Jobs at Safaricom Kenya

Reporting to Engagement Lead – Financial Services, the position holder will facilitate the development of the right future-state architecture and ensures its effective adoption. They provide overall direction, guidance and definition of architecture programs that effectively supports business strategies. Senior IT Solution Architects advocate and support the Financial Services IT strategies, identify and analyze Financial Services’ business drivers, analyze the current IT environment to detect critical deficiencies, recommend solutions for improvement and develop strategies aligning IT to the business. They must have significant business knowledge and have one or more areas of technical expertise in software development, solution architecture, enterprise architecture.

Individuals in this role lead, consult or oversee multiple architectural engagements. They work on highly complex projects that require in-depth knowledge within a domain: technical, solutions, business or information. They are viewed as an expert and provide knowledge/ counsel to others. They also may lead a specific business domain within Financial Services IT.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Provide direction, guidance, and governance to ensure proper alignment with business initiatives and technology strategy/roadmaps.
2. Provide technical leadership on strategic, transformational, highly complex enterprise-wide initiatives focused on the financial services domain.
3. Engage with various teams, ranging from business and the immediate development team who need to understand and buy in to the architecture, right through to the extended team of those people who will have an interest in the architecture from a security, database, operations, and maintenance or support point of view.
4. Works with business leaders to understand business requirements and help them understand how technology tradeoffs influence strategy and ensuring business intent is understood and effectively carried into development phases.
5. Translate documented business requirements into a technical solution design for implementation.
6. Collaboratively oversee the development of the solution as per agreed architecture, evolving it throughout the delivery in the face of changing requirements and feedback from the team.
7. Lead need analysis, research, concept development, proof of concept and business case development for financial technology. This includes but not limited to by building prototypes, frameworks and foundations to be consumed by the technical team.
8. Set baseline through introduction of standards and working practices such as architecture blueprints, coding standards, design principles and tools.
9. Responsible for making technology decisions by considering all risk factors, reviewed and evaluated with all the relevant stakeholders of interest.
10. Coordinates new development activities and ensures they are consistent and well-integrated with the established enterprise information architecture
11. Assists in post-implementation continuous-improvement efforts to enhance performance and provide increased functionality
12. Contribute to Architecture Review Board (ARB) on monthly basis.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. Degree in Science/computer science/Engineering/Business related degree from reputable education institution. Or equivalent work experience
2. 5+ technical background in software development inclusive of databases, applications, Infrastructure, cloud development , 3+ years experience in solutions architecture and system design.
3. Experience of software development lifecycle is essential, in agile and waterfall methodologies.
4. A “hands-on software architect” capable of sharing software development experience with the rest of the team, which in turn helps them better understand how the architecture is viewed from a development perspective.
5. Domain experience in financial services, financial technologies will be an added advantage.
6. Certification in Solution Architecture, TOGAF  and Certificate in Cloud expertise desired
7. Strong business acumen and leadership mindset
8. Ability to drive initiatives without any formal authority in an ambiguous environment
9. Ability to mentor/coach developers and other solution architects in architecture principles
10. Proven track record in designing and implementing large scale, complex projects delivering IT/Telco customer solutions; demonstrable leadership skills and organizational experience
11. Strong leadership skills with ability to communicate and influence others.
12. Requires exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and processing environment

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We are pleased to announce the vacancy for an Innovation Engineering Lead within the innovation team in Technology Division, Digital IT Department. In keeping with our current business needs, we are looking for a person who meets the criteria indicated below.

Detailed Description

Reporting to the  Research and Design Tech Lead, the position holder is  responsible for scouting, developing & testing prototypes & piloting, refining and adopting new technologies to solve current problems, improving operation efficiencies and to create new platforms to support new business opportunities. Working with partners, Project teams, Squads as well as virtual IT delivery teams to implement various projects and business deliverables. Break down complex requirements into simple trackable tasks. Be committed to high quality output and delivery on time.

