Country Operations Manager - Tanzania

PawaPay; United States; Remote; USD 42,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

35 days paid leave per year

Competitive remuneration

Job summary

PawaPay seeks a Country Ops Manager to provide the operational backbone for Tanzania, coordinating administration, partner engagement, merchant onboarding, and compliance tasks. You will support the Country Director while ensuring day-to-day activities run smoothly in a remote-friendly environment.

Applicants should be based in Tanzania with work rights, have at least 3 years in admin/ops, and possess English and Swahili fluency.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of experience in administration, operations coordination, or a similar role.
• Fluency in English and Swahili with strong communication skills.
• Proactive follow-through with sharp attention to detail and escalation boundaries.
• Experience working with MNOs, banks, regulators, or fintech/payments is a plus.
• Strong working knowledge of Google Workspace or Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational backbone for day-to-day administrative, partner, merchant, and compliance coordination in Tanzania.
• Coordinate meetings, agendas, action trackers, briefing notes, and records; manage local office administration.
• Oversee merchant onboarding, KYC administration, and wallet/MNO task coordination.
• Track local compliance cycles, licences, audits, filings, and regulatory requests.

Skills

English

Swahili

Tools

Google Workspace

Microsoft Office

Job description

Who is PawaPay

PawaPay is a pan-African fintech enabling local payment channels used by the mass market to both local and international merchants. We operate in a highly regulated, partner-driven environment and are in scale-up mode, with ambitious growth plans across multiple African markets.

Our vision is to simplify business for companies and consumers in Africa and we do that by ensuring that payments simply work, at scale, despite fragmentation and complexity that exists on the Continent.

Through our payments API we already facilitate over 4 million transactions a day across 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are the largest PSP on the Continent for the processing of mobile money payments, and have positioned ourselves well to lead the payment space as it grows over the next decade.

At PawaPay, there is an entrepreneurial spirit coupled with a modern and professional working culture. The fast-paced, ever-changing environment will suit someone who can adapt and think on their feet. In return, you will have the opportunity to work alongside a group of dedicated and smart individuals working towards the same mission. We work as a remote team and have team members in Europe, Africa and Asia.

The Role

The Country Ops manager provides critical administrative, operational, and coordination support to the Country Director and relevant Group functions within the country. Acting as the operational backbone of the local business, the role ensures the seamless execution of day-to-day activities by managing documentation, tracking actions, coordinating meetings, supporting mobile network operator (MNO) engagements, administering contracts, assisting with compliance requirements and overseeing office administration.

The role enables the Country Director to focus on strategic priorities, senior partner relationships, governance, commercial opportunities, market performance and material escalations. The Country Administrator supports execution and follow-through but does not replace the Country Director’s responsibility for country leadership, strategy, senior stakeholder ownership, or governance responsibilities.

This role is open to Tanzanian nationals currently living in Tanzania only.

Applicants must be based in Tanzania and have the right to work in Tanzania.

What you are accountable for

The single thing this role is accountable for is the operational backbone and execution of day-to-day administrative, partner, merchant, and compliance coordination in Tanzania.

Operating Principle: The Country Ops Manager coordinates, chases, documents, schedules, prepares, tracks, and follows up on agreed tasks. Strategic priorities, pricing, commercial terms, senior partner management, regulatory interpretation, legal risk, public representation, and material operational incidents belong to the Country Director.

What you own day to day

• Relationship Management. Serve as the secondary relationship holder for in-country partners (MMOs, banks, financial institutions), especially when the Country Director is unavailable. Maintain partner satisfaction through regular engagement.
• Administrative Support to Country Director. Coordinate meeting logistics, agendas, action trackers, briefing notes, status updates, and administrative records. Manage local office administration, vendors, lease renewals, and event logistics.
• Merchant Onboarding & KYC Administration. Prepare MNO approval requests, review merchant onboarding packs for completeness, coordinate follow-up between teams, and track onboarding status and blockers.
• Wallet Operations & MNO Coordination. Submit wallet user access and change requests, track wallet confirmations/credentials, act as the first point for routine MNO operational tasks, and notify key teams of material issues.
• Contract, Legal & Document Execution Support. Coordinate signing workflows across MNOs, banks, and suppliers; maintain signing trackers; upload executed agreements to repositories; and upscale delays or legal concerns.
• Compliance, Regulatory & Finance Administration. Track local compliance cycles (tax clearance, licence renewals, filings), assist with document collection for audits and regulatory requests, and flag expiring licences.

What you do not own

• Country Leadership & Strategy — sits with the Country Director.
• Senior External Stakeholder Ownership & Primary Relationship Holding — sits with the Country Director.
• Commercial, Pricing & Legal Sign-Off — sits with Country Director, Legal & Group Functions.

How the role is measured

• Onboarding & Contract Cycle Times. Speed and completeness of merchant KYC documentation and MNO submission tracking.
• Administrative & Record Currency. Timely upload and maintenance of executed contracts, licences, and compliance filings.
• Operational Responsiveness. Timely follow-up and escalation of wallet requests, MNO operational issues, and office admin.

What we are looking for

• Experience. Minimum 3 years of experience in administration, operations coordination, project coordination, partner support, banking, telecoms, fintech, payments, or a similar environment.
• Proactive Follow-Through. Persistent in chasing open tasks and action items, with strong attention to detail and clear escalation boundaries.
• Tooling. Strong working knowledge of Google Workspace or Microsoft Office (Docs/Word, Sheets/Excel, Calendar, Email).
• Domain. Experience working with MNOs, banks, regulators, tax authorities, or fintech/payments stakeholders is an advantage.
• Languages. Fluency in English and Swahili/relevant local language(s).
• Remote Work. Comfortable and experienced with working effectively in a remote team environment.

Key competencies

• Organizational & Tracking Precision — Ability to manage multiple trackers, deadlines, documents, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Professional Communication — Clear, professional communication with external partners (MNOs, banks, regulators) and internal teams.
• Discretion & Confidentiality — High level of integrity, confidentiality, and composure in a remote, fast-paced environment.

Why PawaPay?

• Help improve financial access in Africa
• Being part of an amazing team that shapes company’s culture as a great place to be
• An ambitious, talented, and diverse team who always has your back
• We grow fast, and you will grow fast with us
• Competitive remuneration
• 35 days of paid leave per year (inclusive of public holidays) and more.