Country Lead (FinTech/Startup/Mobile Payments)

Black Pen Recruitment; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 45 000 - 55 000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic solar energy startup in Cape Town is seeking a Country Lead to manage operations and support various functional areas. This role is for candidates with a Bachelor's degree and entrepreneurial spirit. You'll work hands-on with the team and be expected to solve commercial problems effectively. The position offers hybrid work flexibility and opportunities for travel within Africa.

Benefits

Great offices at the V&A Waterfront

Opportunity to participate in ESOP

Flexible paid time off

Annual team retreats

Exciting travel opportunities

Qualifications

• Exceptional graduates or up to 3 years experience, preferably in emerging markets.
• Experience in taking ownership of projects that impact lives.

Responsibilities

• Manage country operations including P&L.
• Practice entrepreneurship and take accountability.
• Support various functional areas as needed.

Skills

Entrepreneurship

Problem-solving

Cultural communication

Education

Bachelor's in Commerce, Science or Engineering

Job description

Our client is an innovative pay-as-you-go solar startup. They make life better for everyday households in Africa where they build amazing tech to help bring access to energy, internet and opportunity to people who otherwise wouldn’t. Our client is a dynamic, hardworking team that values flexibility and focuses on results over office hours. They are resourceful and budget-conscious, whether they are traveling or working. They believe in resilience, self-reliance, and long-term sustainability. With our client your career growth is driven by your ambitions, from expanding your role to exploring new areas of the business.

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Type: Full time/Permanent

Requirements

• Education: Bachelors in Commerce, Science or Engineering university degree
• Experience: Exceptional graduates welcome, or 0–3 years of professional experience, ideally including exposure to high-growth, emerging-market, or socially impactful organisations.
• Entrepreneurship: Demonstrated experience of bringing a project to life and owning its outcome. It doesn't necessarily have to be a company, but should be a project that has an impact on the lives of others.

Responsibilities

As a Country Lead with our client, you will:

• Practice Entrepreneurship: Your level of responsibility is not determined by your age or experience, it's dependent on how much accountability you take and how effectively you can solve commercial problems - these are the hallmarks of a great entrepreneur. In this role, and throughout the career path beyond Country Lead, these are the skills you will hone.
• Manage country operations: You'll be a leader from day one. Your role will entail working with functional heads (Sales, Credit, People) to manage the profit & loss of a country. Imagine troubleshooting sales issues, training & developing in-country operations team members, and managing the financial outcomes of the business.
• Connect across cultures: Working with our client gives you the opportunity to visit the countries we operate in—Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, or Nigeria—and meet team members and customers in the local context. You'll need to be able to communicate, connect, and manage performance across cultural boundaries.
• Support with ad-hoc projects: Roles with our client are not set in stone. Expect to play a supporting role in various functional areas such as sales & marketing, customer support, operations & people management, and culture building.

Additional benefits

• Great offices at the V&A Waterfront
• Opportunity to participate in their ESOP within your first year
• Exciting travel to the countries we operate in
• Hybrid flexibility: spend at least half your time at office, you decide when
• Annual team retreats
• Flexible paid time off

Why work with our client

Our client offers the stability of a large company with the culture of a tight-knit start-up. While our client employs more than 1,000 people across the continent, the core management team in Cape Town, South Africa is an agile, talented group of less than 30. No matter your age or level of experience, you'll be given large responsibilities from Day 1 and expected to be a self-starter and self-teacher. While expectations are high, so is the level of support: they foster a culture where colleagues from across the business are eager to support and learn from one another.