The main duties are:

1. Scout new technologies and vendors to enable innovation and identify technical enablers
2. Developing and testing prototypes
3. Piloting, refining and adopting new technologies and partner solutions
4. Responsible for Solutions Design and specifications with Quarterly target focus
5. Research and advisory on new technology and global trends
6. Support setting up of crowdsourcing initiatives to generate innovative ideas and concepts
7. Coordinate with other engineers, management and partners on research and design work
8. Coordinate and Develop Research Hubs with Academic Institutions.
9. Team Leadership where applicable

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Responsible for all Domain business projects by resourcing and leading virtual teams across IT
2. Responsible for delivering 95% of the projects on time
3. Responsible for ensuring project stability within max 48 hours
4. Ensure agile is implemented in at least 50% of the projects
5. Maintain an accurate registry of all business projects  with various statuses and ensure business teams are appraised at all times
6. Align with business product leads & PMO on project KPI’s, milestones and timelines

Leadership:

1. Attend business strategy meetings to ensure IT is aligned with business needs
2. Regular team and one-on-one engagements
3. Build the team skillset according to the fit for future program
4. Team performance management
5. Provide budget inputs for business solutions.
6. Attend BU strategy sessions
7. Weekly Delivery reporting to BU HoDs and Senior Managers on the status of their deliverables

Business Analysis:

1. Responsible for gathering, detailing and documenting all business requirements
2. Ensure sensible consensus is reached for all requirements/specifications and help business, IT, CXX, Revenue Assurance and test leads to have the same mutual understanding
3. Ensure test plans cover all aspects of Business Requirements and existing business rules

Solutions Design:

1. Responsible for Solutions Design to meet business requirements and non-functional requirements
2. Drive reuse on all technical and business functionality designed and no duplication of business components
3. Collaboratively oversee the development/configuration of solutions as per agreed designs
4. Provide solution architecture input into all new system tenders

 
QUALIFICATIONS

1. Degree in Science/computer science/Engineering/Business related.
2. Certification in Business Analysis & Agile Project Management will be an added advantage
3. Strong business acumen and mindset – with knowledge of Human Centered Design
4. 5+ years of technical experience in a busy IT development environment, 2 years of which must include experience in designing systems and solutions.
5. 3+ years’ Experience in Technical Leadership of large IT projects
6. Team player who is skilled at building up and managing stakeholder relationships successfully
7. Ability to persuade stakeholders and to champion effective techniques through delivery
8. Ability to drive initiatives without any formal authority in an ambiguous environment
9. A curious and innovative mind that built things.

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DESCRIPTION 

We are pleased to announce the vacancy for an Innovation Architect within the innovation team in Technology Division. In keeping with our current business needs, we are looking for a person who meets the criteria indicated below.

Detailed Description

1. Reporting to the  Innovation Architect Lead, the position holder is an enabler and innovation driver responsible for coordinating and supporting open innovation programs.
2. Candidate must understand growth-mindset behavior, have a passion for technology, community build, progress, Digital skills and learning.
3. You will be working with partners, the business, Project teams, Squads as well as virtual IT delivery teams to implement various projects, innovation ideas and business deliverables.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Planning and execution of Quarterly themed hackathons that promote open innovation.
2. Co-ordinate and run the organization’s annual innovation week.
3. Identification and robust response to potential opportunities, risks, strengths, and weaknesses, leading to the innovation strategy.
4. Work with the lead to develop an Open innovation process, Framework and Strategy.
5. Establish and drive meaningful relationships with Academia and Tech-Hubs.
6. Support setting up of crowdsourcing initiatives to generate innovative ideas and concepts.
7. Responsible for collecting and evaluating ideas and managing the project portfolio including innovation controlling.
8. Screening of various innovation sources, conducts workshops for brainstorming, uses innovation tools and derives ideas from all these activities.
9. Sets measures and shapes structures and culture so that ideas are generated and transformed into successful new products and services
10. Scouts outside world and searches for ideas and new technologies worth exploring outside the company 
11. Work with product managers and product owners to turn an innovation concept into a successful product and track progress and impact of scaled products.
12. Support scaling of ideas into production.

 QUALIFICATIONS

1. Degree in Science/Computer science/Engineering/Business related.
2. Certification in Business Analysis & Agile Project Management will be an added advantage
3. Curious with a creative and innovative mind
4. Strong Product sense- Product intuition and product judgment
5. Strong business acumen and mindset – with knowledge of Human Centered Design and design thinking
6. 3+ years of technical experience in a busy IT development environment
7. Understands how startup company works, customer and the company need.

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DESCRIPTION
 
We are pleased to announce the subject career opportunity within Commercial (M-Pesa Africa) reporting to the senior service designer, product specification.

Role Description

M-Pesa, is a pioneering fintech business and global market leader in mobile money. From starting in 2007 as a convenient means by which the unbanked and underbanked can make digital payments, M-Pesa has now grown to offer over 50 million active customers financial services, enterprise, merchant, and retail solutions. We are proud of our work in enabling the digital economy in our markets, and in driving financial inclusion.

