Commercial Product Manager (Remote) at M-KOPA Solar

You can join our journey too.

We’re looking for a Product Manager to join our commercial department. Our commercial team at M-KOPA support our underbanked customers to gain access to finance through assets and IoT technology. Your main objective will be to develop and execute M-KOPA’s financial services product roadmap. This is a Group/global role, and will work closely with country teams in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana to localise products, conduct customer and market research, test product betas, and launch products.

To achieve this, you’ll be expected to:

1. Design, manage, and communicate M-KOPA’s financial services consumer propositions and product roadmap
2. Develop a deep understanding of – and insights from – our customers by conducting customer interviews and focus groups and conducting user testing, working with in-country teams in all M-KOPA markets
3. Develop expertise on the financial services market in each of M-KOPA’s countries, including the competitive landscape, market opportunities, regulation, etc.
4. Identify, prioritise, and validate customer needs and market opportunities 
5. Iteratively design, prototype, and test new “minimum viable” financial service products
6. Engage stakeholders in Commercial, Credit, Market Development, and Engineering in developing the financial services product roadmap 
7. Conduct financial analyses and build business cases to ensure M-KOPA’s portfolio of financial services products is complementary and strategically coherent
8. Respond with agility to changes in business strategy or priorities, updating the roadmap accordingly
9. Plan and execute successful financial service product betas, launches, and post-launch success measurement with cross-functional teams across the business
10. Craft effective product proposals and business cases to gain executive-level buy-in and resource allocation
11. Lead a team of stakeholders across Commercial, Credit, and Engineering functions to design and build financial services 
12. Conduct effective usability, commercial, and credit tests on product betas to inform final product design, working with Market Development and Customer Research teams in each market 
13. Identify with Commercial and Marketing teams improvements and changes required to sales operations, customer engagement, or marketing to roll out new financial service products
14. Lead a team of stakeholders across Commercial, Marketing, and Customer Care functions to plan and execute product launch
15. Define and establish clear product success metrics; measure and monitor these metrics post launch and integrate product data and customer feedback into ongoing product improvements / iterations

You Might Be A Good Fit If You

1. Are passionate about our mission of making everyday essentials accessible to everyone  
2. Have 5+ years of experience in financial services product design or product management roles, with a preference for experience with digital / mobile lending products in emerging markets
3. Have experience owning and supporting the entire product lifecycle from conception to post-launch
4. Have excellent stakeholder management skills to coordinate across internal teams, particularly managing senior stakeholders
5. Are comfortable making decisions without certainty and acting on ambiguous or conflicting inputs
6. Are a collaborator and have low ego
7. Are obsessed with customers, building the best products to solve their problems and delighting them with excellent customer experiences and customer service
8. Have strong analytical capabilities and make data-driven decisions well
9. Are a results-focused and a self-starter, with excellent decision-making and problem-solving skills
10. Love inspiring individuals to get the best out of them
11. Are highly motivated and have a strong sense of ownership 
12. Are a visible, proactive, and personally involved leader with excellent organisational, influencing and communication skills both verbal and written 
13. Love fast-moving environments with frequent change and a sense of urgency to get the job done
14. Have high integrity and openness, combined with a commitment to good governance
15. Have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, 5-10 years of related experience or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience

This position will report to Director of Business Development & Growth and can be based anywhere where possible to work within a time zone -1/+3 hours UTC.  We can offer a full-time permanent contract of employment to candidates’ resident in the UK, Kenya, Uganda or Nigeria, where our offices are based, together with a competitive salary (dependent on skills and experience), company bonus (dependent on company performance and OKRs), and a range of company benefits. For applicants who are resident in countries outside of where our offices are based, we can offer a 3 year consultancy contract, together with a freelance daily rate and an annual bonus incentive. You will also need to travel as needed to Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and/or Ghana to engage with our customers and in-country teams.