M-Pesa Africa: Senior Specialist Technology Governance

Job Description

M-Pesa is a pioneering fintech business and global market leader in mobile money. Starting from 2007 as a convenient means by which the unbanked and underbanked could make digital payments, M-Pesa has now grown to offer over 60 million active customers Financial Services, Enterprise, Merchant and Retail solutions. We are proud of our work in enabling the digital economy in our markets, and in driving financial inclusion.

M-Pesa Africa is the largest FinTech providing services to more than 60 million customers and 5 million businesses solutions across Financial Services, Enterprise, Merchant and Retail. We are now well on our way to becoming the preferred digital payment method across the markets that we serve, for both in-store, remote and online payments. With headquarters in both Nairobi and Johannesburg, we serve markets that include Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Lesotho, Ghana, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.

We are a united, energetic and passionate team. A place where leaders coach, teams connect, and everyone is empowered to go further, faster. A place where heroes become superheroes; through growth, opportunity, and the chance to work with the best minds in FinTech.

Role Purpose:

The Senior Specialist: Technology Governance plays a crucial role in ensuring that technology operations, processes, and controls are reliable, compliant, and aligned with the organisation’s strategic objectives. This role acts as a bridge between technology, audit, risk, and compliance teams — driving framework adoption, providing independent assurance that technology services are well-governed, risks are managed proactively, and value is delivered consistently to the business. In addition, the Senior Specialist: Technology Governance will play a pivotal role in aligning technology investments, vendor relationships, and portfolio performance with strategic objectives.

Your responsibilities will include:

Governance & Risk Oversight.

• Conduct governance reviews of technology services, programmes, and vendors
• Apply established governance frameworks (COBIT, ISO 27001, ITIL) to assess control adherence
• Identify and document key technology risks, control gaps, and operational vulnerabilities, and remediation plans.
• Partner with Risk and Compliance teams to define mitigation and remediation plans.
• Work closely with technology leaders, risk owners, and external auditors to align on control effectiveness and audit readiness.
• Promote awareness of governance, risk, and compliance principles across the organisation.
• Continuously review governance frameworks and propose improvements for efficiency and transparenc

Policy & Control Management

• Support the implementation and continuous improvement of IT policies and control frameworks.
• Ensure all technology domains (infrastructure, applications, data, cybersecurity, and vendor management) have effective control coverage.
• Track and report control performance metrics and compliance scores.

Governance Reporting & Insights

• Prepare governance dashboards for executive review.
• Translate complex assurance findings into clear, actionable insights for leadership teams.
• Maintain a transparent pipeline of open audit, risk, and assurance items

Portfolio, Financial & Vendor Governance

• Support and track the delivery of key governance programmes and initiatives.
• Collaborate with Finance to track and maintain transparency on OPEX and CAPEX utilisation, ensuring spending aligns with business value and technology strategy.
• Implement and maintain portfolio dashboards dashboards for visibility across demand, spend, risk, and performance metrics.
• Maintain technology vendor dashboard, and ensure service reviews, tracking KPIs and performance, in place for key technology vendors

The ideal candidate for this role will have:

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field
• Postgraduate qualification (advantageous but not mandatory)
• COBIT (Foundation / Design & Implementation)
• ITIL (Foundation or higher)
• ISO (27001/ 20000-1) certification

Core Competencies,knowledge and experience:

Key Technical Competencies:

• Analytical & Critical Thinking: Ability to analyse complex governance, risk, and control scenarios and form sound professional judgements.
• Technology Governance Acumen: Strong working knowledge of technology governance frameworks, risk management, and compliance standards.
• Communication & Influence: Ability to engage credibly with senior stakeholders and translate technical assurance concepts into business‑relevant insights.
• Integrity & Independence: Demonstrates objectivity and professional judgement while maintaining effective working relationships.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Uses governance as an enabler of operational effectiveness and value delivery.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborative, influential communicator able to operate across complex stakeholder environments.
• Process Discipline: Maintains accuracy and consistency across governance processes

Skills & Knowledge:

• Strong understanding of technology governance, IT risk, and assurance practices
• Working knowledge of IT governance and control frameworks (e.g. COBIT, ITIL, ISO 27001)
• Ability to assess control design and operating effectiveness across technology domains
• Experience in governance reporting, dashboards, and executive‑level insights
• Ability to interpret and analyse portfolio, financial (OPEX/CAPEX), and vendor performance data.
• Strong documentation, reporting, and presentation skills. Self‑driven, accountable, and delivery‑focused.

Experience:

• 7+ years’ experience in one or more of the following areas:
  • Technology governance
  • IT risk management
  • Technology audit or assurance
  • Information security or control environments
• Experience operating in large, complex, or regulated organisations (e.g. financial services, fintech, telecoms, payments) preferred
• Demonstrated experience working with multiple stakeholders across Technology, Risk, Compliance, Audit, and Finance
• Experience supporting governance forums, audits, or regulatory reviews is advantageous

Closing date for Applications: 5 June 2026.

The base location for this role is, Vodacom Cape Town Campus.

The Company's approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.
Vodacom is committed to an organisational culture that recognises, appreciates and values diversity & inclusion.