🚀 We’re Hiring: Head of Business Advisory

📍 Location: Johannesburg 
🏢 Business Unit: Merchant Operations Division
🧩 Function: Merchant Data Department
👤 Reports to: Executive Head of Data

⭐ Role Purpose

The Head of Business Advisory leads the Business Advisory capability within the Merchant Data Department, acting as the primary interface between business units and the data organisation.

This role is responsible for shaping and managing demand for data, analytics, and data platform capabilities, ensuring that business needs are clearly articulated, prioritised, and translated into structured requirements that drive high‑quality delivery.

The role ensures that data outputs translate into visible, trusted business value by owning stakeholder relationships, demand management processes, and the effective communication and adoption of insights across the Merchant Division.

🎯 Primary Focus

To enable strong business‑data partnership by managing demand, translating requirements, and ensuring that insights and analytics are trusted, understood, and actively used to drive measurable business outcomes.

🔍 Key Responsibility Areas & Associated Tasks

🤝 1. Business Partnership & Advisory Enablement

• Serve as senior accountability point between Merchant Data and business units
• Build trusted relationships with executives, product owners, and operational leaders
• Develop deep understanding of business strategies, pain points, and data maturity
• Proactively identify opportunities where data and analytics can unlock measurable value
• Represent business needs into Data teams and Data capabilities back to the business
• Ensure data participation in strategic planning, budgeting, and operational cycles

🧩 2. Requirements Translation & Demand Shaping

• Translate complex business problems into structured, unambiguous technical requirements
• Facilitate discovery and requirements workshops across business units
• Produce high‑quality artefacts (business cases, BRDs, user stories, acceptance criteria)
• Validate feasibility with Data Engineering, Analytics, and Data Science leaders
• Maintain a living repository of business requirements and priorities

📊 3. Demand Management & Prioritisation

• Design and operate a structured demand‑intake and prioritisation framework
• Maintain a transparent demand pipeline with sizing, status, and delivery visibility
• Facilitate prioritisation forums with Data leadership and business stakeholders
• Own and enforce intake standards to prevent unscoped or misaligned work
• Track and report demand metrics including intake volume, throughput, and cycle time
• Manage demand conflicts, dependencies, and resourcing constraints proactively

📣 4. Insights Playback & Stakeholder Communication

• Own the end‑to‑end insights communication process from Data to business
• Define a consistent insights‑playback framework (exec summaries, dashboards, deep dives)
• Ensure insights drive decision‑making and action, not just reporting
• Govern data storytelling quality, clarity, and consistency
• Track the downstream impact of insights and close the feedback loop

👥 5. Team Leadership, Culture & Advisory Capability

• Build, lead, and develop the Business Advisory team
• Define operating model, roles, and performance expectations
• Align Business Relationship Managers to business units
• Partner closely with Analytics & Insights and Data Engineering leaders
• Contribute to Merchant Data leadership decisions and strategic direction

💡 Key Competencies Required

• Strategic insight and commercial acumen
• Strong structuring and problem‑framing capability
• Persuasive stakeholder engagement and organisational sensitivity
• Results‑oriented delivery mindset
• Leadership and advisory excellence
• Ability to translate data into business value

🎓 Experience & Qualifications

Minimum Experience

• 8+ years’ experience in business analysis, business partnering, or management consulting roles
• Strong exposure to data, analytics, or technology‑led delivery environments
• Proven experience managing structured demand or portfolio processes
• Track record translating complex problems into actionable technical requirements
• Experience engaging senior leadership and executive forums
• Comfortable operating in fast‑moving, multi‑entity or post‑acquisition environments

Advantageous Experience

• Financial services / fintech background
• Exposure to project management or Agile/Scrum environments
• Understanding of modern data platforms and analytics stacks
• Product management or delivery‑function scaling experience
• Familiarity with demand tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or similar

Qualifications & Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Systems, Engineering, Commerce, or related field
• Post‑graduate qualification (MBA or equivalent) advantageous
• Certifications in Business Analysis (CBAP/BABOK), Project Management (PMP/PRINCE2), Agile/Scrum advantageous

🌟 Our Values

At Lesaka Merchant, we are guided by four core values:
✔ Entrepreneurial Spirit – We innovate boldly and act with ownership
✔ Integrity – We operate with honesty, trust, and transparency
✔ Collective Wisdom – We collaborate and leverage shared expertise
✔ Bias to Action – We deliver with urgency, discipline, and focus

📌 Preference will be made to support EE / AA measures.

🔥 Ready to Shape How Data Creates Business Value?

If you are a senior advisory leader who thrives at the intersection of business strategy, data, and delivery, this role offers a rare opportunity to shape how insights drive decisions across Lesaka’s Merchant Division.

📩 Apply now — or share this opportunity with an exceptional data‑driven business leader!

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