M-Pesa Africa - Principal Digital Manager at Safaricom Kenya

Role Description

Your responsibilities will include championing the digital transformation of M-Pesa as we prepare for millions of our customers and merchants to transition from feature phones to smartphones. This includes bringing the voice of the customer, industry trends and design thinking to the M-Pesa app and actively engaging and influencing key internal and external stakeholders. You will be the “linchpin” between the engineering teams and the business.

What you will be doing

Champion App Product Strategy & Execution:

• Own the vision for the consumer fintech app across 7 Markets;
• Lead 80+ people across Engineering, UX and Product to achieve product delivery;
• Drive the roadmap, incorporate industry and customer research to create a transformative product;
• Be a customer advocate, drive superior customer experience via UI/UX,  define customer journeys based on customer need, define acceptance criteria for every customer journey;
• Master product backlog: prioritize for business impact and superior customer experience;
• Rally product creation colleagues to drive timely results – developers, business analysts, architects, delivery managers, operations support, etc.

Spearhead Partnerships to Drive Innovation:

• Define partnership strategy for the app including on loyalty and rewards to drive engagement;
• Drive business development with relevant 3rd parties, negotiate key commercial and product terms and support legal on contracting across 7 markets.

Build "trusted advisor" relationship with business leaders across M-Pesa markets

• Co-develop launch and go to market plans with local product managers to drive uptake and engagement;
• Offer strategic support on the digital strategy and business case;
• Drive commercial rationalisation of the service roadmaps balancing requirements from multiple markets.

Competencies and Behaviours you require for the role

• Strong knowledge of mobile money, fintech and financial services;
• Experience with emerging market consumers, and multicultural sensitivity;
• Keen understanding of digital product lifecycle & software/mobile development;
• Experience with Agile/Lean management;
• Analytical bent of mind, structured thinker with strong business acumen;
• Results-driven self-starter;
• Solid influencing and negotiation skills.

Apply if you have:

• Over 8 years of professional experience with at least 5 years of digital product management at a fintech, bank or other relevant digital business
• Strong knowledge of mobile money, fintech and financial services
• Bachelor’s degree required, a Master’s degree in a related field preferred
• Certification in Scaled Agile Framework
• Contagious passion for, and commitment to driving mobile money growth and innovation
• Willingness to travel frequently