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Product & Platform Partnerships Manager (Vendor Management)
Cape Town
Meet Ozow
Ozow is a leading fintech company that's redefining digital payments in South Africa and beyond. We're dedicated to making payments more accessible, secure, and convenient for both businesses and consumers. As a fast-growing player in the financial technology sector, Ozow fosters a culture of innovation, diversity, and inclusivity. We believe in pushing the boundaries of what's possible and are committed to making a positive impact on the world through our payment solutions.
More about this Ozow fantastic position
The Product & Platform Partnerships Manager is responsible for managing and developing the company’s relationships with external product and platform partners, i.e. new and existing vendors.
The role works closely with Product, Technology, Commercial, and Executive teams to ensure that third-party partnerships are well governed, commercially effective, and aligned with the company’s long-term business and product strategy.
This position will lead the partnership model, providing oversight across multiple products and business processes, and establishing clear governance and decision-making frameworks for key external relationships.
Your role and responsibilities
Partnership Oversight & Governance
- Establish and own a centralised view of all external product and infrastructure partners, which includes, but is not limited to, product and platform partners that encompass banking and payment partners, as well as service providers that encompass messaging, compliance, fraud and SaaS partners.
- Drive a consistent partnership management framework across the organisation including vendor selection processes and commercial management.
- Proactively surface risks, dependencies, performance concerns, and concentration exposure
Partnership Management
- Work closely with leadership to:
- Review the full product stack (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Merchant Services, and future services)
- Map external dependencies within each department and identify potential bottlenecks
- Validate ownership, accountability, and escalation paths
- Ensure partnerships are assessed through a product and business strategy lens, not just operational or commercial
- Translate complex technical or operational partnership issues into clear, decision-ready insights for leadership
Monthly Partnership Forums
- Own and facilitate structured monthly partnership meetings with Product leadership and relevant stakeholders
- Ensure each partner is reviewed consistently, covering:
- SLA and performance metrics
- Costs and commercial exposure
- Contract status and key terms
- Revenue impact (where applicable)
- Current issues, risks, or dependencies
- Strategic fit and roadmap alignment
- Prepare executive-level summaries and recommendations where escalation or investment decisions are required
Strategic Partnership Development
- Maintain a forward-looking view by ensuring partnerships actively support the company’s long-term business strategy by aligning partner roadmaps, commercial models, and technical capabilities with future product, market, and revenue objectives.
- Identify and evaluate new partnership opportunities that strengthen the product stack or unlock new capabilities
- Partner with Product and Technology teams to assess:
- Build vs buy vs partner decisions
- Long-term viability and switching costs
- Strategic alignment with the company’s roadmap
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Act as a key connector between:
- Product & Engineering (technical dependencies, roadmap fit)
- Commercial & Finance (costs, exposure, revenue impact)
- Legal & Compliance (contracts, regulatory considerations)
- Executive leadership (risk, strategy, prioritisation)
- Ensure partnership discussions are joined-up, informed, and aligned across teams
You are an ideal candidate if you have
- 5+ years’ experience in partnerships, product operations, platform strategy, or ecosystem management
- Strong exposure to technical or infrastructure-led partnerships (e.g. payments, fintech, platforms, APIs, SaaS, messaging, compliance, data)
- Experience working closely with Product and Engineering teams
- Proven ability to operate at both strategic and detail levels
- Experience presenting to or working with senior leadership / C-suite
Your skills and competencies
- You eagerly embrace change, absorb cross-functional skills, and connect ideas across disciplines to drive fresh thinking and innovation.
- Ability to initiate, develop, maintain and leverage outstanding relationships to influence a wide network, both inside and outside the company.
- A trailblazer who steps up, takes charge, and creates meaningful impact—those driven by performance and purpose to lead from the front and make a real difference every day.
- You thrive in collaboration, embrace inclusion, and bring a genuine curiosity for global cultures—valuing collective success over individual credit.
- Demonstrate strategic foresight, sound judgement, and the ability to make confident decisions under uncertainty, always working toward the best possible outcomes.
- You challenge norms, champion innovation, and constantly seek growth—for themselves, their team, and the solutions they build.
- You are a decisive doer—those who take initiative, follow through with confidence, and ensure results through courageous, hands-on leadership.
- We value optimism, agility, and the strength to persevere under pressure—balancing performance with positivity, even in challenging environments.
- You are driven, proactive individuals who take ownership, face challenges with grit, and consistently push for excellence—not just as participants, but as catalysts for success.
Interview process
During the interview process you will meet with the People team, the hiring manager, and relevant CSuite. Be prepared to complete a technical assessment that will showcase your skills.
In office perks
- Healthy breakfast, lunches and snacks
- Monthly team connects
- On-site Barista
- Birthday Leave
Perks for South African based employees
- Medical aid subsidy
- Group Risk Insurance
- Generous paid annual leave
- Birthday leave
- Learning and Development opportunities
- Mentorship programme
- Quarterly team building
- Community initiatives
- Access to cutting edge technology - Ozow Tech Stack
Our Employee Value Proposition
Join Ozow and become part of an elite force that challenges the ordinary and achieves the extraordinary. If you're driven to make an impact, embrace challenges, and seek unparalleled opportunities for growth, your journey starts here.
Compliance
As a fintech company, we prioritize data security, confidentiality, regulatory and compliance. Due to the sensitive nature of our work, we require individuals with a high level of integrity and trustworthiness to ensure adherence to financial regulations and industry standards. Given the sensitive nature of our work, all employees are expected to demonstrate professionalism, accountability, and a commitment to ethical conduct in line with financial regulations and industry standards
Ready to be exceptional? Apply now!
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To find out more about life at Ozow, head over to our Careers Page here!
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