Head of Product, Issuing Solutions

About the job

Owns end-to-end accountability for packaging, issuing capabilities into market-ready solutions that address specific client segments and regional market needs. Responsible for solution design, ecosystem integration strategy, localization, and commercial packaging that transforms core processing capabilities into competitive offerings across diverse African markets.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and own comprehensive issue solution bundles for target segments (banks, fintechs, SMEs, corporates, government) by orchestrating capabilities from processing, digital platforms, and analytics teams.
• Drive market expansion through localization strategy including ecosystem partner integrations (mobile money operators, alternative payment rails, disbursement channels, merchant networks)
• Drive solution-level innovation by combining existing issuing, digital, and analytics capabilities into new RTG offerings and use cases.
• Lead regional market entry by adapting solutions to local regulatory requirements, payment schemes, and financial infrastructure maturity levels.
• Collaborate with Head of Product, Acceptance Solutions to develop hybrid offerings that span the full payments value chain (issuing + acquiring integration)
• Own product/market fit validation for Issuing Solutions, incorporating BD demand signals and feasibility input from Processing, Labs, and Intelligence.
• Build Ready-to-Go solution frameworks that enable rapid deployment across multiple markets with configurable components.
• Partner with Business Development on scheme commercial partnerships and ensure scheme products are appropriately packaged into issuing solutions.
• Develop solution positioning for diverse use cases covering consumer, corporate, and government solutions.
• Create and maintain solution blueprints, integration guides, market configuration matrices, and go-to-market collateral.
• Own cross-functional coordination across product verticals, country teams, and delivery functions, while execution remains with the respective product and delivery teams.

Required Qualifications

Experience:

• 10+ years of post-qualification experience, with minimum 5+ years in product management within payments, fintech, or banking technology.
• Experience in solutions/platform roles focused on market expansion and ecosystem integration.
• Proven track record packaging B2B payment solutions for financial institutions across multiple markets.
• Deep experience in African or emerging markets with understanding of diverse payment ecosystems.
• Background in partner/ecosystem integration strategy and API-driven solution design.

Technical Knowledge:

• Understanding of end-to-end payment flows across issuing and acquiring.
• Knowledge of mobile money systems, alternative payment rails, and regional payment schemes.
• Familiarity with API integration patterns and platform orchestration.
• Understanding of regulatory environments across multiple African jurisdictions is preferred.
• Experience with multi-tenancy and configurable solution architectures.

Skills:

• Solution design and packaging for diverse market segments and use cases.
• Ecosystem thinking identifying partnership opportunities and integration strategies.
• Cross-functional orchestration across multiple product teams and geographies.
• Market analysis and localization strategy development.
• Commercial structuring including tiered pricing and bundle configuration.
• Strong stakeholder management across internal teams, clients, and ecosystem partners.
• Excellent communication skills for translating technical capabilities into market-relevant solutions.