Job Description

What is the role?

As Cybersecurity Officer for West Africa, you will be responsible for executing PawaPay's cybersecurity programme across the region. Working closely with and reporting to the Head of Cybersecurity, you will implement the company's global security strategy and advise where necessary the local context across both Francophone and Anglophone West African markets.

This is a hands-on execution role. You will be the regional face of cybersecurity at PawaPay executing day-to-day security operations, supporting regulatory engagement, managing local risk, and ensuring that group security policies and practices are consistently applied across all regional activities. You will also be the primary security point of contact for the region.

Responsibilities will include

• Execute PawaPay's cybersecurity programme across West African operations in line with the organization’s adopted cybersecurity strategy and standards.
• Conduct regular risk assessments and vulnerability reviews and provide mitigation recommendations in line with the organization’s frameworks.
• Monitor, detect and respond to security threats and incidents, escalating to the Head of Cybersecurity as appropriate.
• Support regulatory and compliance engagements with central banks, regulators, cybersecurity and data protection authorities across Francophone and Anglophone West Africa.
• Ensure regional adherence to and localisation of PawaPay's information security policies, standards and frameworks.
• Act as the regional security point of contact for internal teams including Engineering, Operations and Regulatory teams providing day-to-day guidance and support.
• Coordinate and support penetration testing, security audits and third-party assessments in the region ensuring timely closure of findings.
• Drive security awareness and training initiatives across the organisation in the region.

You Are a Perfect Fit If You Have

• 4+ years of experience in information security or cybersecurity, ideally within fintech, telecommunication or regulated financial services.
• Professional fluency in both English and French (written and spoken). This is a mandatory requirement given our Francophone West Africa operations
• Extensive knowledge of security frameworks and standards
• Hands-on experience with threat monitoring, incident response and vulnerability management
• Familiarity with mobile money ecosystems, payment infrastructure or API-driven platforms.
• Experience engaging with regulators, central banks or data protection authorities in West Africa.
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Relevant certifications are an advantage: CEH,CISSP, CISA or equivalent
• Strong communication skills — able to translate technical risks into clear language for non-technical stakeholders
• Self-starter with the ability to operate independently, take ownership and deliver in a fast-paced, distributed team environment