M-Pesa Africa is now making strides to deepen and strengthen its offering to consumers and businesses in our operating countries, making it easier for them to manage their money and get more from their limited resources. Your role sits within the Business Payments release train who have the mission to establish the foundation of compelling value propositions for MSME’s and Large Enterprises in order to create a leading portfolio of digital products that empower consumers and businesses.

Working within the scaled agile framework (SAFe), you will perform all aspects of the Product Owner role. This includes taking ownership of the team backlog, user story content, and setting priorities for your Agile team to maximise business value. You will also work within the context of a wider Product Management team, helping to define features and drive evolution of our Products based on your insights.

Key Role Responsibilities

Owns the team backlog:

1. Provide content authority - builds, edits, and maintains in line with product management direction
2. Provides priorities to Agile team based on agreed criteria

Represents the end-user:

1. Works with SME’s to understand requirements, supporting the definition of features, and co-creating user stories and other required artefacts
2. Understand the core technology platform capability and collaborate with developers in the best way to meet product objectives, acts as the customer for developer questions
3. Leads the system demo for their agile team after each iteration

Inputs into iteration planning session:

1. Reviews and reprioritises backlog in preparation for Iteration Planning, including coordination of dependencies with other Product Owners and earliest delivery of value to our customers
2. Collaborates with the team to detail stories with acceptance criteria and associated acceptance tests
3. Communicates story detail and priorities, ensuring the team aligns and agrees on the final iteration plan

Understands enabler work:

1. Collaborates with the Systems Architect to assist with decision-making and sequencing/prioritisation of technical enablers

Accepts stories as done:

1. Validates the story meets the acceptance criteria and complies with the definition of done

Works closely with product management team:

1. Works alongside the product manager to ensure features are well documented, and that business priority is understood and aligned with team activities
2. Actively participates in program ceremonies, PI Planning, PO-Sync, System Demos, Backlog refinement sessions, and Inspect and Adapt Workshop
3. Performs preparation activities for program increment planning, helps drive PI objectives at team level

Exhibits Lean-Agile leadership:

1. Exhibits the behaviors of a Lean-Agile Leader with a Lean-Agile Mindset
2. Helps the team embrace SAFe Core Values, adopt, and apply SAFe Principles, implement SAFe practices

Core competencies, knowledge, and experience

1. Strong understanding of merchant acquiring practices, merchant and enterprise payment systems, and online retail solutions
2. Experience of software development lifecycle in complex, data-driven initiatives is essential, especially within agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum, SAFe)
3. Experienced in leading agile feature teams to deliver both new and continuous improvements to customers
4. Strong data analytical skills, able to identify solutions to complex problems.
5. Business and customer focus and an appreciation of customer-led design and user experience techniques
6. Ability to work proactively within a demanding environment, being a key contributor to a fast-moving product development process
7. Able to communicate and influence with tact and diplomacy.
8. Able to understand and explain complex technical concepts to business stakeholders
9. Demonstrable numerical, analytical, and verbal skills, in particular well-developed written and verbal communication skills in English.

Key performance indicators

1. Return on Investment
2. Team Backlog Management
3. Customer Net Promoter Score (NPS)
4. Work in Progress
5. Production Issues
6. Iteration slippage

QUALIFICATIONS
 
Apply if you have:

1. Bachelor’s Degree in any relevant field
2. Agile Experience including international suppliers or markets – minimum 2 years
3. Relevant certified Product Owner or Business Analysis qualification, for example, SAFe Product Owner or equivalent is a must.
4. Minimum 2 years experience in Mobile Payment or Financial Payment Service
5. Strong understanding of merchant acquiring practices, merchant and enterprise payment systems, and online retail solutions
6. Contagious passion for, and commitment to, driving mobile money growth and innovation
7. Demonstrated communication and relationship management experience
8. Excellent problem analysis and resolution skills to support work in reactive and proactive environments

We are happy if you have:

1. Experience of working within a cross-cultural team.

What you can expect from us:

1. We believe in a fair and robust interview process
2. We have a robust flexible total reward scheme
3. Dedicated support and mentoring/coaching
4. Opportunity to develop and progress – plus a solid dedication to work-life integration. It all means you’ll have everything you need to advance your career and achieve your full potential.

