Anthanasius Otaru
Head, Application Implementation
Victoria Island
Summary
Seeking full-time position that offers professional challenges utilizing interpersonal skills, excellent time management and problem-solving skills. Detail-oriented team player with strong organizational skills. Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
9
9
years of post-secondary education
11
11
Certifications
Work History
Head, Application Implementation
Hydrogen Payment Services Company
Lagos, Nigeria
09.2023 - Current
- In charge of Integration to external payments systems (hosts)
- Define and control service transition process for all switch related applications
- Manage integration projects to new payments schemes, financial institutions, switches, payment facilitators, aggregators and other partners
- Supervise and coordinates members of Implementation management team
- Create technical specifications and test plans
- Responsible for all customer and implementation and optimization projects
- Provide implementation and configuration support to Hydrogen clients
- Manage non-routine, complex processing and change requests, as well as support customer initiatives
- Proactively identify and recommend opportunities for process improvement resulting in improved efficiency and effectiveness, and increased customer satisfaction by 75%
- Assess operational opportunities to increase service quality or efficiency within department
- Coordinate internal Hydrogen resources to ensure delivery on commitments and report customer project accomplishments and deliverables to management monthly
- Prepare and maintain detailed projects plans, status reports, and issues logs ion support of initiatives
- Provide training to Internal and /or cross-functional teams and external clients, as applicable
- Act as lead for corporate and /or client initiatives both internal and external using best practices, lesson learned, and technical / analytical skills.
- Demonstrated creativity and resourcefulness through development of innovative solutions.
- Gained strong leadership skills by managing projects from start to finish.
- Developed and maintained courteous and effective working relationships
- Acted as team leader in group projects, delegating tasks and providing feedback
- Worked well in team setting, providing support and guidance
- Proven ability to develop and implement creative solutions to complex problems
- Demonstrated strong organizational and time management skills while managing multiple projects
- Used critical thinking to break down problems, evaluate solutions and make decisions
- Cultivated interpersonal skills by building positive relationships with others
- Developed strong organizational and communication skills through coursework and volunteer activities
- Proven ability to learn quickly and adapt to new situations
- Demonstrated respect, friendliness and willingness to help wherever needed
- Managed time efficiently in order to complete all tasks within deadlines
- Strengthened communication skills through regular interactions with others
- Demonstrated creativity and resourcefulness through development of innovative solutions
- Assisted with day-to-day operations, working efficiently and productively with all team members
- Used strong analytical and problem-solving skills to develop effective solutions for challenging situations
- Demonstrated creativity and resourcefulness through development of innovative solutions
Head, Subsidiaries IT channels Support
First Bank Nigeria Plc
Lagos, Nigeria
07.2023 - 09.2023
- Managed Switching and Payments channels applications for Africa subsidiaries
- Worked with Information and cyber security team in remediating all critical and high security vulnerabilities on bank’s systems
- Developed and partnered with both internal and external fraud risk teams to ensure that bank is utilizing adequate fraud prevention and detection tools
- Managed vendor relationship, SLA reviews, contract negotiations and execution in conjunction with procurement
- Ensured that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes within payments space
- Maintained regulatory standards within Payments Applications space and participated in audit activities like PCI DSS and internal vulnerability assessments and achieved zero audit exceptions at the end of audit
- Collaborated with other functions in bank like Data analytics and Business Intelligence team in building customized reports for business team
- Managed stakeholders and collaborate with other units in implementing changes
- Led Project Implementation for the Bank’s Africa subsidiaries.
- Demonstrated leadership skills in managing projects from concept to completion.
