Regional Manager - Business Development (Francophone)

Join Zepz: Breaking Down Borders, Together

Our Meaningful Mission
At Zepz, we're all about breaking down barriers for our customers and our teammates. Our purpose is deeply personal, we provide a lifeline and deliver opportunities to cross-border communities that need it most through cutting edge finance and tech.Zepz is the power behind WorldRemit and Sendwave,  driven by the mission to celebrate the incredible impact migrants have, both at home and abroad. We're not just moving money; we're building a world that truly recognizes and supports global connections.

Who You'll Be Joining
We look for mission-driven builders who thrive in a fast-paced environment connected to a true purpose. We’re an always developing team of experts that enjoy problem solving and bring clarity to tough challenges. At Zepz, we are Relentless Learners, always seeking feedback, and  Responsible Owners, treating company resources like your own. We depend on Transparent Communicators who keep the team aligned through open, honest talk.
Our Core Commitments — What We Live By
Our vibrant and truly diverse culture is built on three core commitments, that guide how we work and interact:

• Integrity: We always do the right thing. It’s simple, but it’s the foundation of everything we build for our customers and each other.
• Outcomes: We work for our customers. Their success and prosperity are the results we focus on delivering.
• Velocity: We are fast! We maintain high energy levels and make smart decisions quickly, keeping us nimble and ahead of the curve.

Perks of Joining Our Team
We believe in empowering colleagues because we genuinely trust our team. Our culture is founded on this high trust, which naturally encourages the high ownership that drives us to meet our shared high expectations and deliver high performance. Our remote-first culture means you have the flexibility to work in your employing country wherever you feel the most focused and productive. This freedom comes with wonderful tailored, location-specific perks designed to support your whole life, not just your work. Think unlimited annual leave , great healthcare benefits, and employee discounts. We want you to thrive and focus entirely on making your biggest impact! In turn, we expect you to bring high ownership and commitment to your work. This is a place where we value trust and high performance, and we'll provide the environment and support needed for you to excel
About the Role
As the Regional Manager, Business Development for West and Central Africa (UEMOA/XOF and CEMAC/XAF zones), you will drive Zepz’s expansion, commercial optimization, and strategic footprint across a high-growth, complex financial landscape. This role focuses heavily on the remittance, payments and FX wholesale industries, requiring a professional who can operate with high autonomy to unlock new corridors and maximize existing ones.
You will be responsible for end-to-end market growth—from pitching and structuring complex deals to navigating strict central bank regulations (BCEAO and BEAC) and managing high-stakes relationships with banking executives, aggregators, and regulators.
What you bring to the table
1. New Market Launches & Corridor Expansion

• Identify, assess, and execute new market entry strategies across the XOF and XAF regions to expand Zepz’s remittance footprint.
• Lead the end-to-end launch of new receive corridors, ensuring fast time-to-market while mitigating operational and compliance risks.

2. Deal Negotiation & Creative Structuring

• Originate, negotiate, and close high-value partnerships with Tier-1 Banks, Payment Aggregators, and Mobile Money Operators (MMOs).
• Develop and construct creative, bespoke deal structures that optimize liquidity, treasury flows, and FX wholesale pricing, ensuring total alignment with Zepz’s internal framework and regional regulatory boundaries.

3. Commercial Optimization & FX Management

• Continuously review and optimize existing commercial agreements to improve margins, reduce payout costs, and drive transaction volume.
• Work closely with the Treasury and FX Wholesale teams to leverage competitive FX rates, managing the unique challenges of the XOF/XAF pegged currencies and capital flight restrictions.

4. Regulatory & Relationship Management

• Act as the primary face of Zepz to regional central banks (BCEAO, BEAC), ministries of finance, and local financial intelligence units.
• Build and sustain deep, trust-based relationships with C-suite executives at commercial banks, major forex exchanges, and top-tier payment aggregators.

5. Strategy, Analytics & Business Case Development

• Formulate comprehensive, data-driven business cases for executive approval, clearly outlining ROI, capital requirements, competitive dynamics, and risk factors.
• Utilize strong analytical skills to monitor corridor performance, transaction trends, and competitive pricing pressures to pivot strategies proactively.

What we are looking for 
Industry Expertise

• Deep Cross-Border Payout Knowledge: A minimum of 7–10 years of experience in Business Development or Partnerships, with a strict focus on the Remittance, Cross-Border Payments, or FX Wholesale industries within West and Central Africa.
• Regional Footprint: Proven track record operating within the XOF (UEMOA) and XAF (CEMAC) monetary zones, with a deep understanding of their distinct regulatory, liquidity, and compliance nuances.

Competencies & Attributes

• High Autonomy: A self-starter who thrives with minimal supervision, capable of managing a vast geographic region independently and delivering results from the ground up.
• Strategic & Commercial Acumen: Ability to see the "big picture" while concurrently executing tactical commercial wins; sharp financial acumen to understand complex treasury, float, and clearing mechanics.
• Strong Business Case Writing: Exceptional ability to translate market data, volume projections, and margin analysis into structured, compelling written business cases for senior leadership.
• Analytical Rigor: Proficient in using data to identify corridor bottlenecks, evaluate partner performance, and forecast growth.
• Master Negotiator: Demonstrated success in navigating complex, multi-party commercial negotiations with high-stakes financial institutions.

Language & Education

• Language Proficiency: Fluency in English and French is mandatory (both written and spoken), given the necessity to negotiate with francophone institutions and report into a global corporate structure.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or a related field; an MBA or advanced degree is highly advantageous.

AI Literacy & Tools
As Zepz continues to build AI into how we work, we expect everyone to engage with it as a core part of their role. For this position we are looking for:

• A genuine curiosity about AI and how it can be applied in your area of work — from accelerating analysis and insight generation, to improving how we design and deliver processes and communications.
• Practical experience using AI tools in a professional context — whether to connect information, draft content, build frameworks, or create insights from data. We want people who actively use AI to increase productivity, not those who are waiting to be told to.
• Strong AI literacy — an understanding of what AI assistants can and cannot do, how to prompt effectively, and how to critically evaluate AI-generated output before using it.
• Awareness of the ethical considerations and responsible use of AI in the workplace, particularly in the context of sensitive data, customer experience, and compliance.
• Prior experience using Claude (Anthropic) is a nice-to-have but not essential — what matters most is that you are genuinely engaged with AI as a tool, comfortable experimenting, and eager to share what works with your wider team

If you want to join us in our journey to help break barriers in financial access and improve lives globally, there's no better place or time to join.
Our global team of 800+ people is spread across six continents. We aspire to hire the best mix of people from former Olympians to YouTube influencers and we speak over twenty languages. This incredible diversity isn't a bonus; it's the engine that lets us serve the world.
Ready to Apply? Let’s Go.