PATH is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. With more than 40 years of experience forging multisector partnerships and with expertise in science, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales up innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing heath challenges.

Location: South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, or Rwanda.

Duration: Approximately 6 months (with possibility of extension based on requirement)

South Sudan, Africa’s youngest nation, is on a journey to build a robust financial future. While its economy has traditionally been cash-based, a promising landscape for innovation is emerging. As the country expands its banking access and embraces digital solutions, there’s a significant opportunity to drive financial inclusion and economic growth for all of its citizens.

Recognizing this potential, the Bank of South Sudan (BoSS), as the central bank and regulator of payment systems, has made the development of a modern, interoperable Inclusive Instant Payment System a strategic priority. This initiative is fully aligned with the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and the country’s broader economic development objectives.

In partnership with PATH and AfricaNenda, BoSS is pursuing an approach that blends international best practices with solutions tailored to South Sudan’s unique context and needs. The South Sudan Inclusive Instant Payment System (SSIIPS) is designed to be a comprehensive financial market infrastructure that will:

• Enable real-time, 24/7/365 transfers between participating financial institutions.
• Support multiple payment use cases, including Person-to-Person (P2P), Person-to-Business (P2B), Government payments, and Request-to-Pay (RTP) and cash-in and cash-out.
• Advance financial inclusion by making digital payments more accessible, affordable, and convenient.
• Improve payment efficiency and reduce reliance on cash.
• Strengthening the country’s digital financial infrastructure.
• Create opportunities for innovation in financial services.

The technical and business design for the SSIIPS has been developed, drawing on international standards. However, a robust governance framework is essential to ensure that the system operates efficiently, securely, and in compliance with regulatory requirements.

PATH seeks a Payment Systems Governance and Operations Consultant to develop the three core instruments required for this governance framework: a Participation Agreement, Scheme Rules, Business Requirement Document, and Operational Guidelines, including the User experience guidelines. These documents will define the legal, operational, and procedural foundations for the SSIIPS, ensuring clarity, consistency, and enforceability across all participants. This position will work with PATH, AfricaNenda and BOSS to develop a comprehensive governance and operational framework for SSIIPS.

Job Responsibilities:

Inception Phase:

• Conduct an inception phase to build a full understanding of the South Sudan context, engage with key stakeholders, and confirm the approach for the assignment. This phase will include:

• Mapping stakeholders and preparing an engagement plan, including proposed consultation methods and timelines.
• Identifying gaps in available information and proposing strategies to address them.
• Outlining the methodology and approach for the regulatory and market review to be carried out in the next phase.
• Prepare a report outlining the methodology, work plan, deliverables framework, stakeholder engagement plan, and risk assessment for review and approval

Regulatory and Market Review:

• Building on the inception phase, conduct a detailed review of South Sudan’s financial services landscape, regulatory, and market framework relevant to the SSIIPS. This phase will:

• Analyze financial sector regulations, payment system laws, consumer protection provisions, AML/CFT requirements, and central bank directives.
• Review market dynamics, including existing payment instruments, financial inclusion indicators, infrastructure readiness, and interoperability considerations.
• Identify regulatory and market gaps, constraints, and enablers for the implementation of SSIIPS.
• Prepare a report, providing clear findings and recommendations that will directly inform the drafting of the Scheme Rules, Participation Agreement, and other deliverables.

Participant Agreement:

• Develop a Standard Participation Agreement to serve as the legally binding contract between the Scheme Manager and each participant. The agreement will:

• Define enforceable rights, obligations, and responsibilities.
• Cover operational, technical, commercial, compliance, and legal provisions.
• Be adaptable for different participant categories.
• Draft the agreement, facilitate stakeholder review, revise it based on feedback, and ensure legal alignment with South Sudan’s framework.

Scheme Rules:

• Develop the Scheme Rules that provide the governance and operational framework for the IPS, defining system operation, participant interaction, and risk management requirements. The rules will align with the technical design, regulatory requirements, and market needs, and will be accompanied by an explanatory note. It should cover:

• Governance structure and decision-making processes.
• Participation and access criteria.
• Operational procedures, settlement processes, and technical standards.
• Risk management, compliance, pricing, and consumer protection provisions.

