Principal, Operational Risk

About the role

Cellulant, a payments company with offices in 10 countries and products serving 24 countries across Africa, is hiring a Principal for Operational Risk in Nairobi. The role identifies, measures, manages and reports financial (credit and market) and non-financial (operational) risks, devises and implements risk mitigation strategies with line management and coordinates across departments to embed an integrated risk management process.

Key responsibilities

• Establish a robust Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework covering risk analysis, reporting and culture, and set up a risk governance framework
• Develop and implement the organisation's risk appetite and tolerance, and review risk policies, tolerances and appetites in line with Board and Risk Committee oversight
• Support documentation and assessment of risks and controls, coordinate monitoring and reporting of key risk indicators, and maintain risk event and issue logs
• Lead risk mitigation strategies that use digital solutions and scale as the organisation grows
• Set and enforce standards for strategic, reputational risk, Assessment, Mitigation and Performance (AMP) and ethics
• Drive a risk-aware culture through training and awareness programmes
• Produce regular reports for the Vice President of Risk, CEO, Board and Risk Committee, and oversee real-time risk dashboards
• Identify, assess and mitigate IT-related risks such as cybersecurity threats, system failures and data breaches, working with Information Security and IT

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in finance, business administration, technology, law or another relevant field, with risk management certifications
• At least 8 years of relevant experience in risk and assurance roles, preferably in financial services or the payments industry
• Familiarity with international risk management frameworks (COSO, COBIT, NIST, ISO) and the African fintech landscape

Required skills

• Experience in internal controls, audit, data protection, ISO certification, business continuity, operational risk and technology risk is an advantage
• Presentation and reporting skills, analytical skills and the ability to communicate complex risk information to management and the Board
• Credibility, openness, strategic thinking and the ability to balance growth and risk