenges, and seek unparalleled opportunities for growth, your journey starts here. Compliance As a fintech company, we prioritize data security, confidentiality, regulatory and compliance. Due to the sensitive nature of our work, we require individuals with a high level of integrity and trustworthiness to ensure adherence to financial regulations and industry standards. Given the sensitive nature of our work, all employees are expected to demonstrate professionalism, accountability, and a commitment to ethical conduct in line with financial regulations and industry standards Ready to be exceptional? Apply now! Keen to know more? Interested in joining our rocket ship? To find out more about life at Ozow, head over to our Careers Page here!

Responsibilities

The Head of Merchant Experience is responsible for shaping and owning the merchant experience across multiple touchpoints, ensuring it is a core differentiator for Ozow. This includes overseeing customer support, integrations, and external communications while collaborating with various departments to meet merchant needs.