Strategic Partnership Executive

JOB DESCRIPTION: STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS EXECUTIVE 

Sector: Financial Services
Location: Lagos / Nigeria
Department: Consumer Business 

Reports to: Head Consumer Business

Level: Mid-Level Executive

Type: Full-time

Work mode: Hybrid

About Paga

Paga is on a mission to enable one billion Africans and millions of SMEs to pay, preserve hard-earned income, participate in global trade, and purchase goods and services at home and abroad. We have built a multicurrency, cloud-based payments and financial services engine that leverages multiple business services built on the same best-in-class infrastructure to serve the ecosystem through three businesses - Paga Engine (Enterprise B2B - www.pagaengine.com); Paga (Consumer - www.Paga.com); and Doroki (SME Retail -www.doroki.com). Paga has three licenses with the Central Bank of Nigeria: mobile money, international remittance, and a microfinance bank. Paga is headquartered in the United Kingdom and has operating entities in Nigeria, the United States, and Ethiopia. Founded in 2009, Paga now serves millions of users and businesses across Africa and beyond.

We’re a fast-growing consumer fintech company on a mission to transform how people in emerging markets manage, move, and grow their money. Our product serves an increasingly global user base, with deep roots in Nigeria, and we’re now expanding both our reach and our impact.

To support this growth, we’re looking for a Strategic Partnerships Executive (Nigeria) to help us identify high-impact opportunities, build and manage strategic relationships, and lead cross-functional initiatives that drive user and revenue growth.

About the Role

As Strategic Partnerships Executive - SPE, you will play a key role in shaping and executing our growth strategy across Nigeria and the EMEA region. You will be responsible for acquiring and managing new merchants and partnerships and taking ownership of the Consumer Direct sales pipeline that supports our expansion goals.

The ideal candidate will identify market opportunities, assisting merchants and billers to join the Paga ecosystem to grow their business by offering services to our retail customers. The 

The SPE will work closely with growth and product teams to identify high-impact initiatives and nurture partnerships through effective communication with prospects, understanding their needs and ensuring a smooth transition to established merchants on our platform. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role that requires a deep understanding of the fintech landscape in EMEA, strong commercial instincts, and a track record of executing strategic initiatives end to end.

What You'll Be Doing

Identify & execute strategic partnerships across digital services, banking, payments, telcos, fintechs, and platforms to unlock new user segments, revenue streams, growth and distribution opportunities

Assess market trends, user needs, and competitor activity to recommend new product features or geographic expansion opportunities

Lead partner relationship management — from initial engagement and negotiation through to implementation, performance monitoring, and ongoing optimisation to ensure client satisfaction.

Gather and share feedback with product, operations, compliance, and engineering teams to bring new partnerships and features to life

Own business development pipelines, conduct due diligence, and prepare business cases for new initiatives

Collaborate with leadership on regional go-to-market strategies and growth priorities

Track performance metrics and report outcomes for all initiatives under your portfolio

Participate and represent the company in exhibitions and or industry events to drive brand visibility and build a prospect pipeline.

What We’re Looking For

3–6 years of experience in fintech, financial services, or tech — ideally in a strategy, partnerships, business development, or growth role

Proven experience building partnerships or strategic alliances in the EMEA region

Strong project management skills with the ability to drive cross-functional execution

Deep understanding of EMEA fintech ecosystems, especially in emerging markets (e.g., Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Brazil, etc.)

Commercial mindset with a strong grasp of business models, revenue drivers, and user behaviour

Excellent relationship-building, negotiation, and communication skills

Comfortable working in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment with evolving priorities

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or related field (MBA is a plus)

Entrepreneurial drive, curiosity, and a self-starter attitude

Experience working with cross-functional teams (product, legal, compliance, etc.)

Nice to Have

Experience working with consumer products, mobile money, neobanks, or remittances

Why Join Us?

Join a mission-driven team building meaningful financial tools for underserved users

Play a leading role in shaping our growth in Nigeria and the EMEA region

Work in a collaborative, agile, and impact-focused environment

Competitive compensation, meaningful equity, and growth opportunities.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on grounds of colour, race, nationality, religion, age, ethnic origin, disability, gender, marital status, or sexual orientation in our employment practices.