Team Lead, Channel Delivery Services
Access Bank Nigeria Plc
Lagos, Nigeria
12.2021 - 06.2023
- Managed Postilion and Bankworld Switches for the bank and its subsidiaries in other African countries
- Developed and implemented performance improvement strategies for Debit, Prepaid and credit cards for over 40M customers of the bank
- Developed and partner with both internal and external fraud risk teams to ensure that the bank is utilizing adequate fraud prevention and detection tools
- Pro-actively monitored and identified suspicious transactions trends and patterns, advising preventative actions and continuous reviews of current procedures, policies, and systems
- Saved $30,000 by implementing cost-saving initiatives that addressed long-standing problems in cards space in terms of licensing and support payments
- Ensured 99% remediation of all critical and high Security vulnerabilities of payments applications within 48 and 72 hours respectively
- Worked with fraud risk group in Identifying and implementing system enhancements to prevent fraudulent activities
- Ensured availability of 99% Switching Infrastructure and increase reliability of transaction processing services
- Managed vendor relationship, SLA reviews, contract negotiations and execution in conjunction with procurement and legal teams
- Collaborated with other payments managers in sharing knowledge and workload which resulted in driving up team’s efficiency by 25%
- Managed Debit and Credit cards related risks and support changes to payments ecosystem
- Ensured that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes within payments space
- Anticipated risks, define and configure appropriate business rules to negate fraud in card’s ecosystem
- Maintained regulatory standards within Payments Applications space and participate in audit activities like PCI DSS and internal vulnerability assessments and achieved zero audit exceptions
- Collaborated with other functions in bank like Data analytics and Business Intelligence team to understand cards space and key performance trends
- Maintained up-to-date knowledge of industry trends and regulatory changes to identify future requirements and opportunities
- Led mini-projects and analyzed data to identify opportunities for improvement in the bank’s cards ecosystem and its subsidiaries across 11 countries.
- Assisted in recruitment of new team members, hiring highest qualified to build team of top performers.
- Helped meet changing demands by recommending improvements to business systems or procedures.
- Reviewed, implemented and updated company records related to team activities for future reference
- Helped meet changing demands by recommending improvements to business systems or procedures
- Provided reporting for forecast analysis and ad-hoc reporting in support of decision-making
- Nurtured long-term partnerships with clients by understanding their needs accurately, delivering projects on time, and providing exceptional customer support
- Influenced positive change within organization through strategic thinking, innovation, problem-solving abilities, and consistent leadership style
- Led cross-functional teams for successful project execution while maintaining strong collaboration among team members
- Enhanced overall team performance by providing regular coaching, feedback, and skill development opportunities
- Monitored team performance and provided constructive feedback to increase productivity and maintain quality standards
Cards Support / Payment Systems Engineer
Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Plc
Lagos, Nigeria
08.2019 - 11.2021
- Managed card management and payments switching (Postilion) application
- Managed Hardware security module (HSM) and anchor key generation activities thereof
- Supported and maintained other payments applications like Remita, NAPS, CorporatePay, Payoutlet and Card pin issuance
- Participated in negotiating and agreeing on SLAs with business unit, vendors and OLA with other supporting business units
- Integrated third party applications to core switching (Postilion) application
- Ensured that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes within payments space
- Interfaced with vendors and business teams and help in implementing channels projects
- Maintained regulatory standards within Payments Applications space and participate in audit activities like PCI DSS and internal vulnerability assessments
- Prepared channels reports for trend analysis
- Attended to 99% of tickets logged on incident management platform within agreed SLA
- Provided support to Service monitoring team during weekends/holidays and during non-working hours.
- Collaborated with other departments to facilitate successful project completion.
- Achieved successful project outcomes by maintaining accurate documentation and meeting strict deadlines.
- Wrote, reviewed and edited technical document in accordance with template requirements
- Leveraged data-driven decision-making to identify opportunities for process enhancements, leading to significant cost savings
- Acted as team leader in group projects, delegating tasks and providing feedback
Channels Infrastructure/ Payment Systems Engineer
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
Lagos, Nigeria
01.2013 - 08.2019
- Managed and supported card management and payments switching application
- Deployed and configured new /existing features, business objects and acquirer related items on system
- Supported and maintained other payments applications like NIP, Internet and mobile banking, USSD and web services across multiple business units of Bank
- Maintained Instant card Issuance and Instant pin issuance platforms
- Managed Hardware security module (HSM)
- Payments systems integration with other business applications and assist with test cases definition, preparation and implementation
- Ensured that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes within payments space
- Managed Kimono application and configured kimono POS for pin Issuance
- Maintained business engagement processes and customer engagement between IT and channels application vendors
- Collaborated with vendors and business teams to implement projects
- Proactively communicated and collaborated with end users (external and internal customers) to analyze information needs and functional requirements and deliver functional requirements and business requirements documentation
- Maintained regulatory standards within Payments Applications space and participate in audit activities like ISO 27001, ISO 9001:2000 and PCI DSS.
