Head of Jem Mobile

Jem HR Ltd; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 1,800,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lunch 4 times a week

Medical aid contribution

Retirement annuity contribution

22 days annual leave

Job summary

Jem seeks a Head of Jem Mobile to own the end-to-end P&L, team, operations and product direction for our device and connectivity business in South Africa. You will start hands-on with a small team and scale its systems and strategy for profitability and impact.

You will lead commercial, product, marketing, and operations, building partnerships with OEMs, telcos and logistics, while driving margins, pricing and customer experience.

Qualifications

• 8+ years experience leading a commercial or operational function.
• Background in e-commerce, fintech, telco, marketplace, retail credit or similar.
• Proven experience running complex operations or high-volume transactional products.
• Strong commercial instinct and comfort with margins, pricing and unit economics.
• Experience managing suppliers, logistics or multi-partner ecosystems.
• Clear leadership capability with a people-first mindset.
• Strong process design and problem-solving ability.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end performance of Jem Mobile (commercial, product, marketing, operations and support).
• Run Jem Mobile as a business unit with full P&L ownership.
• Hire, lead and mentor the team across ops, credit risk, support and partnerships.
• Set goals, operating rhythms and performance metrics.
• Manage key partnerships (OEM, telco, logistics, etc).
• Oversee stock, fulfilment, returns, support and operational processes.
• Work closely with the founders on pricing, margin, risk appetite and strategy.
• Build and maintain catalogues, sales collateral and product positioning.
• Improve customer experience, reduce cancellations and manage defaults.
• Identify and execute opportunities to grow the product, improve efficiency and expand impact.

Skills

Leadership

Commercial acumen

People-first leadership

Strategy & planning

Partnership management

Operations & process design

Job description

CT/Joburg-Based | Scale-Up | Full-time Role | Hiring Manager:Caroline van der Merwe Jem is looking for a Head of Jem Mobile. Jem builds HR, payroll and benefits tools for deskless workers and now supports over 250,000 employees across South Africa. Jem Mobile is our device and connectivity business, giving frontline workers access to smartphones and data through simple, responsible products.

As Head of Jem Mobile, you'll own the P&L, team, operations, partnerships and product direction. You'll start hands-on with a team of 3, then build the systems and strategy it needs to scale.

Your Mission

Build Jem Mobile into a profitable, well-run business that gives frontline workers real access to devices and data, and contributes meaningful revenue to Jem.

What Success Looks Like

• Jem Mobile is operationally strong, commercially healthy and scaling responsibly
• Unit economics are clear, tracked and improving
• Procurement and partnerships with OEMs, telcos and logistics partners are negotiated and managed smoothly
• Fulfilment, returns and support run smoothly and customers have a world-class experience
• The team is aligned, supported and executing well
• Jem Mobile is unlocking real value for frontline workers and meaningful revenue for Jem

What You’ll Do

• Own the end-to-end performance of Jem Mobile (commercial, product, marketing, operations and support)
• Run Jem Mobile as a business unit with full P&L ownership
• Hire, lead and mentor the team across ops, credit risk, support and partnerships
• Set goals, operating rhythms and performance metrics
• Manage key partnerships (OEM, telco, logistics, etc)
• Oversee stock, fulfilment, returns, support and operational processes
• Work closely with the founders on pricing, margin, risk appetite and strategy
• Build and maintain catalogues, sales collateral and product positioning
• Improve customer experience, reduce cancellations and manage defaults
• Identify and execute opportunities to grow the product, improve efficiency and expand impact

You’ll Thrive Here If You

• Enjoy running complex businesses with many moving parts
• Are commercially strong and comfortable owning numbers and outcomes
• Like building teams, systems and structure from a fast-moving base
• Care deeply about real-world impact, not just slides and strategy
• Are hands-on, decisive and comfortable in ambiguity

Requirements

Minimum

• 8+ years’ experience leading a commercial or operational function
• Background in e-commerce, fintech, telco, marketplace, retail credit or similar
• Proven experience running complex operations or high-volume transactional products
• Strong commercial instinct and comfort with margins, pricing and unit economics
• Experience managing suppliers, logistics or multi-partner ecosystems
• Clear leadership capability with a people-first mindset
• Strong process design and problem-solving ability

Nice to Have

• Experience with device financing or rent-to-own models
• Exposure to credit risk, affordability modelling or portfolio performance
• Experience in high-churn or frontline customer segments
• Experience scaling early-stage or fast-growth business units

What You Can Expect from Us

• Hybrid work environment with a 3-day office policy in the Cape Town or Johannesburg office.
• A rare opportunity to run a full business unit inside a fast-growing tech company
• High ownership, real influence and work closely with founders.
• Great benefits (lunch 4 times a week, medical aid contribution, retirement annuity contribution, etc.) and 22 days of annual leave.
• We respond to all applications. You can expect feedback on your application, even if we decide not to move forward.

To learn more about what Jem looks for beyond the CV, read our People Notes post on the Jem Ideal Employee Profile here.