Operational Guidelines:

• Develop Operational Guidelines that convert the Scheme Rules into detailed step-by-step procedures for priority use cases anticipated to include, but not be limited to, Person-to-Person (P2P), Person-to-Business (P2B), Request-to-Pay (RTP), government payments, and Cash-in/Cash-out transactions. The guidelines will, in alignment with the approved Functional Specifications:

• Define end-to-end transaction flows, roles and responsibilities (swim-lanes), and message/data requirements.
• Set operational timings (SLAs), exception handling and error codes, and reconciliation/reporting processes.
• Provide participant training and onboarding materials (checklists, templates, quick-reference guides) and be updated to reflect approved changes.
• Detail transaction flows, roles and responsibilities, and message/data requirements.
• Define operational timings, exception handling, and reconciliation processes.

• Serve as training and onboarding material for participants.

Business Requirements:

• Develop a comprehensive Business Requirements Document (BRD) focused specifically on the Person-to-Person (P2P) use case within SSIIPS. This document will provide a complete, testable set of requirements to guide both design and implementation.
  • Functional Requirements: Detailed specifications of all P2P transaction capabilities, user interactions, processing rules, and system behavior.
  • Non-Functional Requirements: Performance metrics, security standards, scalability parameters, and reliability expectations.
• The BRD will serve as the definitive reference for developers, testers, and system integrators working on the P2P functionality within SSIIPS, ensuring that the implemented solution meets all business and technical needs.

User Experience (UX) Guidelines:

• Develop channel-agnostic UX Guidelines to ensure consistent, inclusive, and safe P2P journeys across all access methods. The UX Guidelines will include principles for accessibility, user flow consistency, error handling, confirmation messages, and security notifications.

Stakeholder Consultation:

• Design and implement a structured consultation process throughout the assignment to ensure stakeholder input and buy-in. This will include workshops, interviews, and written feedback rounds at key milestones. A Stakeholder Engagement Report will summarize the process, key feedback, and how it was addressed.

Finalization and Implementation Guidance:

• Finalize all deliverables based on feedback, ensuring internal consistency and compliance. An Implementation Guidance Note will be prepared, covering:
  • Steps for operationalizing the framework.
  • Participant onboarding.
  • Governance structure set-up.
  • Risk management implementation.
  • Ongoing monitoring and review processes.
  • Knowledge transfer activities, including briefings and training sessions, will be conducted to ensure stakeholders can apply and maintain the governance framework.

Project Monitoring:

• Provide weekly progress updates summarizing completed activities, upcoming tasks, and any issues or risks.
• Participate in bi-weekly status meetings with PATH, AfricaNenda and BOSS
• Communicate promptly regarding any risks to the timeline, with proposed mitigation measures.

Required experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in law, finance, economics, business administration, IT or any other relevant technical field. Advanced certification or degree in related field would be added advantage
• Minimum of 10 years of professional experience in technical roles such as payment systems, design, governance, or regulation, with a minimum of 5 years of experience in designing or implementing instant payment systems or comparable financial market infrastructures.
• Strong understanding of instant payment system architectures, ISO 20022 messaging standards, and operational models.
• Proven track record in developing governance frameworks, scheme rules and legal agreements for payment systems, preferably in East Africa or emerging markets.
• Previous experience/ Demonstrated expertise in a similar role would be preferred for this position.

Skills/ Abilities

• Excellent knowledge of computer application, mobile applications, IT solutions.
• Excellent understanding of instant payment system architectures, ISO 20022 standards and operational models.
• Self-starter and committed to performing their duties with a high degree of autonomy in line with project goals and objectives.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to convey complex technical and policy concepts to diverse audiences.
• Self-directed and creative individual with experience managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong strategic thinking, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Ability to develop productive working relationships with government officials, partner organizations, and other key stakeholders including other team members
• Data analysis, data visualization, and analytical thinking skills.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills
• Ability to multitask and work in a multi-cultural team.
• Ability to handle a variety of assignments under pressure of deadlines.
• Ability to travel up to 30-40% of the time.

Travel

For in-country travel that is required, if any, PATH will support with reimbursement for accommodation and expenses for agreed sub-national visits. Agreement on the purpose and dates of travel will be needed prior to travel authorization. Covered travel will include meals and incidental expenses (M&IE), lodging, and travel expenses (i.e., car hire). Reasonable mileage and/or taxi fares for in-person meetings will be reimbursed.

To apply, please submit your CV (max 3 pages), work samples of previous work that clearly demonstrate your skills and experience relevant to the role, and a short cover letter (max 1 page) summarizing relevant experience and including daily rate in USD.