Job Purpose

The Head of Fraud – Prevention and Detection is entrusted with the crucial responsibility of upholding the integrity and reputation of the Equity Group. This senior-level position demands advanced knowledge in fraud risk management, coupled with a deep understanding of Digital Financial Services, Equitel and Jenga payment gateway. The Head of Fraud – Prevention and Detection will report to the Group Director for Security and Fraud Management in leading the implementation of fraud risk management strategies for the Digital Financial Services. The holder of the position will help the business in anticipating, identifying, assessing, and responding to emerging fraud risks. The Head of Fraud – Prevention and Detection will pinpoint opportunities for proactive fraud prevention and detection across services, products, and channels and platforms, collaborating closely with the Head of Risk for Finserve and various Group Heads of principle risks, Head of Investigations, to enforce the fraud management framework, policies, and standards in the Digital Financial Services Operation

Job Responsibilities/  Accountabilities

• Assist the Group Director Security and Fraud Management to formulate comprehensive fraud risk management strategies for Finserve Africa Limited which are aligned with the Group’s Enterprise risk management framework and fraud policy.
• Provide expert advice to the business on fraud risk management, controls, and initiatives in line with business strategy, enterprise risk, and fraud management policies and framework.
• Monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for fraud risk, analysing trends and their impact on the business, while measuring the effectiveness of fraud prevention and detection controls.
• Review first-line’s fraud risk assessments for both existing and new products and services while ensuring anti-fraud controls are evaluated as part of Risk & Control Self Assessments.
• Conduct fraud risk assessments for high-risk businesses, products, processes, and systems to identify emerging fraud trends, vulnerabilities, and areas for improvement.
• Ensure a clear understanding, evaluation, and agreement on inherent and residual fraud risks, including their likelihood, impact, and ratings with respective subsidiary risk heads.
• Analyze business processes to identify control failures/weaknesses and/or procedure breaks related to fraud risk events, including an evaluation of the performance of fraud risk controls, tools, and data usage across all business units and channels.
• Implementation of the monitoring system to detect and report suspicious activity related to financial crimes and ensuring timely reporting to the Regulators as required.
• Prepare comprehensive management and board reports on fraud risk exposure, incidents, and mitigation efforts to senior management and relevant board committees.
• Respond to inquiries from business units regarding fraud risk management issues.
• Collect and analyze fraud data and insights for use in fraud prevention and detection.
• Curate and disseminate industry best practices related to fraud risk management.
• Develop relevant anti-fraud materials for internal training and customer fraud awareness.
• Instil a robust fraud risk awareness culture within the organization, fortifying the Group’s values and code of conduct.
• Support the strategic direction of the enterprise databases & data and influence how the team will evolve over time, including long-range project planning, staffing, and technical architecture

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in fields such as: Computer Science, Data Science, Information Security, Finance/Accounting, Telecommunications Engineering
• Master’s degree is a plus (e.g., in Risk Management, Data Analytics, or Cybersecurity)
• Fraud & Risk Certifications will be an added advantage.
• CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner) – Global standard for fraud professionals (by ACFE) or Certificates in Cyber security. e.g. CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) – Helps in proactive fraud/threat modelling.
• Deep knowledge n SQL and data base management technologies
• Google Cloud or AWS Machine Learning Certifications/Data analytics and science certificate course from recognized institution
• Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate
• Practical experience in fraud analytics tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Python notebooks
• 8+ years of progressive experience in Fraud risk management in both telecom and banking with hands on experience in Digital financial fraud and banking fraud
• Leading fraud analytics, prevention, investigations, and recovery teams.
• Experience with real-time fraud detection platforms,
• Proven experience in implementing enterprise fraud management systems.
• Solid understanding of mobile money fraud schemes, social engineering, SIM swap, account takeover.
• Familiar with SQL, Python/R, machine learning (for fraud detection).
• Experience with fraud scoring models, anomaly detection, and Customer 360 profiling.
• Knowledge of APIs, system integrations, and secure architectures for fraud controls.
• Capable of working cross-functionally with risk, compliance, product, and tech teams.
• Excellent understanding of the regulatory landscape (e.g., CBK, FATF guidelines, AML/CFT rules)