Head of Operations Jobs in Cape Town

Datafin is looking for a Head of Operations to lead merchant onboarding, integration and customer support for a client in the digital payments and fintech space in Cape Town. The role sits at the centre of a growing payment gateway business: it builds effective teams, strengthens operational controls and makes sure merchants get reliable service as volumes grow.

No salary is stated in the advert, which lists the pay as R Undisclosed, so no salary figure is shown on this page. The listing was posted on 29 October 2026 and expires in 19 days. The full advertised title is Head of Operations – CPT, and the short title above drops the CPT marker only to keep the headline short.

One point in the listing needs care: its position field reads Learnership position, yet the advert itself asks for a degree-level background and at least eight years of operations experience. Treat the advert body as the authoritative description of the role, and check the original advert before applying if that label matters to you.

About the company and the work

Datafin Recruitment was established in 1999 and describes itself as one of South Africa’s leading recruitment companies. It is owned and managed by two sisters, Lindy and Bev Sollinger, and focuses on the Tech, Digital and Online, Data, Finance and HR industries.

The client behind this vacancy operates in digital payments and fintech. Its payment gateway needs someone who can lead merchant onboarding, integration and customer support end to end, so that merchants can start trading smoothly and keep trading without disruption. The role is about building teams, tightening controls and delivering dependable merchant service while the business grows.

Role details and duties

The Head of Operations leads Customer Support, Onboarding and Integrations, with clear accountability and consistent service standards across those teams. The duties listed in the advert include:

• Leading Customer Support, Onboarding and Integrations, ensuring clear accountability and consistent service standards.
• Managing merchant onboarding, system configuration and activation, including approvals and independent checks before merchants go live.
• Overseeing plugin and API integrations, testing and readiness to process live payments.
• Managing service levels, escalations and major incident communication, including support for enterprise and whale merchants.
• Working with Product, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Finance and Commercial teams to resolve issues, address root causes and prevent recurring failures.
• Maintaining operational controls, documented procedures and business continuity arrangements, and tracking audit actions through to completion.
• Using workload and transaction data to plan staffing, shift coverage and budgets, and improving efficiency through automation and self-service.
• Recruiting, coaching and developing team leaders and specialists, building the skills and coverage needed for launch, growth and peak trading.

Requirements

The advert asks for the following, and nothing beyond it has been added here:

• A degree in business, operations management, information systems, finance or a related field. Comparable operational leadership experience may be considered in place of a degree.
• At least 8 years of experience in operations, service delivery or a call centre environment.
• Experience in payments, banking or another regulated transaction environment is advantageous.
• At least 3 years of experience managing team leaders or supervisors and a shift environment.
• Proven responsibility for service levels, technical onboarding or implementation, and operational budgets.
• Experience managing major incidents and planning after-hours or continuous support.
• A postgraduate business qualification, ITIL or project management certification would be advantageous.
• Advantageous payments knowledge: card processing from authorisation through clearing, settlement, reconciliation and payout; 3D Secure, declines, refunds, reversals and chargebacks; merchant onboarding and due diligence, including KYB and KYC and FICA requirements; APIs, plugins, webhooks, integration testing, payment routing and secure system configuration; operational application of PCI DSS, POPIA, relevant SARB and PASA requirements, and card scheme rules; account-to-account and alternative payment methods, together with service management and incident escalation processes.
• The person sought combines strong operational leadership with a flexible, hands-on approach, adapts quickly to changing priorities, brings high emotional intelligence and builds trust through open communication and collaboration.

Where to find and apply safely

This vacancy is advertised on CareerJunction by Datafin, and the Apply button on this page opens the original CareerJunction advert. Apply only through that original advert, and never pay anyone for a job application or placement.

Practical tips

Lead with evidence of scale: merchants onboarded, service levels held, major incidents managed and teams built. If you have payments, banking or another regulated transaction background, spell out which parts of the payment chain you have handled, from authorisation to payout. Candidates without a degree should point directly to the comparable operational leadership experience the advert says may be considered instead.

How the process works

Click the Apply button to reach the original CareerJunction advert, where you can submit your application to Datafin. Shortlisted candidates can expect to be assessed on operational leadership, payments knowledge and experience running support and onboarding teams in a growing business.

Important information

This page is an informational summary only. It is not the job offer, and it does not replace the original advert. No salary is stated, and the listing’s position field reads Learnership position even though the advert itself describes a senior role requiring at least eight years of experience, so check the original advert carefully before applying.

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