Koraplay is a web3-powered short form video social network platform where up-and-coming creators can monetize their contents and cash out earnings instantly.
About the Role
- The Head of Data and Artificial Intelligence will lead the company’s data strategy and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, driving innovation and operational excellence through data-driven decision-making. This role will be responsible for designing scalable data systems, ensuring regulatory compliance, and leveraging AI and machine learning to enhance business operations.
- The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with a strong technical background in data architecture, AI, and analytics —particularly within the payments industry in emerging markets. They should also possess strong leadership skills to build and develop a high-performing data team.
What You’ll be Doing
Data and AI Strategy and Leadership:
- Define and execute a company-wide data and AI and data strategy that is aligned with business goals.
- Build, mentor, and lead a team of ML engineers, data engineers, data analysts, data scientists, and governance specialists.
- Foster a data-driven and AI-first culture by promoting insights-driven decision-making across teams and 10X growth in our processes and performance.
- Collaborate with executive leadership to align data initiatives with business strategy.
Data Architecture and Engineering:
- Oversee the development of scalable data pipelines, infrastructure, and platforms.
- Ensure seamless integration of data across internal systems, payment networks, and external partners.
- Optimise real-time data processing capabilities for fraud detection, transaction monitoring, and risk management.
- Evaluate and adopt modern data storage, processing, and analytics technologies (e.g., cloud platforms, ETL tools, AI frameworks).
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning:
- Identify, adapt, adopt, deploy, or develop AI agents to optimise processes.
- Develop and deploy AI models for fraud detection, customer segmentation, credit risk assessment, and other PSP-specific applications.
- Implement AI-driven personalisation for customer interactions, improving engagement and retention.
- Establish robust MLOps practices to streamline model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management.
- Ensure AI models comply with ethical guidelines, minimising bias and ensuring fairness in decision-making.
Regulatory Compliance and Data/AI Governance:
- Implement data governance policies to comply with local and international regulations (e.g., GDPR, NDPR, Kenya Data Protection Act).
- Ensure data privacy, security, and quality across all business units and regions.
- Work with the Legal and Compliance teams to mitigate risks related to data usage.
Business Intelligence and Insights:
- Deliver actionable insights to key stakeholders through dashboards, reports, and advanced analytics.
- Analyse transaction data, payment flows, and customer behaviour to identify trends and business opportunities.
- Improve data accessibility and visualisation across departments to enhance decision-making.
Innovation and R&D:
- Stay updated on advancements in AI, machine learning, and data engineering.
- Explore new technologies to improve operational efficiency and customer experience.
- Lead pilot projects to test and deploy innovative AI-driven solutions.
Change Management & AI Adoption
- Drive organisation-wide adoption of AI-powered decision-making tools.
- Develop training programs and best practices to upskill employees on AI applications.
- Oversee the integration of AI models into existing business processes with minimal disruption.
Budget & Vendor Management:
- Work with the Head of Operations to manage AI and data-related budgets, optimising costs while ensuring high performance.
- Evaluate and recommend third-party vendors, tools, and platforms for AI and data analytics.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
- Work closely with all teams to embed AI and analytics into all business workflows.
- Partner with the Legal, Compliance, and Risk teams to ensure responsible data usage.
- Act as a thought leader, educating internal stakeholders on AI-driven opportunities.
Requirements
What You’ll Need
You’re qualified if you are/have:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
- An MBA or equivalent business experience is a plus.
- 5+ years of experience in data and AI leadership roles, preferably within fintech or payment processing companies.
- Proven expertise in designing and managing large-scale data platforms and AI-driven systems.
- Deep understanding of the payments ecosystem, including fraud prevention and regulatory compliance in Africa.
- Strong track record of driving AI adoption and change management within an organisation.
- Strong programming skills (Python, SQL, R) and experience with AI/ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn).
- Proficiency with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and data warehousing tools (Snowflake, BigQuery).
- Experience with data visualisation tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker).
- Knowledge of data governance and security frameworks.
- Strategic thinker with the ability to communicate complex ideas to non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong leadership and team-building capabilities.
- Exceptional problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
- Ability to drive change and influence cross-functional teams.
Method of Application
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