- Presented technical findings to stakeholders, ensuring clear understanding of project status and goals.
- Developed positive working relationships with stakeholders to effectively coordinate work activities.
- Assisted in developing cost-effective solutions to engineering problems
- Cultivated interpersonal skills by building positive relationships with others
- Proven ability to learn quickly and adapt to new situations
Datacenter Support Analyst
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
Lagos, Nigeria
01.2010 - 12.2012
- Effected databases backups and restore activities in line with Service Level Agreements
- Implemented quarterly preventive maintenance of branch servers and printers
- Generated daily, monthly and yearly financial reports
- Trained and coached new team members
- Carried out capacity planning as well as Infrastructure design and support
- Used Sermon application monitoring tool to ensure that all critical application services are up
- Obtained feedbacks from end users on I.T
- System usage experiences to enable service improvement
- Conducted tests (Proof of Concept) on new IT Infrastructure solutions and implement selected ones.
- Configured hardware, devices, and software to set up work stations for employees.
- Configured and tested new software and hardware.
Service Desk Support Officer
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
Lagos, Nigeria
09.2009 - 12.2010
- Resolved 0ver 90% of first level incidents and liaised directly with user and relevant I.T Units
- Attended to challenges as faced by branches in their day-to-day operations either by mail, telephone calls and service desk application by taking immediate and/or appropriate action as assigned by superior officer
- Maintained and submitted reports to I.T
- Managed over 40 calls from bank's branches per day
- Provided one-on-one assistance to users on technology related issues
- Deployed and maintained hardware like desktop and laptop, printers and other peripherals.
- Established effective relationships with key stakeholders both internally and externally for increased collaboration opportunities
- Provided reporting for forecast analysis and ad-hoc reporting in support of decision-making
- Gained extensive knowledge in data entry, analysis and reporting
Education
Master of Information Technology - Information Technology
University of Lagos
Lagos, Nigeria 10.2010 - 04.2014
Bachelor of Engineering in Petroleum Engineering - Petroleum Engineering
University of Benin
Benin City, Edo, Nigeria 01.2000 - 11.2005
Skills
Working knowledge of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Excellent Communication
Interpersonal Communication
Friendly, Positive Attitude
Supervision and leadership
Operating Systems - Windows, Linux
Microsoft Office – Word, Excel, P/Point; Visio
Risk and vulnerability management
Project and Change management
Databases-Oracle, MSSQL and MySQL
Information security audit & compliance
Standards – PCI DSS, ISO8583
Working knowledge of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Certification
Postilion 5.5 (Active/Active)
Accomplishments
- Executive management award for Flexcube Universal Banking Software Implementation at Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
- Implemented Instant Pin Issuance solution for Cards Via POS and ATMs
- Implemented Postilion 5.5 Switching software upgrade
- Actively participated in ISO 27001, ISO 9001:2000 and PCI DSS certifications projects
- Executed ATM remote Key management on Diebold terminals and a first in the Nigerian Banking Industry
Timeline
Head, Application Implementation
Hydrogen Payment Services Company
09.2023 - Current
Head, Subsidiaries IT channels Support
First Bank Nigeria Plc
07.2023 - 09.2023
Team Lead, Channel Delivery Services
Access Bank Nigeria Plc
12.2021 - 06.2023
Cards Support / Payment Systems Engineer
Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Plc
08.2019 - 11.2021
Channels Infrastructure/ Payment Systems Engineer
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
01.2013 - 08.2019
Master of Information Technology - Information Technology
University of Lagos
10.2010 - 04.2014
Datacenter Support Analyst
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
01.2010 - 12.2012
Service Desk Support Officer
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
09.2009 - 12.2010
Bachelor of Engineering in Petroleum Engineering - Petroleum Engineering
University of Benin
01.2000 - 11.2005