Head, Settlement and Reconciliation

Job Summary

The Head, Settlement and Reconciliation leads settlement and reconciliation across the national payment rail operated by NPICTT, ensuring that the nation’s payments settle accurately, on time and with finality, and that every transaction is reconciled across the scheme, its participants and the settlement system. The role owns the settlement cycles of the national scheme — including settlement across the Central Bank’s real-time gross settlement system and the management of participant settlement positions and funding — together with end-to-end reconciliation, exception management and the financial controls that protect the integrity of the rail.

Because settlement finality and reconciliation accuracy are matters of systemic and national significance, the role operates to the standards expected of a settlement function within critical national financial infrastructure, and coordinates as principal with participant financial institutions, Treasury, the Central Bank, auditors and the Company’s scheme technology partner.

The role reports to the Manager, Payments and works alongside Transaction Operations, from which it receives processed transactions for settlement. Main Responsibilities National Settlement Operations Own and operate the settlement cycles of the national payment scheme across all channels, ensuring timely, accurate and complete settlement.

Manage settlement across the Central Bank’s real-time gross settlement system, together with the Company’s and participants’ settlement positions, funding and balancing, and ensure settlement finality. Manage settlement accounts, funding requirements and net settlement positions of participants, and manage settlement risk, including any deferred net settlement exposures.

Coordinate settlement with participant financial institutions, Treasury, payment partners and the scheme technology partner. Maintain settlement schedules, cut-offs and calendars, and support the settlement design and operational readiness of new payment services and participants joining the rail. National Reconciliation and Financial Controls Own end-to-end reconciliation across the national rail — matching transactions across the switch, the scheme, participant records and settlement — for all payment transactions, settlement accounts and operational balances.

Ensure timely identification, investigation, resolution and reporting of reconciliation breaks, variances and processing exceptions. Maintain robust reconciliation controls, operational procedures and financial-governance frameworks. Monitor reconciliation accuracy, transaction integrity and financial-reporting completeness across the rail.

Ensure reconciliation complies with internal controls, accounting standards, scheme rules and regulatory requirements, and support the preparation and validation of settlement reports, reconciliations and audit documentation. Risk, Compliance and Audit Coordination Monitor settlement and reconciliation risk, settlement exceptions, control weaknesses and discrepancies across the rail.

Ensure adherence to scheme rules, regulatory requirements, governance standards and controls, and support fraud prevention, operational-risk mitigation and financial-control monitoring. Coordinate responses to audits, regulatory reviews and reconciliation investigations. Escalate material settlement risk, unresolved reconciliation issues, control breaches or compliance concerns to the Manager, Payments, and support escalation to the regulator where required.

Support settlement-related business continuity, operational resilience and recovery, recognizing the systemic importance of settlement continuity. Stakeholder and Ecosystem Coordination Liaise as principal with participant financial institutions, Treasury, the Central Bank, Ministries, agencies, auditors and the scheme technology partner on settlement and reconciliation matters.

Coordinate with Finance, Risk, Compliance, Technology Operations and Transaction Operations to protect processing-to-settlement integrity. Provide settlement configuration and reconciliation support for the onboarding and integration of new participants, and maintain settlement and reconciliation records, logs and documentation.

Reporting, Performance and Process Improvement Prepare settlement and reconciliation reporting, exception reporting, KPI updates and dashboards for management. Monitor settlement accuracy, reconciliation trends and processing performance, and identify and implement improvements to settlement efficiency, reconciliation accuracy and controls.

Support automation, straight-through processing and continuous improvement in settlement and reconciliation. Develop and maintain settlement standards and reconciliation frameworks, and line-manage, develop and hold accountable the settlement and reconciliation team.

Requirements

Person Profile The ideal candidate is a highly analytical and detail-oriented financial-operations leader with extensive experience in settlement operations, reconciliation management, payment processing or financial-services operations, ideally within a payment scheme, switch, bank or financial-market infrastructure settling at scale.

The individual possesses strong operational-control, financial-governance, problem-solving and stakeholder-management capabilities, and a sound understanding of settlement processes, settlement finality and settlement risk, reconciliation methodologies, operational risk, compliance requirements and financial controls.

Strong leadership, analytical, communication and process-improvement skills are essential, together with the ability to resolve operational discrepancies and protect financial integrity within a regulated national environment. Academic Qualifications and Experience Academic Qualifications A Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Banking, Business Administration, Economics or a related discipline from a recognized institution.

A Master’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or a related field is considered an asset. Professional Certifications (preferred) Professional certification in accounting, finance, treasury operations or banking operations. Certification in risk management, internal audit, fraud management or financial compliance.

Certification in payments operations, reconciliation management or financial-services operations. Experience A minimum of five (5) to seven (7) years in settlement operations, reconciliation management, banking operations, payment processing or financial-services environments. A minimum of three (3) to five (5) years in a supervisory or leadership role overseeing settlement, reconciliation or financial-operations teams.

Demonstrated experience managing high-volume transaction reconciliation and settlement processes; experience within a scheme, switch, real-time gross settlement environment or financial-market infrastructure is strongly preferred. Strong understanding of financial controls, settlement finality and settlement risk, operational risk, payment operations and compliance frameworks.

Experience coordinating audit activity, exception management and operational issue resolution, and preparing reconciliation reports, financial summaries and dashboards, within fast-paced, highly regulated and transaction-intensive environments.