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Job Responsibilities

1. Own the overall product roadmap, and manage prioritization and tradeoffs against customer experience, and time to market for strategic and high visibility initiatives. The position holder will be tasked with Product Strategy, product design, product execution & development to deliver both an optimal customer experience and commercial outcome. Product journeys and designs.
2. Craft a compelling long-term vision for Public sector payments that will drive success for our customers and for Safaricom PLC.
3. Constant engagement with customers to understand how we can drive more value for them to be more successful and advocate internally as their voice for the future of our products.
4. Define functional & technical requirements by leveraging industry & user research, data gathering and analysis, hypothesis testing through experimentation and actively seeking out user feedback early in the planning process as well as throughout product lifecycle.
5. Prioritize epics and user stories to ensure work focuses on those with maximum value that are aligned with product strategy. Closely evaluate and balance new systems requirements with technical trade-offs and the impact of tech debt.
6. Partner with technology, Customer operations, Corporate security and Channels teams, to continuously improve the customer experience leading to an intuitive, always available, leakage free M-PESA as commitment to our customers.
7. Define goals and expected outcomes of roadmap items, aligning with portfolio objectives and key results (OKRs)
8. Effectively translate business strategies into product strategies, value increments, and product specifications to deliver against our core customer value propositions, and our company strategic and financial goals.
9. Participate in day to day product team activities, driving high quality customer experiences and exploring what is possible with technology. Translate concepts into user flows, wireframes, mockups and prototypes that lead to intuitive user experiences.
10. Manage Solution vendors and Business Partnerships involved in actualizing product roadmaps
11. Gather and evaluate user requirements in collaboration with product owners, engineers and other stakeholders.
12. Facilitate the Safaricom’s product vision by researching, conceiving, sketching, prototyping and user-testing experiences for digital products.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. 5+ years of experience in product strategy.
2. Experience in agile software development methodologies
3. Demonstrated technical acumen; ability to influence and debate solutions with technical team members, to understand technology solutions and potential tradeoffs and to represent technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
4. Data-driven mindset understand complex logic and process of interconnected data flows throughout business work-stream.
5. Strongly collaborative and effective in a cross-functional environment with the ability influence key stakeholders across organizations.
6. Strong product thinking, ability to advocate for the best customer experience and continually make prioritization decisions to focus on the best value for end customers.
7. Ability to translate product needs into technical requirements, understand technology dependencies, and discuss technical trade-offs
8. Experience setting strategic direction and ability to drive measurably successful product launches and campaigns.
9. Ability to utilize user research and data to drive actionable insights to inform marketing strategy and improve the user experience.

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Brief Posting Description

Reporting to Chief Business Development Officer, responsible for developing, driving and implementing Safaricom’s e-commerce strategy to maximize sales, with a persistent emphasis on customer acquisition, conversions and maximizing Average order Value (AOV). This will incorporate our digital marketing strategy and social media marketing. 

Job Responsibilities

1. Develop, own, drive and implement the overall e-commerce strategy to ensure revenue growth through increased customer acquisition, conversion and AOV
2. Responsible for collaborating with cross-functional partners to manage all aspects of the E-Commerce business including, business planning, website design, customer service, web analytics and web technologies
3. Analyzes and assesses the effectiveness of all existing operations and current needs based on new technology and market competition within the E- Commerce ecosystem.
4. Serve as a liaison and primary point of contact within the eCommerce organization for cross functional partners acting as a product owner to evaluate, prioritize, develop, manage, implement and test eCommerce initiatives and ROI of each activity
5. Continually assess the capability of E-Commerce systems ensuring they are appropriate for the current and future business as defined by the strategic plan
6. Continually review the relevance and commercial potential of new areas of digital development, and make and implement recommendations
7. Identify and validate new strategic product category opportunities across several Brands
8. Utilize analytical skills and ability to work with category management, market research and data to determine market and product strategies
9. Develops business plan and annual budget for e-commerce function. Supervises development efforts including content design and update
10. Build and direct a cohesive team of internal and external personnel to effectively develop eCommerce solutions.

Job Requirements                         

1. Must have technical / professional qualifications:
2. Degree in Marketing with Online Marketing experience
3. 10 – 15 years e-commerce experience with proven ability to develop/implement a successful e-commerce strategy
4. Experience with web analytics tools (Web trends, Ominiture)
5. Have Agile methodologies accreditations /certifications.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the E - Commerce market trends.