Merchant Processing Operations & Support Officer – East Africa at Network International

About The Role:

• The Merchant Relationship Specialist is responsible for building and sustaining high-value relationships with a portfolio of merchants across assigned markets. This role drives merchant satisfaction, retention, and revenue growth by offering proactive account management, first-line support, and strategic product expansion. The incumbent acts as the merchant’s internal advocate, ensuring seamless service delivery and maximizing product adoption across Network International’s ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities:

Merchant Acquiring Onboarding & Implementation:

• Coordinate operational onboarding and activation of acquiring banks, merchants and partner channels across Kenya and Rwanda, ensuring implementation readiness and documented dependencies.
• Create and maintain merchant and terminal profiles; configure approved MID/TID, MCC, settlement/financial parameters and device registration details.
• Support enrolment, OTP processes, terminal activation, client training and handover to business-as-usual support.
• Maintain implementation trackers, readiness checklists, issues and action logs for new acquiring clients, pilots, migrations and launches.
• Coordinate with Acquiring, Sales, Product, Technology, Risk and Compliance on testing, required approvals, go-live and early-life support.
• Support the operational execution of acquiring expansion opportunities, including device deployment planning and resolution of onboarding bottlenecks.

POS Technical Operations & Service Assurance:

• Provide POS/SmartPOS technical support for configuration, activation, application loading, updates, connectivity and troubleshooting.
• Execute approved parameter changes including merchant financial data, MID/TID, MCC, serial numbers, Wi-Fi, fraud/restriction settings, refunds, voids and pre-authorizations.
• Process approved terminal resets, profile deletions, reassignment and replacements in accordance with documented controls.
• Support field teams and client banks in resolving terminal faults and acceptance issues; coordinate escalation to technology, vendors and product teams.
• Coordinate POS application certification, user acceptance and regression testing for APK upgrades, releases and enhancements, documenting defects and release evidence.
• Log, monitor and resolve client incidents and service requests, providing updates and tracking SLA performance and repeat issues.
• Support incident root-cause reviews, corrective actions and post-go-live service stabilization.

Terminal Estate, Inventory & Vendor Management:

• Coordinate with Procurement on POS terminal sourcing, demand forecasts, stock availability and replenishment based on deployment and recruitment trends.
• Maintain accurate records for terminal receipts, tagging, dispatch, installations, returns, transfers, repairs and decommissioning.
• Coordinate device distribution and vendor/field service deliveries, following up on timelines and unresolved issues.
• Manage repair coordination and terminal recovery, identifying opportunities to avoid unnecessary replacements and optimize asset utilization.
• Generate POS dormancy and utilization reports and engage banks and commercial teams on activation, reactivation and estate optimization.
• Monitor supplier and repair-vendor performance, turnaround times and service-level commitments.

Merchant Acquiring Business Enablement:

• Partner with Sales and Relationship Management to translate approved client requirements into operational onboarding and deployment plans.
• Support introduction of new terminal models, acceptance applications, acquiring capabilities and merchant services enhancements.
• Analyze terminal activity, onboarding delays, recurring incidents and client feedback to identify opportunities for improved adoption and service quality.
• Contribute operational insight to new-client discussions, pilots and market expansion, without owning commercial pricing, contracts or sales targets.

Controls, Reporting & Continuous Improvement:

• Follow approved SOPs, maker-checker controls, change management, information-security rules and required KYC/KYB approval handoffs.
• Maintain complete audit trails for merchant setup, configuration changes, testing, terminal movements, approvals and issue resolution.
• Escalate suspected fraud, compliance breaches, operational risks and incidents to the responsible functions.
• Prepare daily, weekly and monthly reports covering onboarding, terminal estate, SLA/ticket performance, testing, client issues and implementation readiness.
• Conduct trend and exception analysis, propose process improvements and support audit, business continuity and operational resilience activities.

Key Deliverables:

• Accurate, timely merchant and terminal onboarding with complete approvals and documentation.
• Reliable POS support and incident resolution within agreed service levels.
• Controlled APK certification, regression testing and go-live readiness.
• Improved terminal utilization, accurate inventory and efficient vendor/repair coordination.
• Effective operational enablement of new acquiring clients and services across Kenya and Rwanda.

Qualifications

Key Requirements:

• Diploma or bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, IT, finance, operations or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience considered.
• Experience in POS technical support, merchant acquiring operations, onboarding, terminal deployment and payments service delivery.
• Working knowledge of MID/TID/MCC setup, terminal parameterization, application upgrades, POS testing and incident management.
• Experience in terminal inventory, vendor coordination, repairs, procurement forecasting and device lifecycle management.
• Ability to support new acquiring client implementations, operational readiness and post-go-live stabilization.
• Strong analytical, documentation, client service, cross-functional coordination and problem-solving skills.
• Familiarity with KYC/KYB handoffs, operational controls, maker-checker, audit evidence and information security.
• Ability to work across Kenya and Rwanda stakeholders and manage competing priorities.